Dash is 1 !!!

Dash Hurst at a year old!

This little boy is such a joy! He is usually in a good happy mood unless he is hungry or teething.  This year has gone by really fast and I can't believe that we are at the year mark.  I remember holding him for the first time and feeling so happy, but also feeling it hard to believe he was really here, almost like a dream.  I love this baby so much and am so happy he is mine.  In a way, I kinda relate to him being the second child as I was in my own family.  I have to protect him a lot from his older brother, but sometimes he defends himself by going at Jet with his mouth open wide and trying to bite him with the few teeth he has. For the most part he is a good sport, but he can be whiny when brother is playing with him and he just wants to be left alone.  Here are his growth stats! The doctor was surprised to see how his growth came up so much from our last visits.  I switched Dash to formula and I think that helped him with his growth which makes me torn because they say breast is best, but in this case Dash wasn't growing well on just breast milk.  Anyway, he is off the charts with cuteness for sure!

        

               Height: 31 inches  83%tile

               Weight: 21.6 lbs   29%tile

               Head circ: 18.6 in   73%tile

Here are some things we love about Dash:

Has started to walk everywhere, still falls quite a bit, but gets up and keeps trying

Loves his dog Cody. 

Sleeps 10-11 hrs a night and naps twice for at least an hour each nap

can give high fives!

Waves bye bye and claps his hands

loves to blow raspberries

shakes his head 'no'

picky eater, he makes funny faces and spits it out when he doesn't like the food or is full

Whenever someone else has food, he makes a b-line and gets excited to eat it!

Loves drinking milk!

Enjoys headbutting the couch

Can throw a ball

He has two bottom teeth and his two teeth next to the middle teeth have come in on top. The right middle front  tooth is about to poke through any day now!

Loves to ride in the swing at the playground

Likes a pacifier (helpful when he is kinda fussy or being too loud especially in church)

He can be really loud!

Loves to give open mouth kisses

I love Dash's innocence and I hope I never forget what a sweet boy he has been at this age and never forget his little baby face. He is so much fun to have around and I feel so blessed to have him in our family!

Jet at 3 years old

All about Jet

Jet is doing so wonderful for a three year old I think.  We have our moments and sometimes it seems like all day that he is getting into trouble, but I think that is pretty normal for someone his age.  He is a very outgoing loving boy.  He loves having Dash to play with.  Part of the reason for having Dash was so that Jet would have a playmate.  He has been dying to play with him since he was born pretty much.  I think they will be good friends.  Jet loves to chase Dash and is always trying to be like his brother. Like when I put a BYU shirt on Dash, Jet wants to wear his BYU shirt. Here are some random things we love about Jet.

Loves playing sports
Likes to be mad (furrow his brow and talk mad)
Loves his dog Cody
Favorite foods are 'nola' (granola) bars and yogurt (how I know is that he asks for them all the time)
Wants to be a superhero
Loves to watch Daniel Tiger, Curious George and The Cat in the Hat
Sleeps 11 hours a night and most of the time still naps at least an hour a day (he does not do well without a nap)
Can say prayers (keeps his eyes open looking for things to be thankful for and says he is thankful for Dash or Cody at least 3 times. James like to point to himself multiple times during prayer :) )
Very inquisitive (what is that? What does ____ do?  why? why? why?)
Best place for him to be is outside at the playground
Knows most of his letters and numbers.
LOVES Lightening McQueen and Despicable Me (minions)
Has his own opinions about what he wants to wear everyday
Loves birthdays
Loves to sing (can sing 'I love to see the Temple', 'Twinkle, Twinkle', ABC song)
Requests from me to sing 'Roar' by Katy Perry and says 'Here we go' when it comes on the radio.
For the most part is potty trained during the day (an accident here and there, but knows what to do)
Loves the BYU cougars (no influence from mom and dad on that one ;)
Still sucks his thumb when tired or bored (working on weaning off this)
Can remember things like the park where we watched fireworks at 4th of July
Gives hugs and kisses randomly

Side note on potty training:
Potty training started out great, then seemed like we hit a plateau with me still taking him potty every couple hours.  I did pullups with him and I think he figured out that he could pee in the pullup like a diaper and wouldn't go pee on his own. Going #2 was easier for him to stop and recognize and he was good at going on the toilet.  I finally reached the decision of just going to underwear and he picked up real fast on what happens if he goes in his pants.  So next time I do potty training, I think I will just go straight to underwear after the first couple weeks. Potty training was/is definitely not my favorite part of this stage.

Jet is a good kid, he surprises me sometimes with how he can care for others. We are so happy he is growing and developing. I am excited to watch him and his brother play and become good friends. 

Jet and Dash birthday bash!

We celebrated Jet and Dash's birthdays together this weekend and had a great time.  We held the party at a local place that had some amusement rides, indoor playground and some arcade type games.  It was so much fun.  The boys were lucky to have their grandparents here to celebrate too.  Jet loves the movie 'Despicable Me' so we decorated the party table with that theme.  I also decided to make a minion pinata.  I had never made a pinata, but I had flashbacks of elementary school and doing paper mache while making it.  It was a labor of love and overall I think it turned out pretty well. We ate pizza, rode some rides, bashed the pinata, opened presents and sang to both our boys.  They are so fun and we are so happy to celebrate them.  Here are some pictures of our party!

What a fun weekend!

We had such a great weekend and it wasn't even a holiday! Our friends had extra tickets to a Bee's baseball game so we were able to go too. It was really fun and Jet loved the firework show afterwards. Our team even won the game!
The next day James had the idea of taking the family to the state fair, so we did and had a great time.  For Jet it was like Lagoon with all the rides. It rained for a little while when we were there so we checked out some of the booths and animals.  Someone tried to sell me a set of waterless cookware for $1600, I was blown away, and I had to say no. Anyway, after the rain stopped we put Jet on as many rides as he could go on.  He loved it, and has no fear when it comes to rides.

9 Months Old!

My sweet baby is now 9 months old. That's only three months until I have  one year old, growing up fast, wow. Dash is such a joy. He is pretty easy going although there are times when I don't know what he wants and is fussy.  He smiles easily and is becoming more and more social with new people.  He has the cutest giggle and squeal.  He knows how to get the dog howling by yelling, just like Jet did when he was that age.  We went to the doctor last week and checked up on his growth.  He has had a hard time gaining weight, not sure exactly why.  The past couple months I have tried hard to put fat in anything and everything he eats. I put peanut butter on his cereal puffs, soak pancakes in butter, put olive oil on his spaghetti dinners.  Things like these have helped him put on the weight although he could be chunkier in my opinion. I love watching him learn about the world around him and do new things.  Here are his latest updates:

Height 28.75 inches 65%tile
Weight 17.38 lbs 7th %tile
Head 17.65 inches 64%tile

Does army crawl all over the house
Just started clapping yesterday
Loves to yell and gets Jet and Cody to join in
Eats solid foods pretty well (some things he doesn't like, but is mostly excited about food)
When he gets excited he kicks his legs
Dances
Loves the dog and his brother
Loves his mommy
Sleeps from 9:30 to 6 am, eats then usually goes back to bed till 9am
Takes 2 naps a day usually an hour or two
Is a light sleeper
Babbles
Loves to be chased
Loves to sit on top of futon and 'jump' off
Loves to eat hair he finds on the ground
Likes to be picked up by the back of his shirt
In the process of being weaned to formula (is the most distracted inefficient at nursing)
No teeth

Love him!

When Grandma Came to Town

The past 3 weeks, my mom has been here and not only did we have a blast, she was a great help with the boys and housework.  I don't think I did any dishes or laundry the entire time she was here, wow!
She had so much fun with her grandboys.  She got Jet started potty training and so far so good. Jet was always jumping on Grandma and after three weeks of it I am sure she was ready for a break. A week after she came, my brother Aaron came too.  Jet especially loved Aaron because he could throw him around and play with him.  He is a good uncle.  Some of the things we did: visited City Creek Center and Temple Square, toured Welfare Square, went to Lagoon, saw fireworks show, went to a demolition derby, visited Antelope Island (swam in Great Salt Lake), and many other fun things.
Jet loved Lagoon  and still talks about it.  I was surprised at how many rides he could go on at his age.  He especially loved the bumper cars. He loved the fireworks this year, last year he cried and hid under a blanket the whole time.
It was fun swimming in the Great Salt Lake, you really do float easily.  The water is soooooo salty, and unbelievably clear. Nothing lives in the water there so it really isn't too dirty. When you get out of the water you dry really fast and you have a coat of salt on your body that glistens. Check that off the bucket list!
We are so glad Grandma came to visit and all the fun we had.  We will see her in October when the boys have their birthdays!

 

Recent Adventures

Now that the weather is finally nice around here, we are getting out more and doing more things.  We have been couped up way too long.  Recently James took Jet to the Motocross race up at Rice Eccles Stadium.  Jet had a blast.  His favorite things now are dirt bikes, he talks about them all the time.  The weekend after motocross (first weekend in May), James flew to Oregon to pick up a 1993 Geo metro.  He was able to spend some time with his family and drove back on Sunday. I was a little jealous he was taking off for the weekend, but then I reminded myself of the 14 hour drive he would have to do.  So now we have a great commuter car for him that gets awesome gas mileage.
Last month we took Jet to the jump park, an indoor trampoline warehouse.  It was pretty fun. Jet loved jumping into the foam pit. 
We are looking forward to more outings and our swimming pool opening.  Hurray for summer, we sure are ready.

Six Months and Two and a Half

So anytime there is a general conference around here you know it is time to celebrate because a couple of boys are either about to have a birthday or have reached a halfway point to their birthday. Jet and Dash have come a long way and it is so amazing to watch how they go from a small baby that can't hold their own head up to a talkative toddler that can't stop moving.
I love these two boys so much.  Right now they are pretty much my life.  I had a mommy moment the other day when I was holding Jet. He had been sick that day and I was comforting him before bedtime.  I just thought to myself that soon enough he won't want me to hold him and he will be too big to hold.  When babies come Mom and Dad are their whole world and they depend on us for everything. One day, they won't need us for anything and will be off having their own families.  I try to cherish just being able to hold these guys, because it won't last long.
I have to admit it is hard, hard, hard work. Being a mom tries my patience and I am frustrated to the max on a daily basis.  Really reveals my character I guess.  I don't get many breaks or am away from the boys.  They are probably out of my immediate care for 3 or 4 hours total a week (not including nursery at church).  Pretty much from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed I am taking care of them. Some days I get them to nap at the same time and will have almost 2 hours to myself which is so nice. 
Here are some of the things that they have been up to recently starting with Dash:

Dash Hurst
6 months old
16.38 lbs 29th%tile
28 in long 93%tile
17.4 head circ. 66%tile

Hates any kind of 'solid food'
Rolls over everywhere
Squeals like a whistling pete firework
Loves his brother and dog
Does not take a binky nor suck any of his fingers for soothing, or drink from a bottle for that matter
Loves to be held
Wary of new people
Has pretty blue eyes
Always so happy to see Mommy or Daddy
Sleeps 9 hours most nights then eats, then goes back to sleep for about 2 more hours
Takes 3 naps a day
Loves to be immitated

He is a fun baby, I love him so much. Jet was definitely an easier baby, but I guess I wouldn't have had more if the first were a nightmare :) As far as Dash's weight, the doctor is not too worried, but he has dropped off significantly in the percentile he has been in. I have tried several types of 'solid food' including rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas, squash, peas, avocado but he hates everything. He gags, spits it out, and makes the funniest faces. He likes to eat cereal puffs if I crush them up and put them in his mouth he will eat them or even a cracker. Doctor suggested he might not like mushy baby foods and to just keep trying.  Gotta fatten this kid up and get him some more calories or something.

 Jet Hurst
Wow, he is a tornado that kid! I think he weighs about 31 lbs and he is nearly 3 feet tall.

Loves the Ipad
Loves 'Toy Story'
Kisses your owies
Loves his brother
Tortures the dog (more like won't let the dog just sit around, he is always trying to play with him)
Learning not to hit, scratch or push
Knows most of his letters
Learning to count
Can say a prayer on his own
Loves to play baseball, basketball and football (football is more like wrestling actually)
He is a fighter (won't be the one picked on at the playground, more likely to start a fight)
Gets into EVERYTHING
Loves to have someone to play with
Loves dinosaurs and cars
Sleeps 11 hours at night
Takes one 2 hour nap a day usually

Pretty much your typical 2 year old.  I am getting ready to potty train him soon.  It was more a question of whether I was ready than if he was because I have to be very patient! Wish us luck!
We are so lucky to have such beautiful boys!

Improvements

For a while James and I had been talking about getting a new mattress because our old one was used and nearly 10 years old.  James had always wanted an Intellibed mattress because of all the great things he had heard about it. His philosophy is that if you spend a third of your life on it, it should be a good quality. I was a little iffy about getting one because they are super expensive like $2500 or so depending on the size and such. One morning he was looking at the online classifieds on the off chance that someone would be selling one.  There were only four listed and one of which actually looked like a good deal.  It was a king size Intellibed for only $500 with the frame and box springs and was only three years old.  We went that night, checked it out, and brought it home.  It is a great great bed.  What I have noticed is that I don't toss and turn as much.  In the old bed, if you stayed in one position too long you would get achy and have to turn over, not hardly in this bed.  It has been so nice, and it is nice and roomy.  We had to do some rearranging with our sleeping situations since Dash was in our bedroom and wasn't sleeping very well with us in the room. He has the other bedroom to himself and Jet sleeps in his firetruck bed in our room. Anyway, I would say the Intellibed is a big improvement from where we were.  From this:

to this:

Another improvement happened to our little Honda Spree Scooter.  Winter had not been very nice to the seat cushion on that thing.  It was all shredded and torn.  We are trying to sell it and I wanted to fix the seat because it is such an eyesore.  I told James I could totally reupholster it not really knowing for sure I could.  We bought some fabric, took off the old cover and I just kinda eyeballed a new pattern to cut out the fabric. Long story short, I was able to make a new cover and it turned out pretty well. I love doing stuff like that, just making something totally new without any pattern and making a big improvement.
From this:

To this:

Easter!

Last Sunday was Easter and although we didn't really do much to celebrate, we took Jet to his first Easter egg hunt.  It wasn't much of a hunt because all the eggs were just out in this open field.  It was over in less than a minute if you can imagine and we almost missed it because we were running late.  We pulled up to the hunt and I let James and Jet out so they could hurry and get the eggs.  I didn't even get to see Jet find any eggs, but that's ok I am sure we will be going to many more hunts.  Here are pictures from our first Easter egg hunt!

4 Months already?

Well, it has been a while.  My two little boys keep me busy and I am finally getting them into a routine that lets me have an hour during nap time usually to myself.  Having a 2 yr old and a newborn has had its challenges, but I sincerely hope Jet and Dash are great friends and playmates in a few months.  Jet is dying for a playmate. He always wants me to wrestle with him or play 'football' and I don't always have the energy to do that.
       Since Dash's birth a few things have happened:
                      James was called to be 1st counselor in the Bishopric
                      We flew to Oklahoma for Christmas
                      Had our first date night in a while without the kids
                      Joined a gym
 My day to day is usually something different.  I try to get out of the house a few times a week to take the boys to story time or get myself to the gym, or to the store.

Dash recently turned 4 months.  He is such a joy! I know now after having Jet that the little baby I bring home from the hospital doesn't stay that way long and to really savor each phase and moment.  I am really enjoying Dash.  Here are some things he has been up to lately:

Loves to be sung to
Loves to be held
Reaches for everything and anything
Loves the dog and his brother
Is a momma's boy
Loves to chomp on his hands (he gets his whole body into it)
Can play on his tummy
Almost rolls over from back to front
Wears 3-6 month or 6 month clothes
Sleeps 10 hrs at night with one middle of the night feeding
 3 or 4 naps (usually an hour each) during the day
More of a squealer than a laugher
Seems like his tongue doesn't fit in his mouth :) (see pic below)
Has not been sick! (With all the stuff going around this winter and a 2 yr old that has had a couple of colds, I attribute it all to breastmilk!)
Exclusively breastfed!

Just went to the doctor today and here are his 4 month stats:

                   15.7 lbs     64%tile
                   26.75 inch long    95%tile
                   16.9 inch head   68%tile

Pictures of our baby boy: