Life

Life in the Fluhman household is moving forward as always. Ben is putting in long days preparing to take his first set of boards for podiatry school. Let's just say that all parties involved will be happy when it is over. I do have to say that I am glad that it is him and not me!!! Isaac is still our happy little bubba. He pulls himself up on EVERYTHING and is walking along the furniture to get to anything that we might have left behind or dropped out of our pockets. He LOVES our cell phones (it seems like most babies do...why is that?)! We recently took his pacifier away for sleeping at naps and bedtime. I was getting up many times a night to find it for him and I finally had enough. So there have been a few more tears but is getting the hang of and I am getting a little more sleep. Natali is progressing with the whole pottery training thing. I am glad that I stuck it out. I called Ben one day crying and feeling like screaming a stream of profanity (I didn't...I just really really felt like it). I had had enough of it, but I stuck with it though and I think she has it down. We had two whole days with out any accidents. I still put a pull up on when we leave for running errands and such, just because I don't know that I could handle accidents in public places. Life is good. We feel very blessed to not have been immediately affected by the floods. Here is Isaac being himself, and Natali playing dress up with one of her cute little friends.

Double Take

Okay, so in a rash moment I decided we needed to cut Isaac's hair. It was long...over the ears, bangs, mullet, the whole shebang! So how do you cut a 10 month olds hair when he is moving all over the place like a spaz! The answer, buzz it! So our thick brown haired little boy is now practically BALD! Not really, but his hair is so light down by the roots he looks like a little blond baby! WHAT HAVE I DONE!!! Seriously I started crying (just a little) because my baby looks so different. Even later when I went into his room after he was asleepto put something away I had to do a double take. Is that my baby in that crib? See for your self. (It's hair...it will grow back. RIGHT!?!?!?) These pictures are only a couple days apart. I, as his mother, still think he is just as cute as can be. But I do miss his hair already.

Summer Fun

Today was a crazy day. I am trying to toilet train Natali....3 "wetties" accidents and 1 "poopy" accident has just about sent me over the edge! So I am trying to get the kids ready for bed and trying to keep myself from bursting into tears when I look at Isaac all fresh and clean with this cute little smile on his face. It was just melted me. I love my little guy. Seeing his sweet little face and smile helped put things into persepctive. Thanks Isaac!!!

I got a little wadding pool thinking the kids would love to sit in it and splash. Especially since Isaac loves his bath and goes crazy splashing the water all over. Natali loved it but Isaac not so much! Granted it was his first non bath water experience, hopefully he will warm up to it.

Number 3

At 6:42 am three years ago at beautiful little girl was born, 9.9lbs and with a full head of thick red hair! Our little girl is now no longer so little. Today we took much joy in celebrating Natali's third birthday. It is amazing how much she has grown and the joy that she has added to our life. Natali said she wanted a Bee birthday (based off of the Bee movie, which she loves). I put up a few decorations and we spent the day as a family having fun. I think her favorite parts were opening her gifts, her Bee balloon, and her Bee cupcakes. Happy Birthday Natali....hugs and kisses we love you!

Vintage

My mom sent me her old smock from when she was in Kindergarten. It is so sweet with little pockets in the front, a button in the back at the neck, and her name embroidered in the front. I wasn't going to let Natali use it but my mom insisted. Apparently that was the whole reason why she sent it :)! Anyway, here is Natali creating some finger painting works of art. All while wearing something authentically vintage! Thanks Mom!

6 ear infections...and what do you get?

TUBES! Yes Isaac finally will get tubes for his ears. For some reason the fluid builds up in his ears, never drains, gets infected, antibiotics kill the infection, but the fluid never goes away. Thus, we continue to multiple infections, both ears, ALL THE TIME! So needless to say I am kind of excited for his littler surgery on Tuesday. Maybe he will actually be able to sleep at night (please keep all fingers crossed)! And maybe he won't be in constant pain, although he is a pretty happy baby. Here's to hoping the surgery goes 100% perfect and that this works. The really fun part will be the night before his surgery. He can't eat after midnight, and as of right of the last two days he has woken up twice a night to eat! It will be one LONG night!

Getting ready for a walk!

Natali dressed in boy clothes (she had barfed earlier that day at a friends house...sorry about that again) and as usually dressed in one of her princess outfits. The hat totally goes don't you think? Hopefully she will gain a little more fashion sense as she gets older :) But for now I think the smile says it all! Life is good!

Crawler

For some time now Isaac has been getting up on his hands and knees and rocking, but today was different. Our little guy crawled! He had a few different techniques but in the end he did the whole up on your hands and knees moving forward crawling! We cheered and clapped and Natali was so proud of her baby brother :). It was cute. We need to get out the camcorder and get the kid in action. He also had his 9 month wellness check. He is 20lbs 12oz (50%), 28.5 inches (50%), and 18.5 head cir. (90%). Our little chunky monkey is not so chunky anymore! But not to worry he still has his cheeks. He had another double earinfection (I spent part of mothers day in the walk in clinic). I think this is number 6 or 7. We are holding off on tubes right now (doctors request) but we might have too if they continue even in the summer. Boo for ear infections, but yeah for a growing baby boy!

9 Months

Here is Isaac's 9 month photo. What a cute boy...if I do say so myself. I will post his "stats" when we have is 9 month check-up. He is cutting his two bottom teeth, sitting up, rocking on his hands and knees (occassionaly), and is still the sweetest baby boy in the world!

Park, Friends, & B-day

The weather has finally been somewhat decent around here lately. We have made it to the park several times in the last week. We have blown many bubbles and used much sidewalk chalk. Here is shot of sweet Isaac just loving being outside in his stroller. Look at that face...life is good!

We had some friends from Iowa City come into town and we were able to visit with them a little. They have a little boy that is 10days younger than Natali. Natali loved playing with him, more like bossing him around! He was a good sport. How cute is this photo...look at those faces!
This past week was also my birthday week. Yes that's right. In our house it's not a birthDAY but a birthWEEK. It was awesome. Anyway...I felt totally spoiled. Ben and I were able to get out to lunch by ourselves thanks to some great babysitters (thanks!) I had McDonald's breakfast (my fav. ) and spent the day as a family and with friends. I did get some beautiful flowers. I LOVE LOVE LOVE flowers. (I hate buying them because I know they won't last), but when I have them they just make life seem wonderful. I even tired to have a green thumb, we bought some planters and flowers and hung them on our porch. There is something so fulfilling about getting your hands in the soil and planting! LOVE IT!!!

Weekend Trip

This weekend we were lucky to go up to Minnesota with some friends. When we planned this trip I only had one thought..."I have to get to Mall of America". Ben had been there before but I had yet to have the "experience"! When we started approaching the mall I felt like I was going to explode with excitement!!! I was grinning from ear to ear...and yes...it was AMAZING! We actually only went into one store (it is kind of tricky with three strollers). But I could have spent literally days there. One highlight was the amusement park in the middle. It was a Nickelodeon theme, and they had these Backyardigan figures. The truth is I think I was more excited about it than Natali. I just about started running when I saw them from a distance. I took Natali on a carosel ride and Isaac was such a champ just hanging out in his stroller the whole day. It was nice to get away, even if it was just for the weekend. Here are a few pictures.

Rite of Passage

This weekend we attended the Rite of Passage ceremony at Ben's school. It happens towards the end of your 2nd year and marks the end of your lecture oriented studies and the beginning of your clinic oriented studies. It feels SO good to have two years under our belts. In May Ben will start in the clinic and get some hands on experience (he can't wait but at the same time is very nervous). It was fun to get out of the house with out the kids, thanks Wilsons! Here are a few pictures, courtesy of other peoples cameras.

Us and friends!

The Guys
Left to Right: Bryce, Phil, Jason, Colby, Ben

Class of 2010 DPM's

Isaac Kisses

Isaac is 8 months old! Oh my gosh, how did that happen???? I love this age though, they start doing so much and are so interactive. It is so amazing to watch him and Natalie interact together. It is a highlight of motherhood. And can I just say that I LOVED Elder Ballard's talk from General Conference. I so needed to hear that! It was amazing and spoke right to me.

Last week we got Isaac and Savannah Wilson close enough on the floor to really interact. Here is the result! GO ISAAC...watch out Savannah!

Who Wears the Pants

So why is Natali eating a frosty at 7:45 pm? Um, because she wanted to and threw a massive tantrum until we completely crumbled and folded under her screams and tears. What really happened was she got a sliver in her finger and was complaining that it hurt. So like good parents we tried to look at it and get it out with a needle and tweezers. Well you can only imagine how that went over with Natali...not so much. So with me trying to hold her in a death grip and Ben trying to get it out we ended up bribing her that she could have a Frosty TOMORROW if she stopped crying and held still. We finally gave up on the sliver, but all Natali wanted was the Frosty. And apparently she chose not to hear the TOMORROW part.

Anyway to make a long story even longer...Natali ended up getting a Frosty and staying up way past her bedtime watching a movie and eating a frosty. Why you ask? Aren't I the parent? Shouldn't no mean no? Shouldn't I be able to control my two year old? Come on...let's not kid ourselves...all hail Miss Natali!!!


***We at least did not let her eat it all, I get some points for that...right! I know giving in was a bad choice, but I really didn't want to battle her anymore. Some days I just have to wave the white flag.

First Hair Cut

After a meal of peas (which you can see on his face) we decided it was time to give Isaac a haircut. The poor kid was sporting a mini mullet and hair was covering his ears. It didn't go quite as we planned. Isaac didn't enjoy it at all and wouldn't hold his head still. The sound of the little buzzer freaked him out and he kept looking around for it. So needless to say Isaac has about half a hair cut and a really uneven mullet now. Poor kid...good thing hair grows back.

Are We Having Fun Yet!?!

So all day today we talked about coloring easter eggs. I thought it would be so fun with Natali. Isaac was down for a nap, Natali was up from hers, and the timing was perfect. Or so I thought.

In the middle of dying eggs!

"Natali...smile at the camera!" (nice blank stare)
Then I said, "I want to see a happy face." And below is what I got!
Oh the life of a 2 1/2 year old drama queen.

Thanks Nattles for the great memories :)
It's a "stage" right!?!?!?!?!?

Hop Hop

So today we were running errands as a family and one of our stops was to Wal-Mart. To our surprise the Easter Bunny was there. At first I thought Natali was going to just FREAK OUT! A large white bunny in a creepy mask with a pastel vest...freaky! But to our astonishment she loved it. And, you could have your picture taken with the Easter Bunny and get a free 5x7. I thought, why not! So since we don't have a printer with a scanner, a picture of the picture will have to do. Sorry about the flash spot, but you get the idea. Thanks Wal-Mart!

Taggity Tag

I have been tagged by my friend Emily to answer the following questions about my spouse. Here we go into the world of Ben! What else should I be doing at 10 at night while he is studying. Problem cleaning or folding something!

What is his name? Benjamin Lloyd Fluhman

How long have we been married? Four and a half years.

How long did we date? We were friend first and "hung out" for about 4-5 months. Then summer came and I went back to San Diego. We emailed/flirted for the summer. Saw each other twice while I visited family in Park City and later in Idaho. I came back to Provo for school. We officially than dated for 4 months and then got engaged.

How old is he? 28

Who eats more? Ben, unless it is a super nacho from Betos!

Who said I love you first? Ben

Who is taller? Me, but just by a inch. Thus the reason I gave away all my heels and platform shoes when we got married.

Who sings better? Probably Ben...when he isn't singing in his "annoying voice" on purpose to make me mad!

Who is smarter? He is in medical school...but I'm no dummy either!

Who's temper is worse? Me for sure...Ben doesn't have a temper.

Who pays the bills? I pay the bills.

Who does the laundry? I do, but he helps when I need him to.

Who cooks dinner? Me!!! Ben's idea of a gourmet meal would be...mac-n-cheese mixed with a can of chili and a jar of jalapeños.

Who drives when together? Ben

Who is more stubborn? Me, but Ben can give me a run for my money at times.

Who's parents do you see the most? Since moving to Iowa we don't see either as much as we would like to.

Who has more friends? Probably me.

Who has more siblings? Ben , middle child of 7

Who wears the pants in the family? what a silly question...Natali, then Me, then Isaac, and then Ben

Who eats more sweets? Let's hope it is Ben since I am the diabetic!

Who mows the lawn? Ben

Who kissed who first?Ben did finally! He was my first kiss.

Who asked who out first? Ben. Our first date when it wasn't in a group hang out setting was up in Park City. It was amazing! We took a ski lift ride up the mountain, ate Mexican food, and talked into all hours of the night!

Who Proposed? Ben. First we went to In & Out, walked on the beach, and then he asked at the San Diego Temple.

What's my favorite thing about him? Everything! He is very patient with me and reminds me of what is really important in life. He still can make me laugh and has made me a mother and wife. (sorry I can't get it to stop bolding the font)

Tag: If you read this...consider your self tagged!

Laughter

There is nothing quite as sweet and pure as a babies laugh. I love it when Natali makes Isaac laugh. It is a definite highlight of motherhood. Tonight she was doing it, but of course once I got the camera out she stopped. So I had to use that lovely "mom/baby" voice and do my best. Here is some footage of Isaac (7 months)!

Thank You Fun Dip

Despite the fact that Natali's mouth turned green I owe my sanity to a Fun Dip candy. This charming little device gave me about 20 minutes of "free time" to finish feeding Isaac lunch in relative silence (except the airplane sounds and songs I was singing to get him to open his mouth). You probably all already know this but Natali not only inherited my red hair, but my verbal abilities (I like to think of it more as a talent :) ). Honestly there are days where I swear she never pauses to breath. Usually I love it, but some days I just want a few moments of silence to think...a luxury I know! So that is why I say, "thank you", to the Fun Dip candy!

A few pictures of our growing guy eating lunch! What a little angel! I honestly feel like I just kiss those cheeks all day long, who could resist!