Walkin' in the Rain

It's been rainy here this week. One day, when it was more misty than rainy, we decided to venture out. It was fun to play with the umbrella and hear the rain come down on it. When the umbrella got too heavy, Kason let Harley use it on the stroller and had even more fun letting the rain come down on him. It's so much fun to have a two year old who can ask questions and enjoy learning about things like rain. And having an eight month old who laughs and smiles through it all!

Kason loves water!

Dump It!

Kason LOVES the garbage truck. He always wants to take the garbage out and, "Dump It" in the big garbage so that the truck will come and, "Dump It" into itself. We finally helped him understand that the garbage truck only comes to our house on Friday, so now whenever he has that unconrollable desire to see the garbage truck, "Dump It" instead of throwing a kicking, screaming, on-the-floor tantrum about it he calmly says, "Garbage truck come Friday night and Dump It?" and happily I smile and say, "yes." It's a much better scence and leaves me oh so greatful for his developing ability to internalize and reason within himself. Come, "Friday night" (well it's morning actually, but I'm letting that one go) Kason and Daddy gather all of the garbage from all over the house (and with two in diapers there is usually a lot) and they, "Dump It" into the big gabage outside and roll it to the end of the driveway for the garbage truck. Then, Kason sits patiently on the steps wainting...

The garbage truck is definately the highlight of our week, but Kason also love throwing anything away for me, pouring the garbage from one can to another, and the plastic bags from the grocery store (because that's what we use to line our little garbage cans). He wants to be a garbage man for halloween so he can, "Dump It!" Harley Likes to help too. Mostly he just sits around looking cute, but his day will come!

Peanut Fest 2010

This weekend we took the boys and Grammy and Grampy to the Peanut Fest. Our town is the birth place of Planter's Peanuts and a lot of peanuts are grown here, so every year they have a fair and call it Peanut Fest. Kason rode the Ferris Wheel and the Merry-Go-Round and got to go fishing for fake sharks, play a squirt gun game, and win a glowing sword. Harley even got a little duck because the lady running the fishing game thought he was so cute. Kason had fun with all the rides and games and he really liked the tractor pull. Harley slept a little bit and then was entertained with all the lights and noise. It was fun to go and check it out and to see Kason enjoy the rides and everything there.

Tackin' Da Trees Down

They are clearing a lot near our house and we can hear the trucks all day long digging up and knocking down trees. We have to walk over every morning to check it out and Kason could stay for hours watching the trucks. Harley is pretty interested too, Although last time we were there he fell asleep.

HJS

Here is our little Harley (well not so little) at 6 months. We took him in for a check-up and he is a healthy boy wieghing in at 18lbs and 26 inches long. He is such a happy baby and has a smile for everyone and a great little baby laugh. He is sitting up now which is fun and makes it so he can entertain himself a little bit easier. He has, however, stopped rolling over. He will lay on his tummy for a little while and then start to fuss or just lays his head down and growels. He is a great growler!

Harley is Kason's biggest fan and already wants to do everthing his big brother does. He watches Kason and laughs at Kason and talks to Kason. It's so much fun and I'm savoring it while it lasts. Whenever Harley starts laughing at something Kason does or some funny noise he makes, Kason says, "Harley loves me?" and I say, "That's Right!"

Four Years!?

I haven't posted in forever! And I'm not even going to try to catch up or make any promises about keeping up, but yesturday was our anniversary and I wanted to put up something and say how much I love my dear, sweet, hard working, good-looking, family-loving, gospel-living, wonderful husband Reed!!!! It really is always better when we're together!

When We're Helping We're Happy

Helping Buzz (Lightyear) go for a walk...

Helping with the laundry...

Helping Daddy mow the lawn...

Helping take care of baby brother

If Everybody Had An Ocean...

This weekend we went down to North Carolina to attend a wedding. The wedding was on Saturday, but we headed down Friday afternoon and spent some time at the beach! Kason has absolutely no fear of the water and wanted to be right out in the waves. Harley, on the other hand, spent the time hiding under the towel trying to avoid the wind and sand. We stayed in a hotel Friday and I Kason was ecstatic. He ran around the hotel room like crazy and stayed up until 10 before he finally crashed. We had fun and Reed enjoyed catching up with old friends.

Your Face Will Surely Show It

I am having way too much fun with Picasa. It makes it so easy to Blog my pictures and with the collage feature I don't have choose which ones to put up, I can post them all! Okay, enough sounding like a commercial. I think these are the sweetest faces in the world! I know I'm biased, but come on... We are still working on Kason's "happy face" for the camera, but it looks like Harley's got it down. We've been enjoying the warm weather in the mornings and going for walks to the park. By afternoon lately it's been too hot and humid to play outside, so Kason has been watching a lot of Nemo and "Howdy" (that's what he calls Toy Story) his two favorite movies right now. I need to be more creative with our indoor activities in the afternoons. They have to be cool enough to entice Kason away from the "TB". Any ideas?

Who Needs A Double Stroller?

Hmmm... I think maybe we do

We went for a walk this morning to the park. I left the snuggly at a friends house, so I decided I would just put Harley in the stroller, let Kason walk, and see what happens (it's way too hot and sticky for the snuggly anyway). Well about twenty minutes into the walk (the park is a half an hour away and twenty minutes is pretty good for Kason) Kason wanted, "Up." So I tried several different ways to get them both in the stroller, none of which were very comfortable for the boys. The last one ended up being the best. On the way home Harley fell asleep and we made it all the way back like that. I guess I'll be checking Craigs list for a good double stroller.

Hot Hot Hot

We took Harley in the pool for the first time yesturday. So far he is not the fish that Kason is, he liked it better wrapped up in a towel! But he is still young, we will keep trying.

Lately Kason prefers playing with the water outside the pool. Unless of course Daddy is in the pool to make him fly!

Two of A Kind

I had fun today comparing pictures of Kason and Harley as babies. Kason is on the left, Harley on the right.

This is both of them in the hospital right after they were born.

Their first Sundays at Church (same shirt)

This is them at one month old

And at two months old

They do have differences, but you can definately tell they are brothers!

Swim!

Here is Kason showing off in his cute (he he) new swim floaty. Isn't such a good swimmer? The next Michael Phelps! And so pleased that he can do it all by himself. I am a proud mommy.

Yesterday was my birthday! It was great. I got lots of warm wishes. I also got a pasta maker from my folks and a nice dutch oven/roaster from my in-laws. From my dear sweet husband I got a night away from the kids. Harley and Kason stayed went Grammy and Grampy (and wore them out) and Reed and I went down to the beach. We stayed at a hotel right on the beach and had dinner at an Italian restaurant overlooking the Ocean. It was wonderful! Thanks Honey!!!

I also have a Harley update. Just over a week ago he had his 2 month check-up and weighed 13 lbs! He such a sweet baby and smiles and gooos and gaas all the time now. I love it!

Boy Crazy

Oh man! Life is busy and great. Warm weather is here to stay and my boys and I have definately been enjoying it (this is my excuse for how long this post has been in the making. I have sat down to work on it several times and been destracted by sunshine and boys). I have lots of pictures in this post because I know some people are dieing to see updates of Harley (yes, we have officially decided that Harley will be his name, it fits him so well!) These pictures are in no specific order because I uploaded them weird and it is too time consuming to fix. Enjoy!

Jeff, Tammy, and Eli came to visit at the end of April. It was so much fun having them here! We went to the beach, visited the aquarium, and strolled around the zoo, but most of all we enjoyed each others company. This is Harley enjoy the sun and sand. Well maybe not the sun in his eyes so much, or the sand in his diaper. It was his first time and he was a good sport, he will come to love it.

Here are Kason and Eli in front of the famous Neptune statue at VA Beach. I think it is a tradition to take a picture in front of it if you come to visit us and we go to the beach. Kason has issues with getting his picture taken, but aside from that this is a great picture. It will be fun to show them when they are older.

This weekend we enjoyed our first swim in Grammy and Grampy's pool. As expected Kason had a blast! I feel I must explain the pink and purpple. We got this great floaty innertube/swil shirt thingy at Babies 'R Us for only $1.50! We couldn't believe it when we saw the price, so we grabbed two and hurried to check out before they changed their minds. Apparently they were mismarked (supposed to be $17.99), but we got them for $1.50 anyway. Unfortunately they only had pink and purpple, but with a deal like that Kason (and Reed) can buck up and live with the girl colors, right?

This is what Harley did while we went swimming (the water is still a little cold for the babe). He is so big! He has his 2 month check-up tomorrow, but we are thinking he will weigh in somewhere between 11 and a half to 12 pounds.

Here is Harley enjoying the big weird fish and the aquarium. Kason and Eli were somewhere running a muck. Harley is a peacful baby and usually sleeps through all of the excitement

Awe.. Kason and Eli were so cute together. They were little buddies the whole time (well most of the time) We did kind of push it to the limit with Kason (no naps and four days of non-stop) so by Monday morning Kason was a little crazy, but for the most part he was enjoying having a friend around 24/7.

We got our garden all planted! We are so excited for our first real year as gardeners. If all goes well (which it may or may not) we will have quite a list of fresh produce to enjoy, including: asian pears, peaches, appricots, figs, strawberries, raspberries (probably next year), corn, peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers, squash, watermelon, pumpkins, zuchini (of course), and cucumber. It's been fun planning and sewing and we look forward to reaping!

Kason has definately warmed up to bing a big brother and gets excited when Harley is awake and somewhat interactive. Although he is still pretty sure that Harley is Mommy's and Kason is Daddy's. Whenever Reed holds Harley Kason says, "Harley Mommy"

Kason just seems so big now that we have Harley. He is so much of little boy now rather than a baby and delights us with new words and even sentances every day. His first real sentance was, "Me eat hot dog" It was so cute.

Easter was fun. We dyed eggs and had an easter egg hunt in Grammy and Grampy's front yard while enjoying a wonderful session of Conference.

Nanna came and stayed for two weeks after Harley was born. It was wonderful! All my meals made and cleaned up after, not to mention the wonderful company! It was sad to see her go. Thank goodness for Skype!!

We blessed Harley while my mom was here. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful blessing. Reed is such a great dad!

We took my mom to a great seafood resuraunt while she was here. This is everyone waiting for their fish.

Here is my sweet little Harley getting ready for his bath.

Awe!

Well if you made it all the way through, thanks. I love sharing, it's just that it's hard to find the time. I'm just not super woman like many bloggers are, but I will make a renewed effort to keep all of my blog readers (all 1 or is it 2 of you now?) updated.

Sweet Baby James

Harley James Sloat arrived a week ago today. He was about 11 days early, but there was no doubt he was ready to come. I went to the doctor the Thursday before for my regular appointment. The doctor was impressed that I was dilated to a four and 70% effaced. Just like with Kason I hadn't felt any painful contractions, but this time I did feel the pressure and hardening of my belly when I had a strong contraction, so i wasn't too surprised. She striped the membranes and predicted that we would be back in the hospital that weekend to deliver. Reed and I just smiled at each other knowingly. We thought we knew the drill and decided not to get our hopes up because we went through the same thing with Kason (I dilated slowly over about a month) and then ended up having to induce to get him that last little way. However, Harley decided to throw us a curve ball and come all by himself.

I woke up early (about 1:00) Sunday morning (March 7) with pain. I dismissed it as gas and tried to get back to sleep. Not long after I felt some more pain and noticed pressure and hardening of my belly. I thought this might be the real thing, so I decided to note the time and see if I get another one. Seven minutes later I did ... and seven minutes after that I did again. At this point I woke up Reed and he helped me time them for about an hour as they got stronger and closer together. We packed a bag for the hospital and got Kason out of bed and into the car (at this point I was stopping ever 3 minutes to breathe and stomp my way through the contractions). After an exciting ride to Grammy and Grampy's to drop off Kason I was contracting every minute and a half and it was now about 2:30 am.

We got to the hospital and I had to get down on all fours in the parking lot to make it through an extra strong contraction (Reed was pulling on my arm and telling me to get up and into the hospital). We finally made it to the hospital with no time to spare (and no time for an epidural..I kind of freaked out when I realized that). I was fully dilated, fully effaced, and fully ready to push, but we had to wait for the mid wife, so I bravely (don't ask Reed if that adjective is correct) breathed my way through the contraction until she arrived. Finally I pushed for what seemed like no time at all and Harley James made his appearance at 3:51 am. Wow! What a difference from Kason's delivery.



And now here he is, a perfect 6lb 6oz 19.5 inch baby boy. We still haven't decided whether to call him Harley or James. He is a "peacful" baby (that's how the lactation consultant put it when I expressed my worries about him not waking up long enough to eat). He doesn't like diaper changes or pooping, but other than that he doesn't cry much and sleeps all the time. We just love him!

Because of flu season and the H1N1 outbreak there had been a ban at the hospital on all visitors under the age of 18. This meant the Kason could not visit me and Harley at the hospital. On Monday they lifted the ban! I didn't know about it and I was sitting in my hospital room, waiting for Reed when I hear Kason out in the hall. I was so happy I cried! Reed and Kason surprised me with flowers (three roses, one from each of my boys) and a toy that Kason picked out for his baby brother. I am so blessed!!!

Kason and I took James for his first walk and to get some sunshine. Kason was so sweet picking flowers for his brother. It has taken him a little while to warm up to the baby, but he is going to be a GREAT big brother!

I love this picture. This is the first time that Kason was willing to hold James. I only had my cell phone close by and the moment was fleeting, so the quality isn't great, but the subject is beautiful!

My recovery is going great. It is amazing how much faster I have felt "myself" this time than with Kason. Part of it is not having a epidural I think. I could feel my legs and move around right after giving birth. I even walked myself from the delivery room into the recovery room. The other part is I only had to get one little stitch instead of nine, so there isn't as much healing to be done. I am so happy and so blessed by my Heavenly Father to have such a beautiful family!!!

...Maybe Not?

I titled my last post "The Greatest Snow on Earth" referring to the snow we enjoyed while visiting in Utah. However, upon returning home, we have experienced some pretty impressive snow storms. They cancelled church for the biggest one as well as schools and everything else for about three days. Mostly that's because they aren't as prepared for snow here as in Utah, this being the most they have had since 1989, but it was still exciting. Kason enjoyed playing it. It doesn't matter how cold he gets he never wants to come inside. The snow has mostly melted now, but it's still cold. I'm ready for spring.



Remember the daffodils that made a surprise appearance early this winter? Well, I don't know if they are going to make it. We also have some strawberries that appear to mostly dead. I'm not a plant expert, but I don't think the perennials around here are liking the snow and consistently freezing temperatures. And don't tell Kason, but neither do I. I've been praying for an early spring.

We had a fun Valentines day. I enjoyed picking out gifts for both of my boys. I got Reed a set of cuff links to go with the french cuff shirts that he got for his birthday. All the other financial advisers wear them, and Reed looks very handsome in his! I got kason a heart full of chocolates and as you can see he enjoyed it very much. I even got a smile for the camera. Reed got me a Willow Tree figurine called Tender. It's a mom holding her little boy, I love it!