Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Enzo

Enzo is such a great little guy, who I love so much. It is crazy to think that in less than a month he will be 2 and in less than a week he won't be my only little one. Where has time gone these past couple of years, it sure does fly.  He is at a super fun point in life right now where he loves just about everything except bum changes, naps & anything he does't think he needs to do. You know the typical toddler. I love that I am able to stay home and raise him, see him grow and learn and share so many moments with him. I love his cute little smile, hugs, kisses, laugh and cuddles. I love that he will grab a blanket and climb up on the couch and insist that I sit by him and watch a show or a movie with him. I love that he loves to play and will come find you and wave his arm towards you saying play, play, play. I love the smile that he greets me with every morning when I go to get him out of his crib and how he has to bring all his cars, blankets, books and bear with him downstairs. I love that he thinks it is so funny that Mommy can't catch him right now and he runs around the house with his diaper off saying get you, get you. I love his belly laugh and that if you tickle him, he will always tickle you back. I love that he has such a curious spirit and is constantly teaching me to slow down and enjoy life. I especially love the fact that he is my little buddy, even though some days we have rough days, he is always my buddy and friend. I love that each night before he goes to bed I get to read books to him, cuddle and rock him, say prayers with him and tell him I Love You, only to have him tell me I Love You, give me a cute little kiss and try to get comfy around my big pregnant belly so he can drift off to sleep in my arms. Oh, how I will miss the one on one time that I have with him, but am so excited to see what a wonderful big brother he will be. I know that he already has a great love for his brother and will be a great teacher, tormentor and friend to this new little one. 







Catching up before baby #2

Lots has happened since my last blog post. This is purely a catch up of what we have been up to the past several months. 

July 2012 
We found out that we were expecting baby #2. Kind of a surprise, but a good surprise. I had been nauseated for several days and couldn't figure out why I felt so tired and sick. I decided I would take a pregnancy test just to check that off the list, not thinking that was the issue. Well, the test showed I was pregnant and the morning sickness (or should I say all day sickness) made itself very well known over the next several days and weeks. I was not sick at all with Enzo so this was a very new experience for me & one that was not fun at all. Dry heaving and throwing up several times a day for weeks on end is not something I was excited to experience & I was so grateful when it finally ended for the most part around week 14. 
We spent lots of time at Seven Peaks in July. Enzo loved going down the slides with Daddy and playing in all the different little kid water areas. He wasn't a huge fan of the wave pool this year, but I am sure that will change as he gets older. He loves water & makes me a little nervous when he is around it, so its safe to say he always has his life vest on the minute we walk into any waterpark or pool.

I told Matt we were expecting by telling him Enzo had drawn him a picture in the playroom and he needed to go look at it. On the chalkboard Enzo and I had written "Being promoted to big brother March 2013". I should have taken a picture of the chalkboard, but this is the picture of Matt as he read it. He was surprised and happy.


August 2012
We had a super busy and fun August besides the morning sickness.
 The first weekend we spent at Jo's Valley Reservoir with the Fox Hollow Young Men & Young Women for youth conference. We stayed at the Grant's family cabin which was awesome!  Enzo went with us & enjoyed all the fun activities that the youth participated in. The area down there is so pretty and secluded, Matt would love to purchase property down there for a summer cabin. It really is a super relaxing place, away from the hustle and bustle of life. 
We came home from Youth Conference a night early and it was a good thing we did. Our main floor 1/2 bathroom had a leak the next morning which flooded a good portion of our basement. Not the funniest thing to wake up to, but we were thankful that we were home and able to catch it pretty early on. What a mess it would have been to come home to later that night. We spent all day Saturday tearing out drywall, carpet, wood flooring and of course fixing the toilet that was the problem.
Saturday night Matt's parents flew into town & Russ & Sara arrived for the Poll Family Reunion that we left for the next morning. We spent a week in Sundance with Matt's family minus two Sisters. We had a lot of fun getting to know some of the siblings, nieces and nephews that we hadn't seen in years or in my case ever even met. Enzo loved spending time with all his cousins & all the attention that he constantly was getting from everyone. I guess that is one of the perks of being the youngest person in the family. We enjoyed playing in Park City, visiting the Winter Olympic Training Center, boating, jump on it, downtown SLC & summer nights filled with endless laughter from all the family. It was a great week that went by super fast.








August 22nd we had our first obgyn appt for this pregnancy. We found out we would be expecting this bundle of joy March 26, 2013 & we were approx. 9 weeks along. 
We spent the last weekend up in Idaho with the Hobson's, enjoying lots of fun on the river with boating  & the sea-doos. It was a lot of fun & Enzo enjoyed every minute of it. 
Enzo & I spent a lot of time enjoying weekly play dates with friends at splash pads, backyard pools, parks and anywhere else fun.








September 2012

The first weekend in September a horrible random hailstorm came through Saratoga Springs causing flash flooding & lots of damage to the neighborhood just North of us. The damage was so bad that our Stake cancelled church that Sunday and assigned all the able body men and women to help with the clean up. It was amazing to see how quickly people stepped into help and the outpouring of service and love the communities around us showed as well.
The weekend of the 14-16th we went camping with the Hobson's, Smith's & Wallaces' in Spanish Fork Canyon. The boys enjoyed lots of Dirt Bike riding & while us girls enjoyed a few 4 wheeler rides and playing with the kids back at camp. It was a super fun weekend. Enzo loved playing with all the sticks and rocks as well as in the little stream that ran through the back of our campsite.

The end of September we made a trip to California for Matt to work and for Enzo & I to visit family. Enzo had a great time hanging out with all of his Aunts, Uncles & Cousins and loved seeing his Grandma's and Grandpa's. While we were visiting Enzo & I  enjoyed a day in Oak Glen at Riley's farm picking apples and having a picnic with Velda, Sara, Tyler & Afton. Later in the week we got to spend a day at the beach with Daddy. Enzo loved the beach and was covered in sand from head to toe by the time he was done. We also got to enjoy some backyard fun with Allison & William while at the Fawcett's. It was a great week that of course went by way to quickly. On the way home we ran into some tire trouble so our 11 hour drive turned into a 15 hour drive. Luckily Enzo was a good little guy for most of the journey.

Stopped at Circus Circus in Las Vegas to run and play on our way to California.

Enzo and Cousin William enjoying some cartoons

Eating apples at Riley's Farm

Playing the piano at Grandma Poll's house

Enjoying some shopping with Grandma Fawcett and Mom

Beach day with Daddy

Seriously sand everywhere


October 2012

I love the first weekend in October because it's General Conference. We enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend at home listening to Conference and playing at the park in between  sessions. Enzo is getting pretty brave and loves the slides, but has sure gotten his share of bumps and bruises. Within a few visits to the park he has gotten several goose eggs on his head and fat lips, but it never seems to stop him from wanting to go back. We are loving the nice fall weather and trying to enjoy the sun as much as we can before winter comes.
Park:1 Enzo:0
 Best Friends
1st time down this slide

Enzo turned 18 months which means that he gets to go to nursery during the last two hours of church. He was so excited to get to play with all the toys. Matt and I went to drop him off wondering if he was going to be clingy, but I don't even think he looked back at us once he saw all the toys and kids. When I went to pick him up he was sad that he had to leave and go home. Hopefully this is the way it stays and he continues to enjoy nursery.

Enzo had his 18 month check up and he is healthy and strong like always. Here are his stats:
Height: 33 inches (70%)
Weight: 24 lbs 7 oz (30%)
Head Circumference: 47.5 cm (45%)
Tall and Skinny still.
Some of his favorite things are: Cars, Trains, playing at the park, swinging, running, mickey mouse clubhouse, all sorts of fruits and cucumbers.
He is talking up a storm and learning new words each day.

With Halloween right around the corner we have been to a pumpkin patch and of course the famous Cornbelly's. Enzo loved the pumpkin patch and especially enjoyed the corn maze and the wagon ride he got to take with Ruby. At Cornbelly's he enjoyed building life size log cabins and sliding down the big slides with Daddy.




Halloween this year was a blast. Matt & I were pirates and Enzo was our pirate monkey. It was a very suiting costume for him. We enjoyed a fun ward party where Matt lost his pet money almost the instant we walked in the door. You know Enzo always trying to keep us on our toes. Luckily, we found him pretty quickly. Enzo loved the door to door trick or treating at the church and I am pretty sure went back for seconds at several of the doors. He didn't really understand the concept of just one piece of candy per door.




On the evening of Halloween Enzo and I went trick or treating with Kara, Ruby and Indy. We only did a few blocks in our neighborhood before us Mom's were worn out from dealing with little ones on the verge of meltdowns. We went back home and shared all the candy we got with the Dad's and enjoyed a festive Chili dinner.

November 2012

Enzo has officially entered the climbing stage. We have a ladder on our bookshelf in the living room and the last several days I have found our little Enzo stuck on the ladder. All you will hear is Stuck, Stuck, Stuck. Such a silly little boy.

 He is also become a great little helper when it comes to cleaning up the messes he makes. Maybe I am a mean Mom, but if you color on something you shouldn't, even at 18 months old, I feel like you should get to help clean it up. How else will he learn that in the future Mommy will not be the only one stuck cleaning up messes in a house full of boys.

Yes. I said house full of BOYS. We had a sneak peek at my OBGYN appt this month and found out we will be welcoming a little BROTHER into the family come March. We are excited that Enzo will have a Brother that will be so close to him. I think Matt is more excited because we already have everything for a boy, so he thinks there will be no need for shopping for any clothes or anything for the new little guy. I think he knows there will may not be a need for it, but that there will be some shopping that takes place.





We spent Thanksgiving in California with both families. This year we had dinner with my family at Riley's Farm and dessert with Matt's family at his sister's house. It was so great to see everyone and to catch up with all the family as well. On our drive down we took a little break in Las Vegas and took Enzo to the Rain Forest Cafe. He wasn't a huge fan of all the robotic animals at first but as we were leaving he surprised both Matt & I as he went up to the alligator to say goodbye. While we were down visiting we took Enzo to the museum at March Air Force Base, he loved looking at all the airplanes and helicopters. It reminded me of all the times Grandpa Holman would take me there as a kid and tell us about all his adventures as a pilot in the Air Force. Of course we had to introduce Black Friday shopping to Enzo, so we had him look through all the ads with us to see if there was anything he had to have. We found a great sell on HotWheel Cars at K-Mart so after dessert on Thanksgiving we stopped by to see if we would have any luck getting Enzo some HotWheels. The line outside was crazy, but we were able to get in and out in about 20 minutes with a ton of HotWheels for Enzo.

















December 2012

December was a crazy busy month filled with lots of family time, Christmas traditions, decorating, service, snow playing and anything else we could fit into the month. We (actually I) decided that we were staying home in Utah this year for Christmas. I did not want to make that long drive to California in a snow storm while pregnant with a toddler. Fortunately, our families and Matt were very understanding. Although it was not our normal busy family filled Christmas, we were still able to enjoy a wonderful White Christmas with Enzo. Before we get to Christmas Day here are some of the fun activities we were able to enjoy that helped us get into the Christmas Spirit.
We went to the Living Nativity in Alpine, Utah. It was freezing cold and crazy busy, but we were still able to enjoy the spirit and it helped us remember that Christmas is not all about the gifts, but more importantly about our Saviors birth.


The dogs got to come inside a few nights, which of course Matt and Enzo loved. Enzo loved playing fetch with them and feeding them all sorts of yummy treats. The dogs enjoyed the fact that Enzo could open the fridge and the pantry for them.


We played inside a lot because we got a ton of snow this year. Enzo loves playing with his toys and especially liked building different tracks for his trains.


We also had to keep up on chores and Enzo was always willing to help. He even felt it was necessary to mop the carpets one day.

We played in the snow almost every day. Enzo loved the snow, but hated the getting dressed to go play in the snow part.


Ruby turned 3 and had a Birthday Party at the roller skating rink. Enzo was lucky enough to get to go and celebrate with her. They have the coolest skates for kids that go over their shoes. Enzo was in heaven and had a blast skating around.

Daddy took us sledding the weekend before Christmas. We went up Provo Canyon to Sundance. It was a challenge at first as Enzo had a huge meltdown about having to get dressed in his snow gear, but after a 30 minute regrouping period, he was so excited to play in all the snow and to go sledding with Daddy. They even found a super cool snow fort and of course had to check it out.






Christmas Eve we spent at home watching Christmas movies and trying not to let the boys burn the house down. Matt decided that we needed to only use candlelight that night. (He tried to tell me it was a family tradition of his, umm I have been in the family for 7 years now and never taken part in this tradition.) By the end of the evening Enzo was attached to one of our battery operated candles and was walking around the house with it saying all sorts of ramblings. He had a hard time not taking it to bed with him. We will see if this "Tradition" last another year, I don't think that it will.


Christmas Morning was super fun. I think I was the most excited. I couldn't wait to see how Enzo reacted to all of his presents and I was excited for Matt to open some of his gifts as well, since I knew he had no idea about some of the things I got him. He is so hard to surprise, but I finally accomplished it this year.









Enzo was a bit overwhelmed with all the different presents & was so over stimulated that he skipped his nap completely. Needless to say our Christmas afternoon and Evening were a bit emotional for Enzo, but that didn't stop him from enjoying some fun sledding with Daddy and the dogs.



January 2013

We rolled the New Year in by watching movies. Nothing to fancy for us here. We are excited for what 2013 will bring and are looking forward to the future.
January was a super cold month with lots of snow which meant Enzo & I were stuck inside most days. Good thing he got lots of toys for Christmas from all our family, but we still had to become creative. We built lots of indoor blanket forts, spent lots of time reading books on Mommies bed, watched way to many movies, played computer games, used our pass of all passes, became Thanksgiving Point Members, had lots of playdates & went to Kangaroo Zoo.
Enzo loves reading books. I catch him reading in his playroom all the time. His favorite is when we bring a big stack of books to Mommies bed with a snack and read until we can't read anymore.

For dinner one night we made homemade Pizza. Matt was showing Enzo and I the proper way to stretch your dough. Enzo didn't understand that the topping were for the pizza.



We decided to check out a Planet Play one Saturday. Enzo loved the little kid part and of course loved the indoor go karts. They came in first place.



Since we don't have any family around and it's not always the easiest thing to find a sitter last minute, Enzo gets to go on lots of dates with us. He keeps us pretty entertained during dinner.


It finally stopped snowing so Enzo was able to take his car on a drive around the block. He was so happy to be outside.



We went to Kangaroo Zoo one day with our friends. Enzo had a blast climbing, sliding and jumping on all the blow up toys.


Enzo loves bath time and has discovered how to make waves in the tub.


Thanksgiving Point has some really cool places to visit. Last summer we hit up the petting zoo and the gardens, but we hadn't checked out the Museum of Ancient Life, so one cold January night we decided to go see what it was all about. Enzo was so excited to see the Dinosaurs, as we pulled up he saw the dinosaur on the building and began roaring. Such a funny kid. They have lots of hands on areas throughout, but Enzo's favorite is the water and sand area. He spent at least an hour playing.


Other than that most of our days and evenings are spent relaxing at home, watching movies or coloring.  Enzo loves to color, it is almost a daily activity for him. Here are some funny pics of him watching a movie and coloring. He is getting so big, its crazy to think in just a few months he will be two years old.











February 2013

With only 7 short weeks until Baby Boy #2 should be here, I have finally decided I better get started on his room, quilt, carseat cover and whatever else I can think of. I decided to do his room in vintage Airplanes. It took me forever to find fabric that I liked for his quilt, but once I found it everything started coming together. His room won't be completely done until he arrives, but majority of it will be done.





This month we have enjoyed that the sun has decided to come back and play, which has been really nice. We also enjoyed a day at the Aquarium with friends, a little man pedicure, lots of fun wagon rides with Dad, a few visits to the dinosaur Museum, some good train track building & lots of play dates with friends.









March 2013
It is finally starting to feel and look like Spring. We have had some nice warm days which Enzo and I are loving. It's so nice to be able to go to the park and swing or just run around the yard and play in the grass. We are getting more and more excited to meet our new little man and I have been trying to spend and do as many things with Enzo so he doesn't feel to left out once baby arrives.
Some of the things we have been up to this month are skipping naps, making messes, playing outside with the dogs, going to the park, eating at the dinner table in a big boy chair, taking baths, getting a new pet fish, playing in Daddy's closet, celebrating Matt's 30th Birthday, Celebrating our 7 year anniversary, visiting the animals at the petting zoo & throwing the biggest tantrums ever (welcome to terrible two's).