Christmas 2008

Well another CHristmas has come and gone. And this year was so much fun. I guess it just gets better as our family grows. We spent Christmas Eve with my family. My mom was trying to soak in all the family being together for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning because we said that this is going to be our last Christmas sending the night because next year we are just staying home. Hauling presents and kids was just getting too much. Well Santa listened and got Carson what he wanted. He wanted this huge remote control Dinosaur. And he just has a ball with it. It actually does a lot of fun stuff. Its nice because Carson really wants a dog and this dinosaur has taken the place of that. It acts just like a dog but just with a remote control and I can just turn him off! Afton got a little kitchen and just loves to press the buttons and make noise. But her favorite toy just might be the cute walker stroller my mom got her. She thinks she is just so big walking around.
Well after some breakfast and some wii playing (my sister got it for Christmas) we headed up to Dustins parents up in Idaho. The roads were horrible. But we got there safely and the kids got spoiled again. We had a great time hanging out with family over Christmas. And Carson of course had a great time playing with the cousins.
And now we head into a new year. It will be interesting to see what this next year brings. Happy New Year!

Carson and "Spike"
Mommy Afton
Christmas Eve dinner
New pajamas

Christmas pictures

Merry Christmas!

Well Christmas kind of snuck up on me. Sounds funny I know but I am sure some of you know exactly what I am talking about. It feels like Christmas is so far away but then all of a sudden tomorrow is Christmas Eve! I have been so busy with this and that. So I am sorry for not getting my Christmas cards out this year but I do want to thank all of those who did send them to me. I just love getting them and seeing your pictures. Well maybe next year right? 

This past weekend we went up to Idaho for Dustin's family party. It was fun spending time with the cousins. Dustin and I have been working on getting the house ready for the final inspection. Which we will hopefully be moving in next week if everything goes as planned. Which it usually doesn't so maybe the week after. Here are a few pictures taken over the last few weeks. And we wish you all a very Merry Christmas! And a joyful new year!

A time to say thanks

This year we had thanksgiving at our house. My parents and sisters came down to spend the day and to stuff ourselves. It went perfectly. We had a great time hanging out and playing games. Carson just couldn't wait to eat and ate a bunch of olives off of his fingers of course. And Afton thoroughly enjoyed her first thanksgiving. She ate stuffing and potatoes and smeared the rest all over her face. It is great that we can sit together as a family and see that we are so blessed.

This last week I have had the chance to reflect on what is exactly important in my life. I admit lately I have been caught up in the material world. Picking out things for the new house. And all the Christmas craziness. Well I got humbled real quick on Tuesday when I got the news that the diabetes that I had when I was pregnant has returned. And this time it wont be going away. At first I freaked out and cried. But then I realized it is up to me to control this. I met with the doctor and am going to try to do it with just diet and exercise. But I might be insulin dependent so I will check with him next week to see about that. I pray that I am not because first, I don't know if I can give myself shots and second, insulin is very expensive and our insurance doesn't cover much. I love my carbs and my sugar so I am not very happy about this. This is going to be a whole lifestyle change for me. But the good news is I am up for the challenge. I have reevaluated my life and all that I have been blessed with. I have a wonderful loving husband that takes very good care of our family. I have two beautiful children that give me such joy in life. And I also have a wonderful and supportive mom and dad. I also am grateful for Dustin's family they are wonderful too. I am also grateful for my faith. I love my Heavenly Father and have gotten closer to him in the past few days. I know he is there for me when I kneel to pray.

I want to thank my family and friends for all they do for us and all of their support. We love you all.

All about Afton

So I usually write things about Carson because he is always doing something funny or crazy. But this time I am going to focus on my sweet baby girl. She is crawling now and saying mama and dada mostly to the right person. She is always smiling and just loves when her brother plays with her. She finally got her first hair cut. She has needed it for a while but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. And yes I was sad after I did it. I don't know why it was so sentimental for me. I guess because it means she is just getting bigger. And now she looks older with the hair cut. But now she doesn't have a mullet! We just love her so much she has brought such a joy to our lives.

Afton eating frosting
Dad and Afton
After
Before

Halleluja!

It finally happened. Carson is finally using the potty. Yea! Like I said he just woke up from a nap one day and decided that he didn't want to wear diapers anymore. And today he went to the bathroom all by himself and went #2. He shocked me that after only three or four days of potty training he can feel that he needs to go and does it all by himself. So we fulfilled our promise to get him a bike when he did it. Yes we bribed him.

Here are some pictures of halloween. Carson was Batman. And he decided that I was going to be Bat girl and Dustin was going to be Joker. Afton was just a cute little princess I guess. We went to four different parties this year so we deffinately got good use out of the costumes. And when Carson was dressed up as Batman he was very serious.  I painted Dustin's face like the Joker and sprayed his hair green. When Carson saw dustin he said "I need to fight you". Yes he knows that batman and Joker fight. He thought is was so cool that his parents dressed up. I don't have a picture yet of Dustin but as soon as I do I will post it. It was voted most creepy. On  Halloween Dustin took Carson trick or treating. He got to about 10 houses and just wanted to get back to eat his candy. He is having a hard time grasping that Halloween is over. He wants to go and get more candy. As for his burns, we went back to the doctor this week and most of the burns have healed up well but one looks like it might need a skin graft. So I will know on wednesday when we go back.

   Carson checking out his candy

Afton and Grandma Moss

Batgirl, Batman, And Princess?

Exciting Week!

Well this last week has been very exciting. Well to start things off Carson put his hand in the treadmill while I was running and got 2nd and 3rd degree burns on three of his fingers and palm. On one of his fingers the skin was gone almost to the muscle. But thankfully there were no broken bones and he still has all movement in his fingers so it will heal fine. He has been a real trooper and it hasn't slowed him down at all. He only complains when I have to change the bandages which is about three times a day. So I get to play doctor this week. If you ask him if the doctor fixed his owies he says "no mama fixes them" which makes me feel good. Because I feel horrible because I was right there. Though I did say "don't touch or else you will get hurt" and 2 seconds later he did it. 

Then Dustin bought us a new house so now we are moving again. Yeah. I guess I should have seen it coming. Ok i did. But This is deffinately a house we stay in for a while. It still needs to be finished so we won't be moving for a couple months.

Next Afton decided to start crawling. She still has a funny leg as she does it and kind of slow but getting somewhere none the less. She also figured out how to get from her stomach to a sitting position. Milestones are fun but that means my baby is getting big! She is so fun gibbering and just being plain cute.

And last but of course not the least Carson finally decided that he is going to use the potty! It has only been a day but he refuses to put a diaper on. So far he hasn't had an accident. But we will see how it goes. I hope this finally it. I have been pushing this for a while. But it has to be on his terms.

So now I am busy trying to get my house in shape to sell and getting the other one in shape to move into. Halloween is in a couple days. And now a two year old being potty trained. And a cute crawl doll to keep track of. One day it will slow down right? Cuz I am going crazy! 

Cabin. Cousins. What else do you need.

We got to go to the cabin up in Island Park, Idaho over conference weekend. Carson got to hangout with his cousins which he absolutley loves. He got to be with his best bud Kyler and wants to be just like his cousin Jaxon who is eight. Whatever Jaxon did he wanted to do. One day we went on a family golf trip. It was only nine holes but it took us about 3 hours. But we had a great time (even Afton!).

                                             Dad, Carson and Afton 

The next day we went to Yellowstone to look for animals. Well I don't think they wanted us to find them. They are usually easy to find especially the buffaloes and elk. But we drove and drove not finding anything. We finally found a heard of buffalo blocking traffic in a spot. Some people were outside their cars taking pictures. Then a couple of big bull buffaloes started running towards them. Luckily they just ran past them but the people didn't even flinch. I was in the car about to have a heart attack thinking they were about to be trampled. Some people are just plain stupid! Anyways we decided to go and see Old Fatihful. Which always pleases the kids. 

     Carson looking for animals.
                                              Mom and Carson

The rest of the time we just chilled at the cabin while it poured outside. Carson did get in a couple of rides on the dirt bike. He thinks he needs one now, but I think we will try to master a regular bike first.

                                             Carson and Jaxon
                                             Grandma Kuttler and Afton
                                             Spiderman & Batman! (Kyler & Carson)
                                          

Boston!

Me and Afton flew across the country to Boston to see the Elwell Family. It was very nerve racking flying by myself with a baby but I couldn't of asked for a better baby to fly with. She was absolutely great (thankfully) even though she was cutting a tooth! You are probably wondering why I didn't take Carson. Well he is two now and I would have to buy him a ticket and this was supposed to just be a vacation for me. I had to take Afton because she is still attached. Dustin could not leave work and traveling with a toddler and a baby by myself was NOT happening. Though i missed him terribly he had a great time working with his dad. 

I had a great time in Massachusetts. It was wonderful to see Sarah and her family. We miss them so much. Of course we went shopping (a few times). We also went to Salem, and to the New England Aquarium. One night we left the kids with Chris and went on a Ghost and Graveyard tour of Boston. It was really cool and great fun. They took us to a couple of old graveyards in Boston. One of which is where John Hancock, John Adams, and Paul Revere are buried. They told some old ghost stories as we drove around downtown. It was great. The next day we went to the beach even though it was in the sixties. Brrr it was cold but I had to see it.  I mainly went out just to hang out with Sarah and her cute family. And we did just that. I will have to go back someday and actually do some history tours with my husband.  We just love the Elwell family and miss them. I want to thank them for letting me come as stay with them. I hope to see them soon. We are now home safe and sound and can't wait for our next adventure!

 

We found it!

Ok so this summer has been very busy and fun. But we also had a little drama. Just after we got back from Pocatello I lost my wedding ring or should I say Carson put it in a special place. I usually put it on my nightstand by my bed when I sleep. Carson is too short to reach the top so it was never a problem of him getting to it, or so I thought. I didn't go to put it on for a couple of days because I was just cleaning and doing laundry. When I went to put it on it was gone. I started tearing my room and my closet apart. I was devastated. But I knew that Carson had done something with it and it was in the house somewhere. Well I was right after about three weeks Dustin pulled out his suitcase to pack for his trip and reached into one of the pockets and felt something. There were some bouncy balls, money, and the ring! He pulled it out and I was elated! I feel so much better and will never take it off again. But I think we might have a hoarder on our hands.

Well we went to Lagoon with the cousins earlier this month. That is definitely  a once a year trip. But Carson had fun riding all the kiddie rides with his cousins. But man it was hot hot hot!

It is so fun so see my kids together. You can tell the just love each other. Afton always smiles when she sees her brother. And Carson is so cute with her. He says "I just love her." I hope it stays that way but he already gets mad when she grabs one of his toys. 

We also got to spend some time with Sarah and her cute kids while they were out here for a few days. Carson and Beckham had a great time together. We miss them a lot.

The Fourth!

Well another fourth of july has come and gone. Time really flies! We decided to go up to Pocatello to spend the holiday with Dustin's family. This is actually the first time we have spent the fourth with them. We have always done something with my family like the big breakfast we used to put on or camping. It was nice to let Carson and Afton spend sometime with the cousins. Carson gets along with Kyler so well but as all two year old the do squabble here and there. They just play so well together even though we don't see them all that often. They enjoyed swimming, riding their spiderman scooters, and picking grandma's  strawberries and washing them off in the pool then eating them. 

We also got to go swimming and go boating. It was a fun filled weekend that left us with little sleep but great memories. We actually got Carson on the tube behind the boat! And Afton got her first boatride. Overall we had a great time.

And now we enter the dog days of summer. And I really wish that I had a yard to let Carson play in. But that will come soon I hope. Until then I hope to hear from you all soon.

The Four Kuttlers

Well here we go! I don't consider myself good on the computer by any means but this is a great way to get info and give info about our family and friends. So I will try to keep up with updating as much as I can. So here it is.

Dustin is doing pretty well with his job this year. We didn't know how it would go this year with the housing market and all. But so far it has treated us well. We pray that it stays that way (we never know). He tries to golf anytime he can get away with it. But I am trying to get him to finish our yard. He will be going to Bend Oregon at the end of July to golf all week so I really don't feel that bad if I don't let him go golfing sometimes. 

Carson is almost two and a half and is definately a handful. He just has so much energy I can't keep up sometimes.  He just loves to be outside in the good weather. He has a new spiderman scooter and loves to go "really fast" on it down the driveway. He is into dinosaurs, spiderman, and of course still trains. We went ride on Thomas the train a few weeks ago. But he threw a fit because he wanted to be in the engine instead of the train cars. He is all boy. And I just love every minute with him. He has also turned out to be a great big brother. 

Afton is our newest addition. She was born on March 1st. We say she is our favorite because she she waited for her mom to get her hair colored and her dad to get a golf game in and then came. My contractions didn't really start till he got home from golfing and then we barely made it to the hospital on time! She was 6 lbs 14 oz and 20 inches long with a lot of hair! Well I have been blessed again with a wonderful baby. She hardly ever cries and she sleeps great, and she has the most pleasant personality. She is always smiling and talking to you. She has started to giggle and roll over. Which is exciting but sad at the same time. I realize now that time just flies by. 

Well I have been busy with two kids now. Though is has been easier than I thought it would be.

I love being a mom and am rewarded every dad when I see them. We moved into a new house just before I had Afton and I just love it! I generally spend my days cleaning, taking care of the kids, and trying to ware out Carson! And trying to figure out this whole potting training thing. He is just not interested. Well thats it for now.