The Sant Family

Miscommunication---and saying Sorry

2011-08-29T01:43:00.000-06:00

I was just talking with my mom a few minutes ago about how important it is for men to say they are sorry. It is simply needed in relationships. Of course girls need to say it too...but it means more to the woman if the man doesn't say it. To my mom I pointed out: "Chris says sorry all of the time." She laughed at the thought, so I went on to explain. It doesn't necessarily mean he was wrong but that he understands that what he did or said hurt me, even if he didn't mean to...so he is sorry. And he means it (that's important too). To emphasize my point I told her a story which I want to share so I will remember it:

Sometime this summer we were having dinner and dessert at a friends house on a Monday night. If you are not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you may not know that Monday nights are set aside as a family night for Family Home Evening, or FHE. We used to do combined FHE often when we were newly married and when Sebastian was young and didn't really get much out of the lessons so we had lessons with our friends so that we could start the tradition early, before our kids even could participate. Anyway, FHE normally includes a lesson (including scriptures and songs), an activity, and the beloved treat. Our friends had invited US over so I didn't do any of the planning. We had a great time eating dinner together then the kids went off and played in the basement while the adults played a game. After a while the kids came up and we all had dessert. While we were eating I asked, "Anyone have a quick lesson they could share??" So that we could still keep the foundation of FHE intact for the week. Chris was the only one who replied, and he replied with "Don't Be Dumb."

I was hurt. Chris NEVER talks like that to me. I tried to justify his behavior, he said it laughingly like he thought it was funny to call my idea dumb. I thought maybe he was trying to be funny in front of our friends...but he had taken it too far. Normally, I would react instantly and set him straight. But seeing as they didn't come to my rescue either, I figured I would just let it slide and tried not to think about it. The rest of the night went fine and we had a nice visit with our friends and with our kids together and we went home.

At least a day passes by, if not more, and it keeps coming up into my mind. I can't let go of it. It was so out of his character. It really hurt that he had treated me that way, justifications aside. We were about to do something together (I bet it was Wednesday night b/c that's our first free night together after Monday) and somehow I found a way to bring it up. I prefaced myself so I didn't come off mad and I hoped he wouldn't be mad at me for bringing up something that was probably forgotten to him. But I said it, and told him how it made me feel. His first response was to contradict it. He would never say that. But when I reassured him that I was certain he said just that. He thought back to the situation and then I think he probably let out a simple laugh as he went on to explain.

He had said "Don't be dumb," but he wasn't talking to me in the way he thought he was. He was giving me what I wanted, a lesson. "Don't Be Dumb" was his idea of a quick lesson for our kids. At that point I think I started to cry. I felt so relieved. And it made sense, I couldn't believe the misunderstanding. And it really had hurt me, but it didn't need to. Even though he wasn't in the wrong, he poured on the apologies for the fact that I thought that, that I felt that. He understood how I heard it and just plain felt bad. He went on to tell me that he wouldn't talk to me like that, and so on. His next comment was simply that he was impressed that I didn't call him out on it right then and there. Like I normally would. Then finally, "I hope our friends didn't take it that way!" I probably should clear that up, though I am not sure they even heard what had passed between us.

Anyway. It was a great moment. I felt so relieved. I am so glad that I didn't just "let that one go" seeing as I couldn't actually let it go. It would have just kept eating at me, but for no reason. It is like that with a lot of things. Lots of books and counselors will tell you to let things go but, at least for a woman, that can be a hard thing to do. I find it healthier to simply say it like it is. As soon as is possible, let your spouse know that you were hurt so that they can either explain themselves or simply say sorry. When your spouse does the same thing to you....instead of getting defensive about how it wasn't your fault that they feel bad, just say sorry. That's all we really want to hear. We want to know that we are cared about and that our loved ones don't mean to or want to hurt us.

I am so grateful to my dear, sweet husband who is so loving to me. He says sorry all of the time. He tells me how great I am and how much I mean to him. He encourages me and loves me with all that he is. I am so lucky.

Runaround without accomplishing anything...

2011-07-28T22:03:00.001-06:00

So I finally decided it was time to break down and get a Utah license. I skipped Idaho altogether and was all Washington there with my license and car, but after a year in Utah and my license and car registration both expiring, and looking at the law...I decided it was time. My birthday is coming up so yay, it's time to renew my license. Who thought of such a wonderful gift?? I was planning on going this week sometime but the week slipped by quickly. Chris went out of town Wednesday morning for Scout camp with the boys from our ward. So now I need to find someone to watch the kids while I go do it. Today (thur) I decided Friday would be best, but then I looked at my notes and realized it was closed on Friday. My friend Mandy was just about to put her son down for a nap so 4:30 was the best time for her. So I am cutting it short since the office closes at 6, but that's enough time if you have the right information. I scoured the website multiple times to make sure I had everything. In Utah you need either passport or birth certificate, previous license, social security card or w-2, and 2 things to prove where you live (from their list). I could not find my passport! But I read it again and saw that I could just bring my birth certificate and thought, perfect, I have that on hand, no big deal. So I go to the office. I watch three people get sent away for not having the right identification and I am thinking, I have got it all, there is no way I can be denied. I haven't photocopied anything, I have it all. So I pull it all out and the man is nice enough, until he sees my birth certificate with Dickson and everything else says Sant. That's when he tells me I have to have something verifying the name change! I pointed out that my SS card was changed and my license and they definitely checked that before...but no i had to have my marriage certificate. Why couldn't that have been written in the bullet next to you can also bring your birth certificate, but be sure to bring documentation for the name change. I looked online just now and found the words but it was in the paragraph before all of the listing of documents needed so I hadn't read it. It was there though, annoying.

So, there was no Utah license for me today, it takes at least 10 minutes to get from the south end of Logan to North Logan...its only 5 miles but it takes some time. Since my friend was watching the kids though I figured I could at least finish up my registration requirements and get that done. I already had the safety inspection 2 weeks ago and got my windshield replaced, I just needed to finish the paperwork at the DMV. Chris tried to do it before we left for Washington for Jeremy's wedding but when he came in with the registration and safety inspection the lady at the office asked "which vehicle are you trying to register?" Chris, a little annoyed, says "Subaru Forester" (duh!). But then the lady pointed out that the registration was for the subaru but the safety inspection was for some completely different car, a honda or something. When Chris took the car in to get the safety inspection switched from fail to pass the guy must have neglected to type washington license plate in b/c he printed out a safety inspection for a utah license plate with the exact same number! What chances that that would be in his same system. Whatever, it took a while but Chris got the correct one printed out but didn't have time to take it back to the DMV seeing as they are on different sides of town. Anyway, so I have the new safety inspection with me and figure it will be a piece of cake. The lady looks at my info and says "the vin numbers don't match. This one has an A and this one has an 1." My initial reaction was annoyance at the car shop. Really they messed up again?? So I just left and wen on to the car shop to have them fix there mistake. What I should have done is gone outside and looked at my vin right there....but instead I drove to the shop, then looked at it. Their vin number was correct, the wa registration had it wrong! So for almost 5 years the vin has been wrong...maybe forever since wa doesn't really check. So then I had to figure out what to do from there. I found the number for the DMV to ask them just that. All I need to do is to get a second vin verification and then I can take that it along with the registration and safety inspection and should be good to go. So now i have a trip to the Police station to have them vin verify and I should be golden.

Plus, I found my passport once I looked a little harder. I would have looked harder if I hadn't seen that I could bring my birth certificate in instead. I guess it makes sense that I would need something telling of the name change seeing as there would be no connection from my birth certificate to anything else. How would they know that Elizabeth dickson really is Elizabeth Sant now. Maybe I (Elizabeth Sant) just stole Elizabeth dickson's birth certificate. Haha. Whatever. It should all get worked out but not until Monday. Just kind of funny. amazing how many things can not work all in one hour.

Carnival Cruise

2011-07-27T22:53:00.002-06:00

May 1- May 8
Carnival Cruise

Heaven...

It was so wonderful to go to on another vacation alone with Christopher. I am so grateful we were able to do it. Thanks to Mother Mary! She came and watched Sebastian and Paige for 10 days while we were in California and Mexico. It really was heavenly. So wonderful to reconnect and not have to worry about anything. It was awesome. We went on a cruise for our honeymoon so it was kind of nostalgic going again. It was also a good redo to fix the things we wished we would have done differently like bringing the right clothes so that we could actually eat in the dining room and so I could use my black dress =). It was awesome, really, the whole thing. We stayed with Alex Nicely beforehand and with my Uncle Tom afterwards.

Korbin and Sebastian

2011-06-08T00:09:00.000-06:00

It was so fun to be with Acacia, Cynnia, Korbin, and Jace for the time we were in Washington and while I watched them. Korbin and Sebastian were especially connected. Korbin just adores Sebastian and Sebastian adores him. He has talked of him many times since we have been home. I had to capture some of the sweetness. Love you Korb!

This last picture was taken on the first day we got to Washington. Paige was crying for the last 20 minutes of our 7 hour trip (driving, waiting, and flying time) and Sebastian decided he was done too so they were both pretty clingy to me when we got to Kay's house. Korbin and Jace were instantly there to greet us though and tried to win over the kids...it took less than 15 minutes before they had my kids' total trust and adoration. Such great kids!

Paige Sant and Seven Dickson

2011-06-07T23:52:00.000-06:00

Rob (my brother) and Jessica came to off the island to come visit us and so that Paige and Seven could spend some time together. It was Saturday May 20th for a few hours and it was so nice. Paige and Seven were hilarious together and so cute! Seven is just 4 days older than Paige.

Flying with the Kids! May 16 & June 2

2011-06-07T22:49:00.000-06:00

Saying bye to Dad in the Salt Lake airport (he stayed home)

Ready to go with the kids for their first flying experience! Off to Washington for 2 1/2 weeks. I watched my sister Kay's 4 kids for 10 days and then had some play days before and after.

Entertainment....

Smiles...they loved it!

Heading onto the plane for the flight home

We were some of the last to get off so I decided to point out the cockpit to the kids...as I was trying to get Sebastian's attention the stuartist asked if we wanted to go in closer. The pilots then got out of the way and invited us up and even asked if the kids wanted to sit in their seats. Paige sat down, but Sebastian got a little scared...so Paige decided she didn't like it either, then we left. It was fun though. Not many people have had that experience and they got it at ages 2 and 4!

Oh yeah, Paige wore her squeaky shoes to the airport both times and it was great! I felt like I wasn't going to lose her (or Sebastian, seeing as I made them walk together when I didn't have their hands) and it made so many people smile!

They really did great! I was super pleased with them. Only problem was Sebastian for the first few minutes in both airports. Both times he fell asleep on the way to the airport. In Salt Lake it wasn't too bad because he woke up on his own, but he was grumpy because he had to pee and at least I had Chris there with me to deal with him. Once we had a bathroom break he was happy again and we had a great time getting ready for our first flight together.

But when we arrived in Seattle for the flight home I had to wake up both kids to get out of the car and into the airport. Sebastian was a psychopath all of the way through security. He just could not wake up or become normal....finally we stopped I talked some sense into him and we were okay after that. We got some Wendy's and sat at the huge center windows and watched the airplanes.

Paige's birthday and The Quilt

2011-06-07T22:35:00.000-06:00

Jeremy and Bethany came up to share Jeremy and Paige's birthday on April 15th. It was so good to see them and have them in our home.

Here is the quilt that I made her. The large pink squares are a paisley material surrounded by brown w/pink polka dot rectangles and argyle mini squares. The backing was pink flannel with paisley binding. It took some time but it was worth it. A few weeks later we found two bed frames so now the kids have matching bed frames with their homemade quilts on top.

Big Snowman with Cousins

2011-03-03T00:26:00.001-07:00

This is snowman number 2: in our backyard/park. You can see my townhouse in the background of this first picture, we are on the very right hand side. As you can see with the second picture, the park extends quite a ways...and it all feels like it is mine =). Minus the troublesome teens who come around now and again, it is a wonderful place to live.

First Real Snow Day (Warm enough to play)

2011-03-03T00:18:00.000-07:00

January 25, 2011

Sebastian's first snowman. Sorry, no finished picture, just the main ball that he rolled all by himself. Now this was good, Washington style snow! Super fun day with them.

February Snowman

2011-03-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

February 27, 2011 . . . We all went to church . . . came home . . . had lunch . . . Paige and Dad went down for a nap together . . . then Sebastian asked if he could go play outside, make a snowman? "Mom: will you please come outside with me and help me build a snowman?" "of course" . . . So, we did. There certainly was a lot of snow but it wasn't the perfect Washington snow this time so it was hard to make a ball. We tried it "The Snowman" way by just packing the snow up and up, then placing a head on top. It is still standing 4 days later, so it wasn't too bad. This is our third snowman of the season, and the only one to last more than 2 hours! Kids around here like to knock them down. Our first was in the front but close to the sidewalk, the second was behind our house, in the park...I guess people felt like it was free game being in the park: to me, it feels like my backyard though. So this time I put it as close to our front window as possible so there would be no confusion as to who made it and then we decorated him facing our window versus the street.

Learning to Ride

2011-03-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

January 17, 2011. This was our first warm day after Sebastian's birthday (Jan 3rd) when he received his bike from Chris and I. When I say warm....I mean at or above 30 degrees, but with some sun thankfully!
He was a bit tentative at first, but with some encouragement and a lot of praise, he decided he liked it, and he liked that he was doing well. So we kept out there for a good half hour probably.
The very next day we had another sunny day and he begged me to let him ride to the library (about 3 blocks away or 3/8mi). He did great...sure, it took a while, but he did it, and he didn't complain . . . not even on the way back. To sum it up in Sebastian's words to his Dad as we picked Dad up from school that day "Mom is so proud of me!"

Drilling Article

2010-10-01T10:35:00.000-06:00

Utah State University wrote an article about our geothermal drilling project. Check out the story here: http://www.usu.edu/ust/index.cfm?article=48194

Research Project Started

2010-09-28T16:03:00.000-06:00

Well, my graduate school research project has finally started! This is what I have been waiting for. I am very excited to see what we discover. This is site number one out of three. All three sites are located on the Snake River Plain of Idaho. This site is near Burley.

For more information and updates regarding the Geothermal Exploration Project formally named HOTSPOT see the official blog at http://www.icdp-online.org/front_content.php?client=29&lang=28&idart=2939.

This is the entire drill site with pretty much everything we need and/or have on site. Yes, it is as small as it looks. It has lots of amenities relative to many other drill sites, namely electricity that is not provided from a generator and a water well.

Here is a picture of the drill rig and the box where the drillers will spend the bulk of their time. The pipe in the foreground is the pipe that will eventually be fed into the ground to retrieve our rock core samples up to several thousand feet under the surface.

Another shot of the drill rig as the boom is raised into position.

A Visit to Fawn's House....

2010-09-13T08:04:00.000-06:00

Sebastian started his interest in horses when we went to the Rigby Rodeo (which we had free tickets to). As he watched all the cowboys and cowgirls he decided he really want to ride a horse too and tried asking us. Of course the answer was no, but he didn't understand why. When we moved to Logan that weekend we found that in our backyard, pretty much, we have a public equestrian park. So he started hearing them and seeing them more often, and again, asking to ride them. Then I had a bright idea, my mom's good friend, Fawn, has always offered for me to come over with the kids and come ride horses or go in the pool etc. So I told Sebastian that next time we go to see Grandma Dickson we can try to go to Fawn's house and ride some horses. We ended up going to Washington just a week or two later for Brady's son's blessing so we had our opportunity. It was great. Fawn was thrilled to have us and it was so much fun! Hopefully she is up for us doing it every time we visit. Because I know Sebastian will ask!=)

So serious. I had to wake Sebastian up to come see the horses. It took him a while before he got on one. But I knew he would be so sad if he didn't...so finally, he was ready....and then he didn't want to get off.

he loved it, even with all his seriousness

Madison was so sweet and helpful

This is the most expression I think I was able to get out of Sebastian. He was so serious about the whole thing...but he loved it. And he has not stopped talking about "going to Fawn's house"

No one was really a fan of riding with Paige....didn't help that Paige was kind of wiggly and not sure about riding horses anyway

Sebastian definitely was not up for sharing his horse

Cora was actually the best fit for Paige...Cora loved the horses. She didn't care which one she rode on, as long as she was on one

Me and Paige. Fawn gave me the reigns and I steered Sparkles where I wanted her to go. It was actually pretty cool...and Paige liked it much better just being with me.

Goodbye Griffey

2010-06-03T22:42:00.000-06:00

It was announced yesterday that Ken Griffey Jr. is retiring immediately. His career was legendary; 21 seasons, 13 all-star appearances, 10 gold gloves, 1 AL MVP, 630 home runs (fifth highest of all time), and one of the smoothest swings of all time. His career started and ended in Seattle. Griffey, you will be missed my me as well as millions of others. Farewell and enjoy the hall of fame.

You Know There is Love in the Home When....

2010-05-29T12:02:00.000-06:00

Last night Sebastian wanted to go to sleep in our room. Chris went ahead and made him a bed on our floor and we told him that we would move him later (when we went to bed). He wasn't so into that idea, so we just said goodnight so he wouldn't worry about it. When we were ready for bed I went ahead and moved Sebastian. He stirred a little and opened his eyes a few times. As I was checking on Paige I heard Sebastian stirring and saying: "mom...mom..." so I asked "What Sebastian." His sweet reply was: "Mom, I love you." Then he closed his eyes, rolled over, and went to sleep. Later we checked on him again and he mumbled "I love you" again as he was 3/4 asleep. We use the word love a lot in our home and I think it must really be sticking. Sebastian tells us all of the time that he loves and that we are the cutest or coolest, or the best ever. He really is such a good sweet boy. Such a joy in our lives. And I am so glad that he can feel our love in the home.

Pigmentary Glaucoma

2010-05-28T12:48:00.000-06:00

For the past few years when I finished a high energy physical activity such as running, swimming or basketball I would come home and cool down and sometimes the pupil in my right eye would dilate until it was very large. It would be accompanied by a severe headache most often. As I started regularly playing basketball this spring the dilation started happening more often and was becoming a concern because I could not do much while my eye was acting up.
Elizabeth, "The Wise One" as I now call her, convinced me to go to the doctor and get examined. Our family practice doctor did not know what was causing the pupil dilation so he referred me to an opthalmologist (an eye specialist). I saw him and he determined that I have a rare case of glaucoma called Pigmentary Glaucoma. The diagram is included for the following explanation of what my condition is.

General glaucoma refers to high pressure in the eye. There is fluid in the eye to keep it inflated. The eye is always creating and circulating this fluid. So when the eye creates fluid faster than it can drain the fluid the pressure builds from the inside out and pressure builds causing what we know as glaucoma. This condition can be dangerous because the pressure inside the eye can cause damage to the optic nerve ultimately creating vision damage or loss.

Pigmentary Glaucoma is a certain type of glaucoma that is present only in young near sighted males, which fits my description exactly. This type of glaucoma is caused by the lens bumping or colliding with the back side of the iris and chipping of pigment cells. The cells float around in the eye fluid until finally they try to go out the drainage system, and much like dirt or hair in a drain, it starts to clog and slow the drainage. Thus, the slow drainage causes a build in pressure. Pressure in the eye is measures in mmHg (millimeters of Mercury). The standard or normal atmospheric pressure is 760 mmHg at sea level. Eye pressure is measured as mmHg above standard. A normal pressure in the eye is 15 to 20 mmHg above standard. My right eye is double the normal pressure at almost 40 mmHg above the standard 760 mmHg. Luckily we became aware of the situation before any vision damage has occurred. Sometimes this type of glaucoma fixes itself over time, sometimes not.

There are several things to do to regulate the pressure in my eye. The most common is daily eye drops. There is also a laser surgery that can open the drainage a little bigger to allow for more drainage. For now, I am going to use eye drops to help regulate the pressure. There is a good chance that I will have this condition for the rest of my life.

Yes, you are remembering correctly, it is my right eye and my right ear that have had problems. So, it seems that the right side of my head is aging much faster than normal. I wonder what is next...

Boise Half-Marathon

2010-05-28T12:13:00.000-06:00

A few weekends ago Elizabeth, all her sisters, Eric, and Twyla met in Boise to run the Boise marathon. Elizabeth was planning on running the full marathon but injured her foot a few months earlier which impacted her training so that she was not fully ready for the full 26.2 miles. Elizabeth and Twyla ended up running the half-marathon while everyone else, ran the full marathon. Elizabeth ran the half in 2:25:45, which is about a 10:30 per mile, not including bathroom stops; amazing, I know. While the girls were having fun together in Boise I was at home with the kids. Now I have a lot more appreciation for how much mothers do on a daily basis. My wife truly is Superwoman!
Here are some pictures of the event:

All smiles before the race

Elizabeth and Twyla at the finish

All the finishers plus mom

Moving to Logan

2010-05-12T21:41:00.000-06:00

Earlier today we got word that we are approved for the townhome that we are interested in moving into located in Logan, Utah. It is a great townhome because it is directly across the street from some of our best friends, Jacob and Melinda, and because our backyard is a city park. The townhome is older with baseboard heaters and has around 1800 sq. ft. of space, just what we need for our growing family. It is also very fitting for a geology student; it has rocks glued to the siding. The decorative rocks are not super attractive, but they are real, not plaster. I know I am a geologist, but this was not a big selling point. It is more something that I can laugh at. We are very excited to move into our new place. We are scheduled to move in June 12, 2010.

Bath Time

2010-05-12T21:05:00.000-06:00

Just a moment ago our children were in the bathtub together. We heard splashing and then Sebastian squealing and then he yelled "Paige, don't sit on me! I am not a toilet!" Then a few moments later we heard Paige coughing. Elizabeth investigated to find our daughter voluntarily gnawing on a bar of soap. Oh, the joys of bath time.

Iceland Volcano

2010-04-21T14:40:00.000-06:00

Since we have been in Washington visiting family there has been extensive news coverage about the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull (Nope, I dont know how to pronounce it). All I have heard until this morning is about disgruntled customers due to cancelled flights. I wanted to hear the geologic news about it, but there was none to be found on TV here. Although, this morning my mother was checking the astronomy picture of the day, one of her favorite websites. She showed me this picture from the astronomy website of the Icelandic volcanic eruption:

I then continued to science babble about volcanic lightning, and my dear kind mother listened the entire time. This picture made my day!

Utah State University

2010-04-04T21:23:00.000-06:00

My wife and I decided this weekend that we will be attending Utah State University for graduate school. I will be working with Dr. John Shervais, an igneous petrologist/geochemist. Or, in other words, he studies geology by examining trace elements in volcanic rocks. My project, as far as I know now, we be involving geochemical analysis of basalt from the Snake River Plain, Idaho to more accurately determine the origin (or petrogenesis) of the Snake River Plain. We want to find out whether the Snake River Plain was mainly formed by rare subduction processes underneath western North America or by the more accepted mantle plume (hot spot) theory. I am very excited to work on this project. It is very similar to my senior undergraduate research project that I worked on at BYU-Idaho. We were trying to examine virtually the same thing.
We are very excited to move to Logan. We never thought we would see the day that we would be excited to move to Utah. We have some very good friends of ours in Logan that we became familiar with here in Rexburg. It is a possibility that we could live on the same street as them. That would be fun for all of us because we get along very well and our kids are almost the exact same age. Also, there will be two of my geology friends at BYU-Idaho attending Utah State for graduate school. That is fun for me to keep up that friendship with each of them. Another reason I am excited is that I will be able to go to real basketball games! BYU-Idaho, as many of you know, replaced their competitive intercollegiate sports program for an intra-collegiate sports program. This is a great blessing to many of the students on campus because they get to participate in all sorts of sports with many other fellow students. I had a good time playing in the campus-wide sports programs. Although, since Seattle no longer has a basketball team, I am very excited to go cheer, root for, and participate in a large setting competitive basketball program. It is also a bonus that their team happens to be pretty good. Though, it will be hard to decide who to root for when they play BYU. Either way, I am very excited to watch good basketball.
We are debating whether to rent or buy a home. We need your opinions, advice, and overall input. Please leave comments on your thoughts. We will be there at least two years, possibly more. But, our ultimate goal is to end up in Washington again, near our family that we love so dearly.

Hair...Ball

2010-03-25T16:33:00.000-06:00

So, this entry will have to do with two things; the evolution of my current hair style and the ward Valentine's Sweetheart Ball.
The weekend after Valentine's day our ward had a ward dance/activity. This activity was a costume dance with the theme of Famous Couples Throughout History. First of all, there was no backing out for me. Elizabeth tries all the time to get me to go and dance with her. I am very reluctant to dance cause "these feet have got no rhythm" as George Michael would say. We put our Google thinking caps on and started searching for famous couples. We found some that would be easily recognizable but would have quite complex costumes. We eventually decided on Gomez and Morticia Addams from the Addams family. Elizabeth has a long black wig and a black dress that works perfect for the part. The only trouble was me dressing up as Gomez; namely, I have blonde hair and the inability to grow a mustache. So we started searching for spray on temporary hair dye. Couldn't find any. We were searching the dollar store for cheap props and add-ons to our costumes and Elizabeth came across some permanent black hair dye and jokingly said you can just dye it black then cut it off. Immediately I thought this was brilliant, it was her idea. I am always trying to get her to let me cut all my hair off again. I approved the idea. She gave a funny face as if to say "darn, it was a joke, only a joke."
I died my hair black just before the party. We arrived and it took a bit for people to recognize us. That tells me that we had good costumes. You be the judge.

Gomez and Morticia Addams

We had a great time at the dance. I felt like I could actually dance because I was in disguise. It was a good dance experience. Since the dance my hair style has changed very rapidly. I was not a fan of the black hair so I decided to cut it off. Before I cut it all the way off I wanted to shave it into a mohawk because it has always been one of my secret goals. So with the help of Elizabeth and Brad I cut it into a killer mohawk!

My wild side

Paige liked it

24 hours after the mohawk I shaved my entire head with my Mach 3 razor. I achieved my second secret goal, shave it as close as it would get. I failed to realize that it was still winter and that the slightest breeze would make me feel extremely cold. So for 2 days I was even wearing a beanie inside. it was a weird feeling, my head felt very rubbery for the first few hours. Now, a few weeks after the shave my hair is returning at a rapid rate. I have about 1/4 inch of hair now, enough to insulate my head. I grew to like the no hair feeling, and it's a good thing cause all my grandparents are bald so I better get used to the feeling. Other people seemed to like the hairless Chris as well. For the time being though, I will be growing out my hair for my wife and my brother Jeremy's wedding this summer.

Sebastian Art

2010-03-14T16:53:00.000-06:00

Here is a sample of Sebastian's art on the cardboard house that he got from Santa recently.

Sebastian coloring on his house. As you can see he has been hard at work.

One of the first people he ever drew. We did not teach him how to draw a person, he did it all himself. This picture is rotated. Most of the time he draws his people upside down.

Another person, it reminds me of one of the characters from the cartoon Rugrats.

Yep, he is a lefty.

Sebastian Antics

2010-03-14T16:06:00.000-06:00

Lately Sebastian has been rather silly. His latest game invention is that he will put some object in the middle of the floor and cover it with a blanket. Then, loudly, until he gets acknowledged he will say "Dad, I have a present for you!" Then I lift up the blanket and try to be excited about what is waiting for me. He will play this game for hours or until mom and dad can take no more.
On Friday we had some visitors from Utah, my Grandma Sant along with my cousin Tambra and her family. Sebastian started bringing all his stuffed animals out to show our great guests. He brought out his Little Engine That Could and Tambra asked him what that train says. Sebastian's response was "I can, I can, I can, I can." All of us started to chuckle and Sebastian opened up into a large smile.
Sebastian is now pretty much fully potty trained...it has taken only 6 months. He dresses himself everyday and refuses help. If we have a schedule we have to start getting him dressed about a half hour before we have to leave in order to have him ready to walk out the door at the appointed time.
One of our favorite things about Sebastian is his sleep talking. Every night we either move Sebastian back to his bed when he has fallen asleep elsewhere or we go and kiss him goodnight. He is a pretty sound sleeper most of the time, but sometimes he will talk in his sleep while rolling over. When he talks in his sleep it is as clear as his speech during the day. He often mutters one or two words that are on his mind; things like "macaroni", "noodles", "Fillmore" (the hippie van from Cars). He often talks about food or his stuffed animal friends. He dreams of odd things sometimes. Rarely he will wake up screaming. Apparently the large toy dinosaur he got for his birthday bites his fingers in his dreams. Today at church he told me he was dreaming about batteries and that he was trying to find batteries for his shake-and-go car.
Sebastian is a wonderful child and we are so grateful to have him in out life. He makes us smile, laugh, and even frustrated at times. We love our 'bastian.

Monkey Business

2010-01-20T01:13:00.000-07:00

This Sunday we stayed after church so that Elizabeth could go to choir practice. While she was singing I was in charge of the kids. Sebastian had been roaming around the chapel with some of his nursery friends that were also staying for choir. Meanwhile, Paige was fussy because she was tired and hungry. Sebastian seeing that Paige was unhappy shared his prized possession, Curious George, his stuffed monkey with Paige to cheer her up. Paige was excited by her new toy and decided to smother her face into George's shoulder and left a fairly hearty booger deposit. Sebastian came back to get his monkey and immediately noticed the new snotty residue on his monkey's right shoulder. Sebastian then said to me "need to wash monkey" to which I responded "we can wash him when we get home." Thinking this satisfied Sebastian I turned away to console my now whining daughter. Several minutes later I looked around to check on Sebastian and he was nowhere in sight. I asked Elizabeth if she could see Sebastian from the choir seats, he could not be seen. So I put Paige near the choir seats so that I could go look for my lost son. I turned my back and Paige fell off a step and whacked her head and started wailing in the chapel. I picked her up and decided to take her with me on my journey for my son. Then a mother from another ward came in the chapel and asked me "is this your son roaming the hallways?" My first thought was "oh no, what has he gotten into now?" I told her yes and she kindly responded "he was washing his monkey." Once she left I asked Sebastian where his monkey was and also noticed the baseball sized water spots on his sweater. He told me it was in the bathroom. I followed him as he directed me to which bathroom George was in. He led me straight to the women's restroom. He walked in and started to look without a thought. A different kind mother helped him look while I waited outside; no luck. We checked the men's room and, voile, George was on the counter. Then I noticed the setting of the washing. George was on the counter laying face up in a puddle. The covered diaper bin was next to the sink and as I got closer I could see water everywhere within a several foot radius. Sebastian responded to my question about the mess with "I washed monkey." George was wet from his right fingers all the way up to his neck. For a split second I wanted to me angry, but then instinct set it and the laughter roared. Sebastian immediately smiled shyly and we laughed together. I rehearsed the story to my wife and we laughed all the way home from church. I dearly love my little boy, he is one of the major high points in my life! I lovingly told Sebastian that he needs to have someone help him wash his monkey next time and that he was being such a big boy by washing his monkey all by himself. I learned two days ago that kids grow up way too fast. This will be a memory that will stay with me for a very long time.

Candy and Snow

2010-01-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

Sebastian hard at work applying the "glue" to part of his candy train. I think he spent more time eating the candy than making his train which was expected. He really liked building his train, but he more excited to eat it in the coming weeks.

Elizabeth's creation with Paige in the background participating by eating the tracks (black licorice).

All three of our trains. Sebastian's train is the top left, Chris' train in lower left and Elizabeth's train in the upper right corner of the photo. Click to enlarge as usual.

Sledding: Sebastian dragged his hands in the snow while Paige layed down and closed her eyes and just about fell asleep if it wasn't for the lead ox getting tired of making parking lot laps.

Sebastian and Paige sitting next to "their" snowman built mostly by mom and dad. They are so bundled, it reminds me of Christmas Story.

The Many Faces of Paige

2010-01-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

So happy she is standing; it was one of the first occasions.

We love her chubby legs and cheeks!

Beautiful eyes

We think that the lip is from the orange auto-focus assist light on the camera. No matter what it's from it is still funny.

Family

2010-01-15T23:36:00.000-07:00

Our front yard self portrait after building our snowman.

At the ward christmas party. This is the only way we could get our Sebastian to smile.

Our first family portrait since our marraige...in 2004

Grandma and Grandpa Sant with the kids.

Grandma and Grandpa Dickson with the kids.

Uncle Jeremy with his birthday buddy, Paige. Yup, they share the same birthday. For this Jeremy had an immediate connection with her.

Graduation

2009-12-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here I am walking into the Commencement ceremony. I put this here because I am impressed my wife got this picture. She must have been paying strict attention, graduates had been walking in for about 15 minutes at this point.

Where's Waldo?

It's okay, I can't find me either. This semester there were 1280 graduation candidates.

At the convocation ceremony I gave the opening prayer and so I got to sit on the stand which was weird enough. To add to that akwardness President and Sister Clarke (President of BYU-Idaho) and Elder Richard G. Scott (not pictured) were also on the stand.

Elder Scott, President Clarke, physical sciences dean Kendall Peck, Mark Lovell standing in for geology chair Dan Moore, and Brian and Lauree Hawkes (my former bishop and his wife) participated in the awarding of the diploma covers. The physical sciences and engineering college did not have many graduates this semester, around 50 I think.

My empty diploma cover!

Even the kids got to meet President Clarke and Elder Scott. Sebastian was afraid of both these men in their robes, but warmed up to President Clarke when he bent down. they eventually shook hands. Sebastian was not so fortunate to shake Elder Scott's hand, but he did get a warm smile. Sebastian did understand that he was a prophet, but he was still afraid of him. Elder Scott attended our convocation because he was a nuclear engineer by profession. He told us of some of his work experience and how his undergraduate studies helped him in his field. It was great to have him at our ceremony.

No I have not grown, my dad is still taller; the picture is just a little crooked. It was wonderful to have my parents in town for this event and celebration. I think they were truly amazed that I graduated college. Sometimes I think they wondered if I would even attend college because of my "love" of high school.

Elizabeth's parents showed up unknown to me - apparently only me. It was a great surprise to look up in the stands halfway through commencement and realize who was sitting with my wife. Yes, it took me an hour to realize they were there. Darkness + nosebleed section = longer than normal recognition times. It was wonderful to have my family here for graduation. Thank you all for coming!

Paige update

2009-12-10T22:12:00.001-07:00

12/10 Some fun pics and updates of our little Paigie Pie:
Silly Paige...she'll crawl someday...Baby pushups, anyone?12/9 Paige has started get up on her hands and knees finally....but she is still in reverse mode. I have found her in some silly places

Not too happy with her backwards crawling....
12/9 When I took this picture I hadn't noticed the poop in the tub yet. Funny that I accidentally got a picture of it. We did an emergency tub evacuation when I realized it.12/6 Chris was having fun taking pictures and got this fun one through the ottoman

12/3 Newest headband and flower bow, on a cute baby....

11/30 I snapped this picture on my phone...like brother, like sister. Paige had been kind of tired whiny, but I think I was doing the dishes, or otherwise distracted. Next thing I realized it was pretty quiet, and I found "Sebastian"(with pink shoes)

11/3 In the tub with Eliana (cousin) and Sebastian (I love the water droplets)

I just love this face...

Update on Sebastian...

2009-12-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Some random fun things Sebastian has done lately:

12/10 Sebastian has developed a great connection with his monkey especially since Paige was born. He does everything that I do for Paige, or that we do for him, with his monkey. He even gives his monkey milk--yes, my son breastfeeds his monkey. Here he is making his monkey fly like an airplane. He wanted me to help monkey put his legs out =)

**Last night, I woke up to Sebastian screaming...when I go closer I heard him saying: "Don't leave me, momma. Don't leave me, momma" It was so sad! His eyes were open and he had a few tears on his face...a true nightmare? sad =( I gave him some love and let him come lay down in momma's bed...which he comes and does most morning now anyway**

12/9 Sebastian is "making dishes" in this picture

11/30 Sebastian helped us decorate the Christmas tree this year. He loved "making Christmas." We did this for our FHE, Chris taught him that Jesus Christ is Heavenly Father's Son and now every time he sees a picture of Christ he says: "Jesus is Heavenly Father's Son" over and over again until we acknowledge him.

Decorating the Christmas tree

11/16 So...if you know anything about my son, this picture will seem oh so typical. This child can fall asleep anywhere if he is tired enough. He asked me to wrap him up in Paige's blanket (like a towel) then he laid down...

**Also, in the middle of November he started "being" a dinosaur and lion...One night I said "Sebastian, hop into bed" and he replied "I not Bastian, I'm a lion!" He's been an airplane and other things too, but he is a lion or dinosaur the most often

11/2 And a picture with his pumpkin...the only pumpkin that's handle survived...he loved taking the lid on and off...and definitely loved his airplane =), great idea Dad! He also helped me throw all of the pumpkins away. He carried his pumpkin all the way to the dumpster and then I let him be the one to drop them all in...that way it wasn't sad =)

Halloween

2009-11-03T00:11:00.000-07:00

Sebastian hard at work tracing his pumpkin design. He didn't so much like the gutting the pumpkin though. He kept wanting to wash his hands. The airplane was his idea. So I did my best at drawing an easy design to cut out.

All 3 of our finished pumpkins. From left to right: Sebastian's airplane (yes he had help cutting it out), my Batman silhouette with projected bat signal, and Elizabeth's skull. Note: it is not her actual skull.

A closer look at the coolest pumpkin I have ever carved. I must admit the projection idea was not my own, but combining it with Batman was. I think it was a pretty rad idea.

Sebastian in his clown costume with fireman boots, red nose and all. He was very excited to carry a pumpkin around to collect candy in, especially because his real pumpkin was much too heavy for him to carry more than a few yards. Notice the lack of a jacket. He was wearing gloves only because it was windy. It was the warmest Halloween I have ever had here, a whopping 50 degrees...whoo hoo!

Classic Sebastian, always sticking his face in the camera.

Love the facial expression, too cute to not let everyone see.

One of my favorite pictures I have taken of Paige. She is the light of my life, I think you can see why. She is almost as beautiful as my lovely wife.

Our happy family.

Our Friends in Logan

2009-10-26T15:02:00.000-06:00

We had a lot of fun in Logan visiting Melinda, Jacob, Dessie, and Andrew. Our family became friends with the Christensens when we both first moved into Wagon Wheel in August/September 2007. Sebastian and Dessie were just 9 months or so but they've always played well together. I love this hug!
Sebastian is 2 weeks younger than Dessie.

And here is Andrew adn Paige. Andrew is just 1 month a day younger than Paige.

If either of the girls decide to fall for the boy, they'll have to deal with the fact that they boy is younger...oh well =)!

Anyway. I had a nice visit with Melinda and her family. It was fun to help them as they are renovating their house. I can't wait to see what it all looks like when it's put together. Is the laminate in? baseboards, etc?

The faces of Paige

2009-10-24T22:16:00.000-06:00

Chris took this picture of Paige today and really liked it
Last night with Sebastian

She is such a happy girl! She loves her toys!

Cheeser!

Always eating nowadays...she loves it!

Visiting Temple Square

2009-10-24T18:35:00.000-06:00

I took the kids down to Utah this past weekend while Chris went to a GSA conference (Geology) in Portland. In anticipation of going to Utah I decided that I wanted to take Sebastian to temple square. I knew he would love to see the statues of Christ and the big temple. We went with Tom, Sara, and Kyler and my cousin Kelcie met us there also. It was a beautiful day...in the high 70's, low 80's and was just perfect for some good pictures.

The reflection pond.....I can never resist taking pictures of Sebastian. He is always so photogenic.

Sebastian wouldn't come pose with us, but atleast he liked the Christus

Paige and I...once again, Sebastian did not want to be photographed...he was running around pushing an empty stroller.

The end...Paige is sleeping and he is minutes from sleep!

Sitting Up

2009-10-14T23:50:00.001-06:00

I started trying to work with Paige sitting up at the end of September. On September 30th and October 3rd she was sitting up for long enough to get pictures and for me to think she was getting pretty close and by October 5th I would say she could sit on her own and I didn't surround her with pillows =)! The pictures go backwards in time with the ball popper being the first day I got pictures of her sitting (notice the pillows)

CAUGHT IT!!

2009-10-14T23:24:00.000-06:00

Well, we caught the mouse. Chris and I met with the manager Monday night about some things and I remembered to mention our mouse. He offered to bring over a mouse trap...so we said, sweet! Yesterday I got a knock on the door at like 2:30 and it was him with the trap. So much better than what I was thinking he was going to bring. No poison, nothing to harm a little child if they accidentally were to touch it. he set it up in the corner of the kitchen and in less than 9 hours we caught it!
My sister Angela had been over and we were just chatting in the living room. I started hearing this odd noise that I couldn't place. It sounded like the mechanics of a baby swing. I guess Angela had been hearing it too but she just thought it was the dog eating (No, we don't have a dog...but Angela does and so it made sense in her head). Once she stopped talking I kind of cocked my head to where she noticed that I was hearing it to; at once she realized it wasn't the dog and then decided it must be the mouse! We jumped up and checked...sure enough the red bar was on the "mouse caught" section. The noise we had been hearing was either it "scratching" or it moving the trap...it was super creepy! Angela was brave enough to set it outside for me so that I didn't have to be haunted by the noises until Chris got home. So, if you need to catch a mouse this was an amazing mouse trap, and the bait: peanut butter!

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...

2009-10-12T16:26:00.000-06:00

Last week sometime I was just home with the kids when I first saw the mouse. I was in the living room, Sebastian was in the hallway and started to freak out right when I saw the mouse scurry on the floor at the back edge of the table. I couldn't focus on it because Sebastian was screaming. I think he did see the mouse though. After Sebastian calmed down for the next hour I heard: "where'd mouse go? where'd mouse go?" and i had to explain that "he's all gone" but maybe he'd come back.

Well, I hoped maybe it was just a freak thing. It had just gotten cold the night before it must've found solace that day...not lived here forever. But I think I am wrong.

I just walked into my kitchen and for a split second I saw a mouse scurrying on top of my stove, and then it was gone. If I hadn't seen it last week I'm not sure I would have known what it was. Where do they go??? I think it might live in my oven...is that possible? I titled the post thus because there was one last cookie sitting on the countertop and I looked at it and the mouse at the very top off. So, that proves it: Mice like Cookies!

Any ideas of what I can do to get rid of it??

Cute Kids

2009-09-28T22:50:00.000-06:00

I wanted to make sure I got some pictures of Paige in September for her scrapbook so I took some today. She is getting so big. She's learning to sit at the present, so hopefully she'll master that soon. Sebastian is the sweetest brother. They play sooo well together! I really love my two children. Chris just melts over his little girl and he has so much fun with Sebastian!

Paige loves to Eat Everything!

2009-09-28T22:30:00.001-06:00

Paige loves to eat everything! We started her on rice cereal two weeks ago and she loves sweet potatoes, juices, and applesauce. She especially loves real people things like sucking on fruit...or anything she can get her mouth on! (The pictures are with her devouring a cantelope)

70 pt. Scrabble score!

2009-09-28T22:19:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday, Chris, Brad, and I played Scrabble. We were all at around 60 points when I was able to put down the word: Qintar. The Q (10pts) was on a triple letter score and the A set on a Double word score. So my score was ((10 x 3)+5) x 2 = 70 points. Chris and I thought that was worth blogging, =)! **All thanks to Brad for placing Nuns in just the correct postion!

Still working on the poop thing

2009-09-21T00:31:00.001-06:00

So, as you can see, we are still working on the poop thing with Sebastian. I really don't want him to keep pooping in his underwear forever....what can I do??? Chris and I are really trying to focus on it before it becomes an even bigger problem. Right now I am just trying to reward pooping like crazy, and that's the only thing that gets rewarded. He did poop in the toilet twice today...but he also pooped in his underwear in-between.

How long did it take your kids to figure it out??? Does anything work?

"hmm...it's a grape"

2009-09-21T00:12:00.001-06:00

Sadly, our twin neighbors (also named Chris and Elisabeth) moved to Idaho Falls the day we returned from our vacation (Aug 21st). It is a bummer to lose such a close friend, but at least I am just losing her vicinity-wise...we will still be close, I will make sure of it!

In their place we now have Shayne and Jessica Smith next door; they are just now settling in. We had them for dinner on Tuesday (sept 15th) and have just seen more of them around the complex and upstairs.

On Friday, we had the Mahelona's over for pizza and games and so the boys (Ben and Sebastian) were outside playing just on the balcony area with a gate in front of the stairs. Jessica had come outside to get cooled off but seeing Sebastian, she offered him fruit snacks. They don't have any kids so they have fun with everyone else's =). Anyway, Sebastian ended up just going inside and sitting on their couch. They asked if he wanted to watch a movie, to which he replied in the affirmative, of course! So, Sebastian watched Cars next door while we continued our evening with the Mahelona's.

After the Mahelona's left I went over to retrieve Sebastian and make sure he hadn't peed or pooped or anything. Everything seemed to be fine and I was just convincing Sebastian we were going ot need to go when Shayne got up and noticed something on the carpet. He picked it up, looked at if for a second, and said, "hmm...it's a grape." Well, it didn't look like a grape to me! I quickly pulled back on Sebastian's underwear to check my suspicians, while at the same time Shayne was starting to guess he wasn't correct...Sebastian had pooped some deer poop and it fell out of his underwear; Shayne had picked it up!!! I was a little mortified. Found another piece, flushed it, washed my hands and took Sebastian home! Sorry new neighbors!!

They are good sports, though. They were willing to watch him and Paige for real the next day (Sat morning) so that Chris and I could go to the temple together. It's going to be fun to get to know our newest neighbors. We are also getting to know the Thurman's more and that has been fun.

Dickson Family Camping Trip at Lake Pearryginn (Winthrop, WA)

2009-09-17T18:20:00.000-06:00

We had such a great start to our summer with our first annual (or atleast biannual) Dickson family camping trip! I am so glad we were able to make it. Chris finished school on Wed, July 22 and then we left the next morning and headed to Winthrop, WA. We traveled with Tom and Sara (they came from UT) but it took us until Coer D'Alene to catch up with them. We camped Thur through Monday. The only ones not there were Angela and her family...but luckily Chris and I get to see them a ton! Here are some pics of our trip and of my family:
Brady, Emma, and Alissa

Sweet Alissa...she opened up a lot this trip

Kerry and Kay

our kids are great campers...they are so fun! So cute together, too!

On the last run of the weekend for the boat. Sebastian fell asleep after a few minutes.

We all brought our own food, but we ended up eating a lot of meals together. It was so much fun to get everyone together. We weren't complete, though, we were missing Angela and her familly

Daryl, walking with Bear

Jace, Jeremy (Kay's boyfriend), and Korbin trying some fishing

My brother Robbie...it was so fun to spend time with him and his family!

The clan at the water...

Time to rest, relax, or play

A very typical picture of my mom...such a water bug, well...sun, really!

Kyler, Sebastian, and Bear...Nyah, Soma, and Emma...how fun. This is what it will be like with Seven, Eliana, and Paige in a few years!

Classic Fela: Drama! =)! Isn't it the cutest picture you have ever seen though?

Seven and Paige together at last!

Chris loves his little girl! She really is a lot of fun. She did great on the trip and enjoyed everything.

Acacia and Cynnia were our camp babysitters, =)! They were always taking turns between Seven and Paige if no one else had them. I can't believe how old my nieces are getting!!!

Rob brought his newly acquired orange boat with him...we all had a blast taking rides with him and getting pulled on a tube!

This is us at the Ross Dam overlook. It was good to get out of the car for a bit on the way home and appreciate some beauty.

On the train in Newdale on the way back from Winthrop. We stopped here every year when we went as kids so I had to do it.

Plus, Sebastian LOVES trains!!

Potty Training....

2009-09-17T16:42:00.000-06:00

***What an adventure!!!***
Beginning Date: Saturday, September 5, 2009
Why: It just seemed like Sebastian was ready. For the last two weeks of our vacation he was super weird about always having his diaper on and not even wanting to take a bath because he was just too uncomfortable without a diaper. All I could figure was that he was starting to realize how is bowels worked and was afraid to pee or poop outside of his diaper because he didn't have control yet...but he knew that something was going on. We had been back from vacation for just over 2 weeks and school was starting for BYU-I on the 10th. It was time.
What: I used the book "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" by Azrin and Foxx and tried to follow its outline for training. Though it wasn't done in a day...it did work as I kept at it.
Biggest thing I learned: It really takes 100% attention to effectively potty train a child. I never knew how much attention I didn't give Sebastian. It is exhausting!!! But, it works.

Outline:
Sat: peed in the toilet once before his nap, otherwise, accidents all day (every 1-2 1/2 hrs). He told me every time he peed, just not before, so he recognizes "wet"
Sun: 2 1/2 hours of complete attention on Sebastian in the morning...an hour of almost accidents and he finally peed on the toilet. The rest of the day he was naked, too freaked to wear underwear because he didn't want to have an accident and he sat on the toilet probably 75% of the day (his choice)
Mon: still naked today but he started to spend less time on the toilet and had less false alarms by the evening
Tue: We got him to wear clothes!!! AND he finally went outside and we played out of the house for the first time in 3 full days (all his choice b/c he was naked and didn't want to leave the toilet). No accidents since Sun either. *He fell asleep on the toilet, we'd been waiting for that one!
Wed: First outing: we got out to Wal-Mart, he had a small accident but he also peed in the big toilet there and did fine with the loud automatic flusher.
Thur: 4 accidents: 2 pee, 2 poop. But...he also pooped in the toilet, twice! So at least that is something, every day there is something new!

(he has a cookie because he pooped!)

Fri: Trip to IF. I have to convince him to go potty to not have an accident. Otherwise he waits until its too late, like he did in Once Upon a Child Today after already having been in the bathroom with me a few minutes earlier. Stubborn child, it must be his choice! And I gave up on diapers tonight!! Every time (morning and after nap) it was such a struggle to get him back into underwear from diapers, and since he was dry for 2 days straight each time I just said "we're done with diapers!"

Sat-Wed: I gave up writing daily in his journal because he wasn't progressing noticeably anymore. No accidents if I was making sure he went potty, but if it was up to him he'd wait to long, pee a little in his pants, then pee in the toilet the rest. Still hasn't figured out pooping, either...he will sit on the toilet for 20min-an hour with nothing, then poop in his underwear a little later. He wants to poop in the toilet, and he knows it yucky to poop in his pants...but he hasn't figured it out yet.
Thur (today): I stopped trying to convice Sebastian to go to the toilet 1/2 way through Wed and he has gone on his own since then. He's been great. He peed a tiny bit this morning in his underwear but he caught himself. Last night he fell asleep on the way home from my sister Angela's at 6:30....we weren't sure if he was out for the night or not...but at 11pm he emerged, slept a little in our room and by 11:30 was awake and getting worked up about getting a door open. Finally I realized it was the bathroom he was talking about and I opened the door and got it prepared for him (seein as he was still groggy and probably had to go really badly) he went pee instantly as he sat down. Oh, and he has yet to wet the bed since I took away diapers! So he is completely pee toilet trained...pooping still has some work, but hopefully he will improve soon!!

I love Baby Wearing....

2009-08-26T00:32:00.000-06:00

I am now a big believer in baby-wearing. Mostly because it makes life easier with two kids. No messing with double strollers. Just wear one, and push one. And of course it is just great to be close to my baby, and have it be comfortable. My favorite has been the wrap with Paige. Up until about 3 months she didn't like to be held upright so the cradle position was what she preferred. I found out you could do it with a "wrap" and it is SO comfortable! Now she likes to be in the wrap both facing in and outward and she is liking the mei tai also. If you have questions...send me an email, I'd love to share. Plus, you can make them for cheap!

Amazing Baby!

2009-08-25T23:38:00.000-06:00

I still cannot believe what an amazing baby Paige is. She is incredible. She is the happiest, easiest, most content baby I have ever known. And she is mine! Not to mention adorable and so fun to dress up, =)! I feel so lucky. If only I could wish my luck on all of those of you with babes of your own. Everyone keeps saying: just wait until she's a teenager. As for now, I will just enjoy it.

Paige at 1 month

almost 4 months

Blessing

2009-06-22T15:11:00.000-06:00

Paige Elizabeth Sant was blessed on June 7, 2009. Both grandparents were in attendance plus both of Chris's brothers, my sister Angela and her family, and Tom and his family. Also, our friends Twyla and Aaron, and Sebastian, and Saegen Paget. She was great for the day!

National Parks Vacation

2008-11-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

Our first National Parks stop was at Arches near Moab, UT. It was HOT there! But it was great. We found a campground in Moab with a swimming pool and showers so it was great.
Our first site seeing was at Balanced Rock

Later we hiked out to Landscape arch...

And the remnants of Wall Arch! It had just collapsed a few weeks prior:

Sebastian and Dessie...

2008-11-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

This summer, Chris, Sebastian, and I were able to go on our first true family vacation. Our trip started with a stop in Logan, UT. Our friends, the Christenson's moved there in April and we'd been itching to see them since. It was so fun to get Sebastian and Dessie together again. They are such cute little pals. They have always gotten together well and they had a good reunion.

I'm Going to Get Better....

2008-11-11T22:26:00.001-07:00

This post is to let all of you know that I am going to try harder to do better at "blogging." I guess I just hadn't gotten the bug yet. But...here goes nothing!

Hawaii

2008-08-17T18:58:00.000-06:00

In the beginning of August Chris went on a Geology field trip with 22 other geologists, including faculty, to Hawaii to study volcanoes. They spent five days on the Big Island and two days on Oahu. They saw the lava enter the sea on foot, by helicopter, and by boat. The closest they came was about 30 yards from the lava pouring in the ocean, it was on the boat ride. It was a great time. Chris saw giant manta rays, tropical fish and the highlight, lava.

Yellowstone Trip

2008-08-17T18:49:00.000-06:00

The 4th of July weekend our family took a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park. We camped there for two days. We hiked out to a backcountry waterfall called Fairy Falls. We also visited Mammoth Hot Springs. The night of the 4th we could hear large but faint explosions from nearby fireworks outside the park. It was a very busy weekend for the park, but very relaxing for our family. On our hike to Fairy falls we hiked through a pine tree forest that was completely infested with mosquitoes, and of course we forgot our newly purchased bottle of bug spray.

Jeremy Home

2008-08-17T18:38:00.000-06:00

Jeremy returned home on July 17th from his mission in the Philippines. Chris took his finals early so that we could arrive several days early and surprise the family at the airport. It was a great reunion with tears of joy and happiness. He is still trying to fully adjust to being home. He is not used to the lack of humidity; he is still cold all the time and wears several layers. He is very excited to come back to college and be involved in the dating scene. He is also excited about his new beautiful guitar that he has affectionately named "Monica."

Camping at Heise

2008-07-02T01:11:00.000-06:00

June 13-14th ... Chris, Sebastian and I went on our first campout of the year. It was a beautiful weekend and we found a great little FREE campsite by the river. Not too big, but it was perfect and we were totally secluded from anyone else. Plus, our campsite was filled with wood so we could have a great fire (though it burned through the wood super fast!). We had a great time.