These are the days...

Aren't they? Having a 2 year old in the house sure is a trial some days, but other days it's so much fun. Isn't it funny how the good days somehow manage to cancel out the bad days and you always end up loving the little child who had you close to murder by the end of the day. I've found that on the days that I'm having the most difficulty and really wish Jeff would come home for lunch or get home from work on time to relieve me, he never does. By the time he does finally get home, I've usually cooled down and have come to my senses. I still usually need a bit of a break, but I'm not nearly as stressed as I otherwise would have been.
It always seems to help to say a prayer and hide in the kitchen for a while to focus my attention on something else for a while and just let the kids do whatever. Works like a charm. I used to hate cleaning the kitchen, but whenever I'm upset it seems the be the one place that I'm able to work through it and feel better afterwards. These really are the days :)

So Jeff bought a new card for the camera(yay) though he didn't even tell me about it until it came in the mail. He's always doing stuff like that and as much as it drives me nuts sometimes I'm really greatful. This is one of those times. Not only did he get a new one, he got a bigger one. It's twice the size so it hold a lot more pictures. On the downside, I probably won't upate my pictures as often. Anyways, since we got the new card I have taken some pictures that I've been meaning to take, but wasn't able to, so enjoy!

Owen and Jackson wrestling

 

 

Look! A tooth!!

Bathtime Fun: Isn't Owen's face hilarious?

What's wrong with this picture?

Don't you love it when kids learn how to dress themselves?

Lovin the new background :)

So I've been playing around with the background a bit, trying to find one that screams "me" but so far I've been having a hard time. I like the one I have currently, but there are several others that I loved more, but had some cosmetic errors that I couldn't figure out how to fix. So not tech savvy, but I do believe I'm slowly getting there :)

Owen has reached another first this week and this time it's a tooth! Yay! I didn't know he was even that close to getting one until I was feeling his gums on Friday night and found a little bud. It certainly explains why he's been so fussy and drooling so much lately! As soon as I get my camera up and running and you can actually see more tooth than drool, I'll get a picture on here for everyone to ooh and ahh at. He's getting so big, it's hard to believe he's not even 6 months old yet. He is growing so fast we're having a hard time keeping him dressed appropriately for the weather with all the hand-me-downs we have from Jackson. It was winter when Jackson was 6 months old, so many of the clothes are winter wear instead of summer wear. We've run out of PJ's that fit and have resorted to putting Owen in the few 12 month sleepers we have, which surprisingly aren't all that big on him. He's so big! Anyways, it's late and I'm tired, so I'm going to end this and go to bed. Till next time :)

Just to see if this works :)

So I've set up my blog to be able to post topics from my e-mail to see if it would help me to post more. This is the test to see if it will actually work and what I write from my e-mail will indeed become a blog post for me. My life seems to be so boring sometimes and I always forget to look at the big picture. We recently got back from a trip to Montana for a family reunion and we had a blast. Granted, it rained for a good part of the time we were there, but thankfully we were in cabins and had a lodge to hang out in instead of tents.
 
We took our camera with every intention of capturing our entire trip on film, but I think it stayed in the car until Friday night when the family talent show started. Jeff got it out and was taking pictures and filling up the memory card with memories when the card became full. We have 2 cards so he decided to switch out the bigger card for the littler card. I guess he forgot about the 2 year old who likes to chew on things and put the card full of memories on the table in reach of said 2 year old. Goodbye memories. Goodbye little memory card. Goodbye money spent on memory card. Oh well. I guess when you think about it, it could be funny, but I sure wasn't laughing at the time. So, to continue my story, I would love to add a few pictures, but unfortunatly I have none to share.
 
Anyways, after the reunion was over we went to my parents house in Fort Benton and continued to have a blast, but instead of rain, we dealt with wind. I think wind is almost worse than rain. At least with rain you can wear a raincoat or carry an umbrella and be mostly protected, but with wind, there really isn't much you can do to keep your perfectly styled hair from being completely ruined, causing you to look like you just took a ride standing up in a convertable. For this reason, I decided not to do my hair and just ended up looking like I'd just rolled out of bed and threw my hair in a ponytail, which I did indeed do. It's so much better to not try and not be disappointed than to try too hard and be deflated like a balloon with a hole in it. Well, in some cases at least.
 
In closing, I'd like to thank everyone who looks at this. I know I don't post often, but I am going to try to fix that. Hey, I did post 2 times in 2 months, so that's improvement already! Take care and keep the faith.

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Why didn't my mom name me Procrastination?

Once again it has been 6 months since I've last been in here to post. My family is bigger and happier than ever before and we attribute this to the newest member of our family, Owen Michael who always has a smile on his face for anyone willing to give him a couple minutes of attention. Our sweet baby joined our family on March 2nd, much to my displeasure from waiting 4 extra days while the hospital cleared out enough to admit me. He is growing so fast it's hard to believe that he's only 3 1/2 months old. He and his big brother are as different as night and day. Jackson was always so skinny it's surprising that Owen is so chubby and squishy, but so far their personalities are similar. Owen is pretty mellow, but he definatly likes to have an audience and starts squawking if he can't see anyone.

Jackson recently turned 2 and we have our good days as well as our bad days. On a good day, we don't have any problems and he's the most polite and sweet little boy, but on our bad days I'm about ready to rip my hair out by noon. Most days are a good mix of the good and bad and he's usually pretty polite and remembers to say please, thank you and excuse me on his own, but he has quite a hard time listening to mommy. Then again he is 2 and he's testing his boundries to the limits at every chance he can. Thankfully he loves his little brother and is always trying to help me out with him. More than once I've had to laugh at how his efforts have turned out, but so far neither of them has been hurt so I don't mind the 'help.'

Last week the boys and I had the opportunity to go to Montana to spend some quality time on the farm with Nanny and Papa. Jeff stayed home and although we missed him a lot, we had a ton of fun. Jackson got to drive the big tractor with Papa and enjoyed driving my younger sister Racheal crazy by running her silly outside. Nanny loved spoiling them both with love and presents and was so happy that Jackson has finally warmed up to her and now loves her almost as much as Grandma Claudia, Jeff's mom. It was really nice to get a vacation and with all the help that I recieved while we were there, I was able to relax and just enjoy everyone's company. We don't see them often enough and though it makes me sad, but it also makes every visit to them that much more special. We can't wait until Labor day to be able to see them all again!

Ok, so now I'm realizing I'm a complete slacker! So much has happened in the last several months since I posted last, but I'll try to keep it somewhat short and sweet.

We found out we were expecting baby #2 right before I posted last, but was still keeping it a secret. That was 6 months ago and baby is due in just 6 weeks! We found out he was a boy in October and have had the hardest time trying to decide on a name for him. We've come up with several and many have been suggested, but we still haven't found one that feels 'right,' if you know what I mean. We're very excited to meet him and we can't wait for Nanny to come and visit us when he gets here.

Jackson turned 18 months last month and has since been introduced to Nursery at church. So far he's gone twice and hasn't let Daddy leave the room for more than a few minutes at a time. Mr Smarty has already figured out how to work the door, so they have to keep a close eye on him so he doesn't escape. Right now he is in the midst of learning all sorts of words and is constantly telling me all about stuff, but I have yet to decipher the gibberish from the actual words. It seems like every day he learns a new word and it becomes the word of the week, and he says it(and the others he's learned) over and over and over while pointing to whatever he thinks it(they) means. He's starting to get a sense of humor too and finds the silliest things hilarious, like blowing on Daddy's tummy and bouncing on whoever is willing to let him bounce. We're trying to get him ready for baby brother, but he's still young enough he has no idea what we are talking about. He knows what babies are and is very cautious around them, but he has no idea that there is actually a baby in Mommy's tummy and I don't really expect him to understand yet.

Jeff is still working at the Hospital and loving it. It's made trying to go to school hard, but luckily he only has to take a couple classes in order to get into the nursing program this fall. He's planning on taking them next quarter when the times will work out better with his work schedule.

Anyways, we hope all that read this are well and enjoying life as best they can! We love you and I will try to post in here more often than every 6 months :)

Hey everyone! Welcome to the new Quilter Family Blog. I don't really have much to write right now except that Jackson and I are enjoying the warm weather that summer has brought. Jackson was just introduced to the sprinkler last week and has found his new favorite thing to do. He already loves to be outside all the time so loving water as well means we are both going to be very blonde and tan by the end of summer. He's quite the little mess maker and makes a small apartment seem even smaller by throwing all his toys and books all over the floor. His first birthday is on Saturday and we will be going to Seattle to see my mom and dad. They are going to Alaska for a week and have a layover long enough to see mister birthday boy for a couple hours. Jeff is working at the hospital here as a Rehab Aide and is also learning how to be a Respiratory Therapy Aide and is really enjoying it so far. He's still planning on going into the Nursing Program, but is unable to get in this fall so will be trying again next fall if everything works out. I guess that is all for now, I'll be back to put some pictures up soon.