Cute Revisited

I had to add this one to go with my last post:

Yesterday, I said "Nick, buddy, you've got diarrhea." Nick said, "I-Re-Ah? . . . .Ee, I, Ee I, Oh?"

Still laughing about that one!

Cute Stuff

This is just an assortment of cute pics and funny stories that I want to remember.

Gavin said, "Mom I know you have a baby in your belly and that's why it is getting so big, but if Daddy doesn't have a baby, then why is his belly so big?"

Nicholas went to his 2-year well child appt., and the Doctor said that the only way I'll ever get this kid to eat is to get rid of the bottle. Believe me, I know this, I've just feared dealing with the hassle. So, the Doctor looked at Nick and said, "No more bottle, you're a big boy." So when we got home Nick threw away all his bottles and he hasn't had one in several days. Whenever he gets really tired, and I know he really wants his bottle, he'll start saying to himself, "Doctor said no more babas, I big boy!" He's being so brave. . .but it's working! Now, I don't know what I'll do when I have to get him to stop sucking his thumb!

These are cute pictures from a trip we took to the Hill AFB aerospace museum. My boys, especially Mike, loved it! It was a reward to my husband for going to our family reunion in Idaho. We got to eat at the Burger Bar (it was featured on the Food Network), and go to the museum. I believe in positive reinforcement for both children and husbands.

Therapy

The last few days I have been thinking, okay obsessing, about something. It is starting to hurt my brain and hurt my heart. The more I obsess, the worse it seems to feel, and there is no easy or obvious solution. I thought about blogging about my "issue" in order to receive validation and support from all my girlfriends. I'm such a talker, I could just talk and talk about the same thing and rehash it a million different ways, but I've ultimately decided that I have to find a way to STOP obsessing, and hopefully stop hurting.

So, I've decided that I need to distract my brain. I do feel the need to have some kind of talk therapy, to cope with my overwhelming emotions, but I've got to approach it from a different angle. I'm going to spend a little time musing , so here goes. . .
I thought about "counting my blessings" and decided even that was a little too much to handle. So, I'm going to talk about random things I love, you know, like raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, that sort of thing:
-Cherry Coke from Will's Pit Stop--I have tried just about every Cherry coke fountain drink in all of Utah County. I know exactly which gas stations have Cherry Coke. I have been a connosieur since high school, and Will's Pit Stop on University Ave has the best stuff.
-Taking trips to the dump. I just completely love getting rid of crap! It astounds me how much stuff we accumulate. My husband hangs on to the weirdest stuff. I just love cleaning up the yard, the garage, the storage and then just dumping it into a giant pile at the local landfill. It always makes me so full of gratitude that some people are willing to be garbage men and run the landfill. It really is such an integral part of modern society!
-Makeovers, especially with a dramatic change to my hairstyle!
-My husband's perfect eyebrows
-My kids' fake laughs--of course their genuine laughter is beautiful, but I love when they really ham it up just to humor me!
-Walking into my Mom's house--it always feels like home, as soon as I walk through the door, I feel like I can exhale for a moment, & dump some of my burdens on someone else a little.
-Good TV shows on DVD--just watching episode after episode for a few days straight.
-Songs that remind me of my days as a Dance Club Queen. Janey tries to get me to dance now, but I just feel so old and goofy. I'll be telling my children (and my husband) for years to come, "I used to be known for what a great dancer I was, I even won contests. I promise, I used to be so cool. "
-Sobbing, really letting go and letting it out. (I cry a lot, but I usually try to hold back and make it stop quickly.)
-Laughter through tears (that's from Steel Magnolias), such a girl thing. Men look at that and think we're schizophrenic!
-Tulips. . .I tried to grow some in my own yard and the deer ate them all as soon as they bloomed, it broke my heart.
-Compliments on my appearance. I mean, I love any kind of compliments, but the ones that appease my vanity are really delicious! As someone who has always felt uglier than my sisters, and my friends, it just thrills me to hear anything that implies that I'm pretty, sexy, or stylish! Pathetic, I know.
-Making out with my husband. Such a rarity! Sometimes I miss the days of courtship when we couldn't get enough of each other and we made out for hours.
-My kids accomplishing a task by themself for the first time. They are so proud!
-Actually doing those things on the "really-should-do" list, like exercising and reading my scriptures!

I could go on and on. I feel so much better already. It has been a fun distraction. For those of you who are reading, share one of your "favorite things" with me, it is therapeutic for me and you!

The Last Sha-Bang!

So this is a post about our summer family reunion, which is a pretty common, even annual thing for a lot of families. But, for my family it is a pretty big deal. We don't see my extended family (my aunts and cousins) very often at all since our grandma died, most of them I haven't seen in years. So, it was really neat that several of my Idaho relatives made an effort to come down to the reunion for the day. I always love to show off my kids! It was really fun. . .and they all cook really well, so the food was great! But, it was also an amazing feat that we got the whole Top family, all of my siblings and their children, there too. This month has been so crazy, because Jessica (my oldest sister) just moved here a week ago with her 7 children. I just met her two adopted children from Africa for the first time, her husband is still on duty in Georgia, and they have been in-transit for like a month. So, despite her exhaustion, she stilled hauled all 7 kids up in her "Training School" van to the reunion in Downey, Idaho. It is also amazing that my brother (Justin) and his family came, because he just got back from being in Navy training for 3 months without his family, and then they were in the process of getting ready to move to Florida in like 5 days.


The most amazing appearance of all, was that I actually got my husband to come! He hates to crawl out from under his rock, leave the security of his DVR remote, and actually have to talk to people. . . .but, he was a SUPER star at the reunion! I couldn't have survived without him. Nick stayed within arm's reach of Dad at all times, because sometimes he gets really frustrated by being accosted by 6 little female cousins at one time!











(Chloe, Gavin, Gwynyth, & Sophia)







Gavin told me he likes hanging out with his oldest girl cousins best of all!





Gavin's first time ever roasting marshmallows! (I know, I'm such a poor excuse for a mother that it has taken 4 years. I'm just not a big camper.)



Gavin's first time eating a roasted marshmallow! Sorry, Janey, if you're still mad about all of the smores and marshmallows being gone by the time you got there, you have this culprit to blame!

We all let Don & Janey watch the kids, since they don't have any of their own yet. I hope it's not a deterrent to procreation! Here they are with 4 of Jessica's kids and 1 of mine. BTW, my sister Janey does not normally dress like a hooch, she just came from the water park.

We never got the kids altogether at once to take a picture. The reason this post is called the "Last Sha-Bang" is that it was a big party for all the cousins to be together before 3 of them (Justin's kids) move. It was a fun opportunity for everyone to get to know Jessica's new kids, Diamond and Florence better. We don't know when we will all be back together again. Hopefully sooner than later! Jessica will only live in Utah for 15 months, and then she's off to who-knows-where. So, this was a great way to end a great summer and the great, yet short, time we all got to spend together as a family this past week.

For those of you who are wondering, trying to keep track here is the count for the Top family:

Jessica--married to Brian Simons, 7 kids--Oakley, 11, Chloe, 10, Gwynyth, 8, Florence, 6, Sophia, 5, Diamond, 5, and Giselle, 3.

Justin--married to Katie Abbott--3 kids--Caleb, 5, Alyssa, 4, Elijah, 2.

Me--married to Mike Wilson--2 (almost 3) kids--Gavin, 4, Nick, 2, and due in October with a girl.

Janey--married to Don Kaufman--2 years of marriage, no children yet.

I love my whole family! Thank you everyone for coming. Thanks especially to Mom & Dad for putting it all together, doing all the cooking & cleaning, sleeping in the teepee with the kids, and footing the bill! I really did have a blast. . .and I'm so grateful for the memories my kids are making with their cousins.

Happy 2nd Birthday Nicholas

I have to admit, when it comes to birthdays, I'm not exactly Super Mom or Holly Homemaker. I let the child choose the theme and then I order a cake from Wal-mart and I buy party favors from Zurchers. It doesn't really require much creativity on my part. But, I'm okay with it. I like to keep birthdays low maintenance, so I can still enjoy them too.

Well, this year Nick chose a "helicopter & airplane" theme, or as he says, "hairpains and hetotters." And, to my dismay, I couldn't find any store who had an airplane cake. So, my husband who is significantly more imaginative and creative than I am, decided to decorate the cake himself. (It was still a store bought cake, though.) He didn't just throw a couple plastic airplanes on it, like I would've done. . .he had to put them on wooden dowels so they were hovering and flying around the cake. He even had a space shuttle up past the moon. Very cute! It was fun to watch my husband get so excited about a kid's birthday, and Nick loved it! He already thinks his Daddy hung the moon. . .so this airplane cake just took Nick's admiration to a new level!

We had a little birthday party at my parents' house last Sunday, with all 11 of Nick's cousins from the Top side. I'm actually surprised he got to blow out his own candle. . .because all the kids were huddled right around the cake. And of course, after he blew out the candle, he said "again". . .so we lit the candle 2 more times so he could keep blowing it out.

Nick had much more interest in eating the cake this year than he did when he turned 1

Like vultures to carrion. . .so are children to birthday presents!

Last of all, I need to document some things about Nicholas at age 2:

He loves to sing and knows the words to at least 10 primary songs. But, his favorite song to sing is the "Any Hour Electric" radio jingle that Michael produced for his company. It is adorable to hear a 2 year old try to say, "Do you need an electrician?"

Nick's diet consists mostly of "cha chut" (chocolate) milk, "noo nos" (noodles), he will occasionally humor me by eating a baby carrot or part of an apple. But, for the most part he would rather not bother with food and subsist only on chocolate milk. At least he's not already drinking cherry coke, right?

His favorite toys are airplanes and helicopters, but he will also play dinosaurs, safari animals, and trains--whatever his older brother is into on any given day. Nick also likes to run around the house, roaring, pretending to be what he calls a "Scary Dino."

Nick adores Daddy above all else! I call him Mike's stalker. . .because the kid relentlessly follows Daddy around the house whenever he is home. Even after I was gone over the weekend--(the first time I've ever left Nick overnight)--as soon as I walked in the door, he came crying to me asking if I could get Daddy to hold him!

Nick is a delightful kid. He says, "thank you" and "your welcome" if you give him anything. He talks so much more than my firstborn did at this age. He really keeps us laughing! He is much more outgoing and more of a show-off than my shy, subdued Gavin. I love each of my kid's personalities and the little things that give them their distinctions, even at such a young age.

Nick has his moments, but I do not consider him a terrible two-year old (at least, not yet.) He is probably a little spoiled, but only because I am pregnant and tired and will do anything to make the screaming stop!! But, it will work out because he has a sweet and very loving disposition.

When each of my sons has turned 2, I suddenly realize that they are not babies anymore. They change so much in the first two years, it goes by so quickly. It is wonderful to watch them grow and learn and turn into little people, but it is also a good reminder to me to cherish every moment that they are little because it goes so fast. The first two years are unlike any other during the rest of our lives--it is truly amazing! I just need to remember how I feel right now when I have that tiny newborn baby keeping me up all night!

Ladies Night. . .Oh Whatta Night!

This past weekend my very beautiful, very stylish, very talented, very sweet friends took me on an overnight "escape" just for the girls! They did it for me as sort of a Baby Shower Celebration. Also, since two of the girls are also pregnant right now, we know it will be YEARS before we are free enough to do it again! So, I just want to give a big shout out to my girlfriends of over 10 years--Allyson (West) Morris, Kacey (Robinson) Parker, and Meredith (Dodini) Hult! You guys are awesome! In our 5 hour long late-night conversation, I got to know and love each of you even more.
I'm so glad I get to call you my friends, and get to associate myself with such good-looking ladies!!!

The West family's Midway vacation home was our overnight accomodations! Thanks Allyson. . .sorry I accidentally woke you up at 7:30AM on your only chance to sleep in!

More talking & eating! And eating & talking!

My friends are so hot! You, too, can look like this with only one visit to Meredith's Makeup bar and esthetic spa--Visage in Pleasant Grove! (ha, ha. . .I told you I would post this, Mer.)

Oh yeah, besides eating & talking there was lots of laughing! Laughing, laughing, and more laughing at our very open, very amusing discussions about SEX!!

After 3 hours of shopping at the Park City outlets, we ended our retreat with a group pedicure session! It was so awesome for my poor, aching, swollen pregnant feet! And I'm so glad my toenails are now painted because I can not reach them anymore!!

Last of all, my overwhelming gratitude for the weekend my friends put together--which gave me so much fun, laughter, relaxation, rejuvenation, and a broken budget spent on Baby Girl clothes--I want to write a little something about why each one of these women means so much to me!

Allyson--I love you for your openness, your willingness to speak bluntly about anything, yet as the years go by you have grown so much and become even more sensitive and thoughtful. You have always made me feel (even in high school) like I'm even prettier and cooler than I think I am!

(And you are especially awesome for standing in a long line to get me a PB cookie, so I could sit on my tired, oversized, pregnant behind! )

Kacey--You are always so kind and positive and encouraging. I don't think in the 11+ years I have known you that you have ever said anything harsh to me, or anything that has hurt my feelings, or been at all derogatory. You and I have never even been in a fight! (Although I did used to get mad at you for being too lazy at basketball practice.) You have become even more beautiful as you've become a mommy! Saylor is the cutest little accessory you've ever had!

Meredith--You are so courageous and confident, and you've always tried to encourage me to be as well. I admire your attitude and that you have gone after what you want while still being a good, involved Mommy! Most of all, more than your successes, I have admired your patience and determination during your trials and failures. I'm so glad that you have let me see the side of you that has struggled and been open about your shortcomings, otherwise I might think you were way too super awesome and perfect to hang out with lil' ol' me!

I love you all! You are each an example and inspiration to me in different ways! I honestly don't know what I would do without good girl friends. . .who still love me, eve if I don't call them for 3 months. I can't wait for the next Ladies Night Retreat. . .even if it does take another 2 years.

My Very Own Superhero

Gavin has never been into Batman or Superman or any specific superhero, but he is still a little boy who knows how to turn Mommy's gold headband into a mask. . .and suddenly transform into a fast-flying, bad guy fighting, Super Gavin!

Mike had to make him a real mask, because Mommy's headband hurt a little too much. Super Hero costumes aren't always comfortable or practical!

Gavin had his little brother and several neighbor kids cheering as he "flew" through our backyard. He was taking it so seriously, making his "Super G" face. Now all of his friends want him to dress up as "Super G" all the time.

Super G saves the city!

Wilson Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Wilson Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family name origins - Blank family tree