Parowan Gap

So, I got to climb at Parowan Gap with a couple of the girls I met at the bouldering competition (Louise and Mickey). I really enjoy being able to climb outside - very refreshing.

To give you some perspective, Mickey (in the yellow shirt) is climbing near the bottom, right-hand side of the wall...you might have to zoom in.

I thought this was kind of a dramatic photo (what with the fierce clouds in the background).

"Cook"

Even though I don't go all-out when I make breakfast/lunch/dinner, it seems as though Dustin has caught-on to how important food and cooking are. Whenever I'm in the kitchen, Dustin has to be in the kitchen doing kitchen-like things too. Lately he says "cook" when he wants to help out with the cooking.

What a cute smile.

Here's my little cooking buddy. Maybe he'll be more fortunate than me and actually be somewhat talented in the kitchen.

2nd Haircut

I gave Dustin a haircut. Besides being frustrated with all the itchy hair on his face, he did great!

Silly Man

Dustin thought it was pretty funny that he climbed all the way to the top of the couch.

Somehow, Dustin miraculously balanced that plastic cup (the one that's floating) on the little silicone straw at the top of his sippy cup. Unfortunately, my camera didn't capture the moment until...well, after the moment.

A Grand Day

Today, my dear husband let me compete in a bouldering competition at the school (it really took most of the day). It was super fun just to be able to compete and meet other climbers in the community. I ended up doing quite well in the competition, and what's more, when I returned home, I checked the mail as usual (it's one of my favorite "jobs") and received my acceptance letter to nursing school! What a happy day!

A Very Brief Update

Look at how big he's getting!

This was the day of the rainbow...it rained A LOT for several days.

Just being cute and playing with his stuffed animals.

The most valued toy of all - a small saucepan.

Dustin is growing so fast! He is definitely beginning to act like a toddler; in fact, just a few hours ago, Kearney brought him out of the bathroom after which he yelled, fell to the floor, and cried until he stopped breathing (evident because he instantly went quiet, started flailing his legs, and his face went purple). Whew! I think Kearney and I have an interesting life ahead of us. Dustin is really starting to pick-up on the whole talking thing. Just the other day, he said "rainbow" as I was showing him the rainbow in the sky. Yesterday he started saying "poop." At this point, he can say "daddy, mommy, dad, mom, no, stop, don't, up, down, out, poop, horse, dog, shoe, meow, uh oh, ball, hi, bye, Nana, ya (for c-ya);" maybe I'm forgetting some, maybe not. Today, he started a new thing where he doesn't want to be taken from his crib when he wakes up (in the AM/after his nap). It was pretty entertaining, and of course I took advantage of the situation. Every time he freaked out about leaving his crib, I left him alone and did some chore around the house for a few more minutes. He can now open the toilet seat lid (as of this week), so everything is going into the toilet. He likes to use my hairbrush and dryer to brush and "dry" his hair. He tries to climb on everything and thinks it's super cool to climb on something and then stand on it until he gets my attention. He grabbed his diapers out of his diaper bag the other day, laid down on the floor and set them on top of his pants. He knows how to knock on doors, tries to put our keys in the screw indentation on the doorknobs, and still has a complete obsession with pots and pans. It's true, what everyone says about them growing up faster than you can imagine. Even though I want to pull my hair out at times, I just can't help but to give him loves and kisses nonstop - he's just so cute and lovable.

Sick Again

On Saturday, Dustin and I went with Tyrell, JaNell, Derek and Claire to take some family pictures. Dustin fell into a dead Russian Thistle bush, and although I had to pick a bunch of slivers out of his hands/arms/clothes, I didn't think much of it. On Sunday morning he woke-up with a decent fever and pimply/blister-like spots mostly on his left hand. On Monday morning I took him to the doctor. They diagnosed him with Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. He was completely miserable almost the entire week. The busiest little boy in the world just wanted to be held and sleep, and even when we were holding him, he fussed and was uncomfortable. On Thursday, he finally started feeling a little better, but on Friday morning, when his fever went away, he got a rash all over his trunk (front and back). I called the doctor Friday night and was then informed that he probably had Roseola, not Hand, Foot and Mouth. Although I know they're not perfect, I feel quite frustrated with Dustin's doctor(s). On the upside, Dustin is back to his old ways - making messes, running amok, and thoroughly wearing me out.

Hello?

Dustin has been saying "hello" on the phone for a while, but today, he put it up to his ear and had several conversations with the phone.

The Subway

JaNell, Tyrell, Kearney and I hiked the Subway in Zion.
Dustin starting climbing onto the couch/grey bin in our bedroom.

Sweatness

I got to watch a chest tube procedure in the ER tonight. Very, very cool! I almost got to watch the same patient get intibated, but there were too many nurses and EMTs in the room...and they closed the curtain too; bummer.

Whoa

Yesterday Kearney, Dustin and I were on our way to Bicknell to have my dad fix Kearney's tooth issues. For the most part (besides Kearny's tooth hurting like the dickens and both of us feeling completely exhausted), the first 2 hours of the drive were just fine. Dustin had finally fallen asleep and after checking on him and noticing a very kinked neck, I unbuckled my seat belt, turned around, placed his blanket on each side of his head and began to turn back around...and WHAM! In the time it took me to unbuckle my seat belt, turn around and fix Dustin's head/neck, Kearney had fallen asleep. We smashed head-on into a guardrail. I remember hearing the loud smashing noise, closing my eyes, shielding my head with my arms, and being tossed around like a ping-pong ball. It probably didn't take long, but while I was being thrown around I remember thinking "when is this going to end." We came to a stop, I looked around and realized what had just happened, looked at my breath (from the airbag gasses), jumped in the backseat, got Dustin out, started yelling at Kearney to get out of the car, and jumped out of and moved away from the car. Within seconds, a car and a truck pulled up and lucky for us, one of the individuals must have been an EMT...he used his walkytalky to request police support, etc. The Malibu was totalled, we took out 7 guardrail posts, and we're all okay. Dustin fared the best (thank goodness for nice rear-facing car seats), Kearney probably got a minor concussion and hurt his hand because the driver side door was smashed inwards into the car, and I got some serious whiplash and lots of purple and red bruises/abrasions. I'd say we were lucky...or blessed.

(Sorry. No pictures. The only ones with cameras were the police officers.)

When Kearney and Jo drove back to Bicknell to return my dad's truck, they stopped at the guardrail and the wrecking yard to take some pictures of the guardrail/car. (My camera and/or SD card malfunctioned and I had to have all of these pictures, including the ones from Dustin's 1st B-day, recovered. Talk about bad karma or something.)

First Night in the E.R.

No, I didn't go to the ER as a patient...I went as a volunteer! Nothing incredibly crazy happened, but it was still really awesome. Love it!

Rock Climbing for Credit

Just one of the many perks of living in Southern Utah - you can take a rock climbing class and get credit and a good grade for it...and of course have lots of stress-free fun.

I actually learned a lot - probably because I've never really been much more than a gym rat.

(Don't belay with your hands like that...it's wrong...and weird.)

Beautiful Mornings

Many mornings, before Dustin goes down for a nap and while he's still playing, we open the front door and let the fresh, cool air in. I think it's good for both of us : )

Toilet Paper!

I never allow Dustin in the bathroom for three reasons: (1) the trash can, (2) the toilet brush/plunger, and (3) the toilet paper...

This one time, I let toilet paper act as a very expensive (at least to us) distraction so I could finish getting ready.

And it was just fun...so why not?

This is just a little taste of what Dustin is actually capable of at this point.

He's Walking!

Dustin REALLY started walking today!

'80s Rock Band Party

Jamie invited us to her '80s Rock Band party...we didn't know we were supposed to dress-up, but that's okay, we probably wouldn't have had anything to wear anyway...and I don't think skinny's are '80s appropriate.

Kearny sang wonderfully - would never think he might be tone-deaf.

Dustin got to rock-out on his very own set of drums. He's a natural. Oh, and Kearny made his 1st dutch-oven cobbler of the season. It was fabulous!

Boo

Dustin walking with his train. He's very much in the imitation stage - he especially likes to copy laughs by fake-laughing.

This is one of my favorite games to play with Dustin. I think we both get a kick out of it.

Cheekn' It

Another weekend in Brigham! This is Kearney's little brother, Ryan's, mother-in-law K'Lynne (did you get that). It was kind of late at night, which is when Dustin gets pretty cranky, but he was just having a hayday!

"Batter Up"

This toy also came from Grandpa A, Grandma Tina. He didn't really get it at first; now he just thinks it's funny.

Chocolate Bunny

Grandpa Andersen (my Dad) and Grandma Tina (my step mom) gave Dustin an Easter bucket filled with all sorts of goodies, one of them being a very large chocolate bunny.

He ate the entire bunny in a matter of minutes!

Just kidding, we only let him have a piece of an ear and then I think Kearney blended the rest in a blender to use for something. I think the blended bunny is still in our freezer.

The Train

Dustin is obviously spoiled by all. This one came from Nana : )

Now he really has it figured-out.

The Andersens

Dustin felt at home because of this.

While I was in my CNA class, Kearney and Dustin colored Easter eggs with Zach, Mitch, McCall, and Grandma and Grandpa Andersen. Kearney began this tradition with the Andersen kids last year after he found out they had never colored Easter eggs before!

Dustin's obviously not too scared of dogs. This is Molly.

4 Weekends in Brigham

I started a CNA training course in Ogden, so we get to come up to Brigham every weekend in April. Although I didn't get to spend much time with everyone, I think Kearney and Dustin had some good, quality time with the fam.

Here's Korver and Dustin. Even though Dustin doesn't care for pacifiers, he was a little obsessed with Korver's paci.

Twinners.

Great Grandpa Andersen and Dustin.

The Eject Button

Dustin figured out the eject button on the DVD player.

Little Jont in Bicknell

Beautiful.
Dustin, Kearney and me.

Can you spot us in the picture?

All Smiles and Laughs

The cutest.

1st Hike on a Trail

We went hiking in Bryce Canyon.

We weren't really expecting snow - or at least not this much.

Even though Dustin didn't have to actually hike, he was exhausted.

We ended-up wrapping in my coat to keep him warm. He thought it was funny to flap his arms (b/c of all the extra fabric).

What a cute little boy we have. Unfortunately, he did end-up getting sun burnt from this hike.

New Adventures

Dustin really likes the kitchen; there's something new and exciting in every cupboard!

So Happy

When Dustin isn't sick or teething, he's the happiest baby on the block.

We're good play buddies.

Dustin Wins the Standing Competition

Dustin has been getting closer and closer to walking...here's his most recent achievement.

Another One

Dustin's fourth tooth cut through today (top, right, front). Wow.

New Year's Trip to Bicknell Continued...

My dad cut Kearney's hair again...

This was Kearney's very first time ice-skating, and as usual, he picked-it-up real quick.

Grandpa and Dustin having some snuggle time.