Whoa, potty training.

Even though this post happens weekly, it feels like so much time has passed since last weekend's blog post. We're gonna chalk that up completely to potty training. 

Michael:

worked a lot and I'm pretty sure I start his paragraph with that every week. Whoops. He was on call on Saturday which always means he's at the hospital in the morning until lunchtime usually, BUT then he didn't get called in again until right when we were putting the boys to bed that night so that felt lucky. He got home late on Valentine's Day and it wasn't much of a holiday this year, but someday soon we'll go on a great date and get our traditional sushi. Or something. The thing is, Michael sometimes brings home sushi from the hospital when he eats it for dinner there and it has made it a little less glamorous in all of our minds I'm pretty sure. It's not as weird as it sounds, but it IS hospital sushi. So, yeah. He showed me a before and after picture this week of some facial stitching that he did and I was so impressed. The skills he's developing are life-changing and I love how hard he works. And he's just such a wonderful dad. I love listening to Westin play with him.

Maddie:

is in a daze from potty training. I don't think I remember anything that happened in the week before it. Seriously. We started Friday morning by following this book and just camped out in our kitchen all day. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that I did not take my eyes off Westin from 7am to 1:30pm. Then back at it again after his nap. When he started to pee I just told him we didn't do that on the floor and moved him to his little potty, and it actually clicked really fast. I'm so proud of him! I even kept telling him so, and he started repeating the phrase because he liked how it sounded -- that turned into him spontaneously giving me hugs and saying "I'm so proud of you!" to me. So sweet, and super appreciated because I was like, thanks kid...this is insanely hard. The most exhausting day of my parenting life was the day I tried (and tried and tried and failed) to bring Westin into this world. Friday is the second most exhausting day of my parenting life. So how's that for dramatics. (Third place goes to our 24-hour travel day in May that included two six-hour drives and two plane rides in one day... just offering some perspective here.) The point when I realized just how crazy this effort was making me was when I got super excited when I started to pee on Friday night before going to bed, and then realized that I'm already a pro and my efforts don't need to be celebrated. Long weekend, guys.

Westin:

is a big boy! He's learning so much, so fast, and I love it while it simultaneously breaks my heart to see him growing up. He's learning to use the potty so quickly and I love witnessing firsthand how he learns and how his mind works. The best part is celebrating with him and seeing him become empowered when he feels proud of himself and his new (very necessary) skill. On Friday morning he would stop mid-pee when I'd tell him to and then used his potty by the third time that I moved him there. I put his lunch on a stool in front of his potty, so he got on an off of it a hundred times while eating and became ok with the thing. On Saturday he sat on it often and I'd work hard to entertain him there until he peed. Sunday morning was the same story. But then tonight when he was playing and narrating everything he does ("making soup!" ...the kid is always making soup) I suddenly heard, "Oh, gotta go potty!" And then he was sitting on his little seat and going all by himself. In his basketball shorts. But we partied anyway! Because that was awesome, and we'll work on learning both the how and why of taking our pants off before going potty. I was nursing Bennett when it all happened so fast, so not a lot of support was around to prevent that clothing malfunction. He went again a second time tonight all on his own, and I was bursting with joy.

Bennett:

was neglected this weekend. How many times can I say potty training in one post? He was neglected because of his potty-training-brother but we love you, Bennett, please forgive us. Honestly, maybe he liked hanging out in the kitchen with us more than being on the go like normal. I would nurse him while staring at Westin, change him while staring at Westin, give him tummy time and help him learn to stand while staring at Westin, hold toys for him while staring at Westin. I hope this is sufficiently illustrating our life for you right now. Bennett is a sweet soul though and seems to hold no hard feelings, but he DID seem crazy happy after Westin went to bed Friday night and I just sat and talked and played with him for an hour. While looking at him this time. Oh sweet Bennett, I love you. He's eating three times a night and soon I'm going to need to really figure out how to change that. Another battle for another time. He had his four-month check up at the doctor and he actually only weighs 18.5 pounds. Which is still, you know, crazy huge and 95th percentile. But when you're expecting to hear 20 pounds it changes the perception there. He's 95th percentile in his other measurements too. You grow, baby boy.

This is what gives me an excuse to keep pressing play on another episode of Grey's Anatomy at night.
Can't wake up the cat, guys.
Also, that show is so dumb (says the girl who is in the 9th season...why do we do the things we do).

This picture is everything right now.

Potty training time. I deep cleaned my kitchen Thursday so we could live in it all day Friday.

 And. We. Did.

Valentine Party with friends! Westin has a thing for sprinkles, gets it from his dad.

When you realize your bag that you dearly love is widely dearly loved...

POST: Valentines in real time: I put both my kids to bed at 6:55 because I had no more energy for them. Michael got home at 7:30 and I told him I didn't know if Bennett thought it was time for bed or a nap and Michael said "I think he always thinks it's a nap?" And that is just so true. I made a gourmet dinner of macaroni and cheese, and after 20 minutes of catching up Michael is asleep on the couch per usual. Residency days are tired days all around right now. I promise next year I will make sugar cookies. And get a babysitter. But this year, my only goal is to try to stay awake long enough for This Is Us. It's not looking promising. #love

POST: Here's one of our earliest pictures together from the summer I met this sweet boy seven years ago. We hiked Mt. Sinai to see the sunrise with our BYU Jerusalem group -- I'm lucky he chose to sit by me that morning and that he keeps choosing me even still! Love you, Michael! #forevervalentine#daetwylerfamily

So very tired.

And abused. Moms, you feel me.

My friend Ami said it best: "Sandwich, open-faced."

Don't tell that I snuck a picture at church last week. But Westin loved this man so much, sat with him for the entire sacrament meeting, called him Papa, attempted repeatedly to stroke his hair, and kept giving me eyes that said "I'm so cool hanging with my friends, mom!" He hadn't been properly introduced before this experience, so... This was so entertaining to me.

Becoming Brothers

We had a lot of ice cream this week, so that's good. I took the boys to a dairy about an hour south of Fresno to tour their facilities and see where they make some sinfully good chocolate milk. My friend Emily introduced me to the stuff which is so appropriate because chocolate milk played a big role in our freshman year in the dorms at BYU together. She was so nice to invite us to see the dairy with her and her sister's family. Westin wasn't too into learning about the process of milk making but he was all about those samples of flavored milks and ice cream. We also had so much fun having Michael home for his first weekend off this year. It was a good week!

Michael:

makes things so much more fun. Westin loves being in the backyard with him, and we all had fun "playing basketball" at the courts by our house. Or whatever you call running around throwing a ball with a two-year-old boy and a baby in a stroller. He started watching the OJ Simpson trial show on Netflix with me, and he fell asleep super early on the couch most nights this week because, residency.  Bless his tired heart.

Maddie:

started up a playgroup in my ward because we still don't quite know what to do with ourselves in Fresno sometimes. But we're learning! On Saturday I felt so happy driving to dinner with all three of my boys, and it was one of those magical restaurant experiences when both kids stayed happy the whole time and no drinks were spilled. Winning. I had the healthiest day I've ever had in my life this week which showed me just how intensely I am addicted to sugar... dang it. Chocolate runs deep in my soul. This is also the first time in my life that I am actually enjoying working out, instead of just checking it off and hating it. Westin is a particularly joyful workout partner.

Westin:

is my little buddy. When we workout his interpretation of my videos cracks me up. I was doing 10-second plank holds with 3-second breaks, and Westin laid down by me and would shake and stare at his fists, then lie down and say "Sleep sleep sleep..." then up and stare at his fists while shaking again. It cracked me up so much. And heaven knows I need something to cheer me up when I attempt planks these days. Babies and abs... it's rough. Westin is obsessed with pretending to make food and helping me in the kitchen in any way possible. I really need to get him some play food or a little kitchen. It's kind of hilarious how much his life and play centers around food.

Bennett:

feels confined by his little baby body. He's always trying to roll both ways, or bounce out of anything I've tried to put him in, or stand up with help or have a good view of Westin at all times. When he hit four months last week I feel like he suddenly became so much older. He goes to the doctor on Tuesday but when I weigh him on my scale with me I think he's close to 20 pounds. Which is....insane.  It also makes me have very little patience for the 3-4 night feedings that are still happening. I'm like, kid, I don't think you need this. But he's a sweetie.

"So tall! I want to show Papa!"

Guys, this is just my favorite dessert when all is said and done. Gooey chocolate chip cookies with milk or ice cream.

They seemed like brothers this week! Instead of just two independent, parallel baby boys.
I don't know, it just felt like a shift.

"What's doin, mama?"

Loooooves sitting up with a little help.

This is.....how I find Bennett too many times. He doesn't even cry about it. Whoops.

Tummy time is always better with a friend.

"Here Bennett, do a push up!"

Do you think he likes chocolate malts as much as his mama?

Monday's crew! Emily and her girls, her sister Annie and her kids, and all of us.
Westin kept wondering where his cousins were since Hadley had cousins around.

Chunk.

Rainy Days & Sick Days

I was sad to leave the Midwest for a lot of reasons, and the thunderstorms were high on the list. I absolutely loved it when the sky went crazy in Indiana and thunder and lightning entertained us in the middle of many nights. But Fresno has had two great thunderstorms since I've been here and they have made me so happy! We're also getting TONS of rain, and I love it. We went on a walk and had to keep changing directions because of flooded streets and Westin was so intrigued by the trash cans that "oh no, fell down!"

Michael:

Hasn't had a weekend off since the holidays and it's a bummer. He went to San Francisco this weekend with the other residents in his program to work on cadavers. Sometimes I stop and think hard about how different our lives are. I can hardly imagine being in the same room as a cadaver. It's really cool to hear about the things Michael is learning and doing, especially considering the fact that I think he only gives me highlights. I have a hard time handling blood, or stories with blood, or sad stories, or sad stories with blood. You get the idea. He gets next weekend off and we're going to party! Read: sleep. When the kids let us sleep.

Maddie:

Is the only healthy one in the family right now, knock on wood. Knock really hard and lots of times on wood. Westin came down with something first about a week ago, then Bennett, and Michael picked it up right before leaving on his trip. There's a lot of coughing and nose wiping going on around here. Add that to the two in diapers and the one who spits up all the time and my life is just feeling really glamorous. The laundry, you guys. I finally let it break me. Piles of clean over there, piles of dirty over there, stacks of folded over there. Can't we all just wear one clean outfit a day again? This week was also the first week I really felt like myself since having Bennett. It was a combination of fun distractions and projects, recognizing that I'm much stronger than those first awful workouts after my c-section, and being able to put Bennett down awake at night and closer to Westin's bedtime. I really missed having evenings to myself even though newborns are precious. I'm also working on making fun plans each month during Michael's crazy busy schedule right now and it's helping so much to have things to look forward to. Except May is open so, who wants to come play with me?

Westin:

Has heard the phrase "We don't whine" close to 2,000 times this week, and I think now the phrase itself is maybe what he's whining about? I don't know. I just get so frustrated when he whines at me for something before ever asking me in a nice voice first. So we're working on that. And working on it. And working on it. He's so fun to play with though, and I don't know how many times I told him I was glad to have him around during this stage of life. He's such a fun little buddy to have by my side while we take care of sweet needy Bennett while dad is busy, busy. I love when he taps his chin and says "Hmm, which book to read..." while looking at his bookshelves. I love that every single day since turning two he has received one dinosaur gummy vitamin but every single day since turning two he has asked for "twoooo dinosaur medicines?". Here's to always having hope that today is maybe the day that you finally get two vitamins instead of one. I also love when I let him make little choices throughout the day and he ponders them hard but I know in my heart what he will choose already. Red bib or blue bib? (Always red.) What color of plate? (Always purple if it's an option.) He's such a cutie and I love him.

Bennett:

Should not be allowed to be sick like he is, poor little guy. He's still so new and it's sad to hear him cough so much and listen to his tired sad breathing. He's only been sick two-ish days and his four-month check up is on Valentine's day so I was hoping to avoid taking him into the doctor before that, but we'll see how this week goes. I'm anxious to see what he weighs at his appointment, but when I stop on the scale holding him to figure out his weight it shows that he's nearing 20 points. Yeah. I bought him size 3 diapers today and felt so ripped off. Bennett, you big kid, stay a baby! Westin has also really started loving on Bennett in just the last few days and it's adorable. He always wants to get Bennett out of the swing when he's crying but puts his hands around him and says "too heavy!" and I'm like, thank goodness. Maybe Bennett's weight is a defense mechanism against his older brother. Sometimes I hear "Here you go, baby" multiple times and turn around to see Bennett covered in Westin's toy offerings in his bouncer seat. It's very sweet but does require some rescuing. He's a terrible sleeper.... waking up ever 90 minutes or 2 hours. I hope that improves when he gets over his cold, but let's be honest. This terrible sleeping has been going on long before this cold started. But we're letting him use it as an excuse at least this week. His laugh is the best sound. I love my boys!

Such crazy flooding in our neighborhood! I ran into a guy that has lived here 20 years by this water and he said he's never seen anything like this here.

Westin kept wanting me to turn the hose on to water the plants that day... I finally reasoned with him that we didn't need to add to the situation.

Bennett snoozes right next to me after his 4am feeding and I love it.

"Come on dada, let's get in little blue truck!"

Laundry. And Maker of Laundry.

Lots of rolls going on for this four-month-old.

Poor sick baby doesn't understand why breathing is taking so much effort.