Happy Three!!!

Ashton turned 3 today! My little baby has grown so much!!! So much that he cannot be called a baby, although he will always be my baby, my first baby! So here is the birthday boy on his special day...He started the day with a present from papa and Nana Rust.

Then his present from Mom and Dad. He quite liked his Big Wheel. It took him a while to get the hang of it but he sure enjoys it. The only problem, like all our toys, is that there is only one.

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Here is little Izey after finishing his turn on Ashton's bike.

Then we had a little birthday party with his friends Alijah, Kate and Kimberli. He was pretty sad that his friend Eli couldn't make it. But the kids loves a party and he sure had fun. He just gets soooo excited when his friends arrive and that excitement remains the entire time: games, pinata, cake and presents. He LOVES every minute of it. (I have to confess that he had two parties this year, one in Colorado with family...don't have any pictures of that one yet and then in San Antonio). So here are some pictures of his special day...

The Pinata!!! Boy do kids ever LOVE pinatas!!!

LOVE IT!!!!

18 month stud

Isaac Isaac Isaac. Or shall I say Izey Bizey..How is it that you are 18 months old all ready? I simply must take some time and write all about you, the things you say, the things you love and of course the the things you do...Here's to you baby!

Your vocabulary is beginning to sky rocket. You've discovered that you can talk in phrases to more fully communicate and it's often more effective. This morning you handed Dad some candy and said "open please". "What's that" "uh oh" "NO, you!" and the simple words like "mom" "dad", "bubow" (bubble), dog, "ba" (bath), "ju" (juice), "HOT", "milk", "cheese", "don't", "eyes", "air" (hair), "atuh" (ashton), papa, andoo (andrew). You are even getting good at single the alphabet, well, tune mostly, with Ashton and I. And while still sign a few words like more, all done, and your own special "I want to eat that NOW" which is done by gaping your mouth open as wide as wide can be and then just stare at the what it is you so badly want. ADORABLE!!! You understand more than I thought possible for a 18 month old. You're good at following directions like, put the toys in the box, put your plate in the sink, give this xyz to Ashton who is in the other room, etc. You just know what is going on!

As far as your loves go I would say that you are a very passionate person. Your number one love other than your family is your little monkey "Boo". He is your side kick. You've taken to him just like your brother, but unlike your brother you love all stuffed animals. You LOVE trucks and cars and making crashing sounds. You love balls, you love bubbles, you love dancing. You love junk food particularly chocolate, pudding, candy, cake, and pancakes. You LOVE raspberries, blueberries, granola bars, carrots and broccoli. You love trains, running, hitting (playfull of course), trees, ballons, water, and killing ants, panting, and well, doing whatever Ashton is doing. You have learned so much about life just by doing what he does!

I love the way you sqeeze your eyes shut when you say cheese. I love the way you love to eat, no matter how messy you are! I love the way you hold up your shirt over your belly. I love how ticklish you are and your great big chuckle. I love the way you love animals. I love the way you love your brother! I love the goofy things you do to make us laugh. I love how you wrap your arms so tight around my neck and hold me for long periods of time. I love how you love read books after you wake up. I love the way you sing along to songs. I love being your mom and knowing you love me too!

Letting Go

With Ashton's first surgery coming up at the end of the month, I worried about what to do with little Isaac while I am with Ashton at the hospital. My mom with be here in June for the big surgery, so no worries there. What's difficult about it is Tyler is on nights. This means the inability to take a "day" off other than what is on the schedule...It really became difficult when the intern who covers for him on his off days would be on vacation the week of the surgery...ughhh..So Tyler tried to work it out with a few of the other iterns to get cebvbb rtain nights off and it was near IMPOSSIBLE!!!! We felt extremely frustrated when even the resident in charge of the schedule was not accomodating to our needs. It truth I wanted to make those hurt they way that I felt hurt. I wanted to write a letter to the wife of the intern who so heartlessly refused to switch Tyler his nights off simply because he did not want to hold an extra pager the next day. In that letter I wanted to say something like, " I hope that your child never has a critical surgery because it is terrifying and if one day they do I hope that your husband is able to work out his schedule with his co-workers so that he is able to be off for that surgery". Terrible, I know. I had no charity, only pain. It was eating at me, I was hurting myself. Then I decided enough was enough. I could let the actions of others influence me for good or for evil and I was choosing the later. So I decided to let go. I decided to pray for that family, that their family needs would be meant and that I could love them and serve them. It worked, it was hard at first but when I committed it was incredibly easy and I could feel my self-inflicted wound heal. All I can say is I am grateful for the gospel, grateful for what I have learned, grateful for my faith in Jesus Christ and for the power of the atonement. Grateful that I have won this little spat within myself!