Our basement has carpet!

After several late nights, Saturdays, and ridiculous amounts of white powder all over our home... the basement is pretty much DONE. We still have to put on a couple of the outlet covers, but YAY!! Oh, I am so excited to have this extra room. I might be even more excited that I'm done working on it... I can't decide.

Our basement has gone from this...

to this!!

The carpet was done this morning, and Ben has been at work (boo), so he hasn't even seen it yet! Troy was really cute. He was SO excited. He just ran around the room a bunch. I was lucky to get a picture of him kind of holding still.

Liam just wanted mommy. Haha. I got a quick snap while he was crawling towards me.

I had to include this picture of Troy "painting." This is how I kept him busy while I painted. He is such a good little helper!

One last picture of the stairs.

We definitely appreciate this basement, since we did all of the work. I also have a new appreciation for our home and construction workers! It was a good experience, and it was fun to work side by side with Ben so much. I am grateful for the ability to work. But most of all, I am glad it is done right now!

Liam at 9 1/2 Months

This picture portrays well what Liam does with most of his time... putting things in his mouth. Including my shoulders. Now that he has 6 teeth, I am seriously reconsidering breastfeeding till he's 1. It hasn't been too bad, but I am more fearful during feedings. ;) Usually he naws on my shoulders though, while pinching my arm with his cute little fingers. I no longer wear short sleeves around the house.

Other than abusing his mom ;).. Liam is playing with Troy, sitting in his exersaucer, or crawling towards me. Liam and Troy are SO cute together. Troy will crawl and wait for Liam to catch up to him and this goes on for a while. I help Liam play pass with Troy and they both love it. Troy gets mad if he sees me sneak a pass with my own foot, it has to be Liam's foot. They could play forever in the tub together. I remember thinking, right after Troy was born, that he needed a sibling. Now I know, he needed Liam. And I did too.

Liam is our little light that makes little frustrations seem less important, because loving each other is the most important. It goes along with one of our favorite quotes by President Monson, "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."

Liam's favorite foods are graham crackers, gerber snacks, and bananas. The second I put him in the high-chair, I have to keep the food coming or he gets impatient and does the cutest little sad face. Ben and I think that he eats more than Troy. It might be true. He is also following suit with Troy and hates getting dressed or his diaper changed. I have to be very animated to get through his diaper changes. Liam takes two naps, about 1 1/2 hours each. He refuses to lay down, no matter how tired he is. So, I leave him sitting up with his pacifier in his mouth, hoping he will not cry too long. Which he doesn't. Very different from Troy, Liam will cry a max of 5 minutes. A lot less stressful for me. But, Liam takes a pacifier and Troy didn't. Maybe that's the difference.

One last note... I realized the other day that I think I expect Troy to do more than he can. I say that because I look at Liam and encourage growth but am ok if he doesn't hit markers quickly because he "is little." Because Troy is my first, I think I am anxious for him to hit markers more quickly. It was just a reminder to myself that I need to be more patient and focusing on Troy's wants, rather than a textbook or comparison child. Again, back to President Monson's quote. What an inspired prophet we have.

Christmas Decor, Teeth, and Update!

Troy wanted to help me put up our decorations.

The first thing we put up was this little Nativity set. I thought this would be a nice place..

Troy thought that was a good idea, but an even better idea would be on the Christmas Tree box.

Then he got a little emotional with Joseph and gave him a hug. So sweet!

Until he remembered that his football was in the other room. He took off like a crazy man and hit baby Jesus on his way to get it. Thus we were left with a different Nativity scene...
It was a good effort.

Other updates about Troy at 2 and 3/4: He is talking SO much more. I am in heaven. Although, I am the only one that can understand him most of the time. We are working on it. One thing he says very clear is, "No, ok?" in a very sweet tone. I think he has discovered that if he says it nicely, I might actually consider his response ;) He has been saying YES to the potty everyday, but still has not actually gone pee. Baby steps.

He has been better at reading books with me. He likes to mainly review what he already knows, but it's cute to see him try and explain what he thinks is happening. He thinks everyone is hugging or eating. Oh, and every baby is Liam. I keep trying to tell him about baby Jesus born at Christmas, but he keeps telling me that it is Liam sleeping. I also tried to tell him about King Benjamin in his little Book of Mormon book and he paused, then shook his head and said, "No, Daddy's at work." Except he doesn't say the at ;) Love it.

Troy is still pretty obsessed with Ben, but he doesn't cry when he leaves anymore!! The dentist also told me that his last two teeth just came in and that might explain why he was a basket case for a little while. (Really emotional.) And YES he went to the dentist. I finally considered it after seeing that my friend Liss took her little boy. And Troy miraculously let them clean his teeth. He only bit the lady once... oops. They were so good with him. They let him hold the suction tube. I took a picture, but it was actually video and you can see it at the bottom of the post. He wouldn't look at me though...

Liam on the other hand, will gladly look at the camera and give a big smile. Mr. attention lover.

Liam is 9 1/2 months!! He is army crawling everywhere and I suddenly realize how much he can reach now. He is standing in his crib when I come to get him and it surprises me every time. He is a little restless that he can't move as fast as Troy, but still my happy Liam.

He just got his top four teeth in. This picture is awful, but the only one I could get of his teeth. The phone is so tempting!
His 9 month clothes are tight and wearing mostly 12 month. He is a solid boy. I just want to kiss his chubby cheeks all the time. I think I say that in every post, but it's true. I need to go spend a couple minutes with Ben (JUST got home from Young Mens), so I will continue on special Liam tomorrow. I need to be better about documenting this little guy.

Family Pictures

We had our family pictures done a few weeks ago and I LOVE them. The pictures were with the Andersen/Westbrook clan (my side.) My friend Megan Sollis took them. She is amazing. Click on her name to check out her blog.

Quick note: Taking family pictures with a toddler and infant = HARD. So, be amazed that you can see their faces and they are not crying.. most of the time ;)

Ben and I officially look older.. and happier with these two in our lives ;)

Ask me how much I love this photo... TONS.

I am so grateful for my brothers. We have so much fun.

Beautiful Westbrook siblings.

Here are the two couples :

Tyler and Annie

Devin and Sarah

Devin and Sarah were pros at picture taking. They knew exactly what pose to do and it looks so good!

I know he is thinking, "Don't smile!" But at least we got a sly smile ;)

My mom and Corey are troopers. We took this picture towards the end. The boys were done... haha.

Megan took some fun pictures in between.

This is Megan, the awesome photographer. So beautiful.

We ended the session with some leaf throwing. Troy thought it was the best part! :)

Eventful Dinner

Need to open a bag of brown sugar in a hurry? Throw it on the stove! (Troy's idea) and the plastic will melt right off!

Bored with the average pb and j? Add some ranch!

Troy is very inventive. ;) Frustrating moments are funnier when I know I can blog about them.

Monday Morning

Our flight didn't leave until 3:30 on Monday, so we got to go downtown in the morning and ride the free trolley!

It was THE most gorgeous day. It was sad to come home to the cold.

We miss our Kitchens and Garzas. We had such a blast!! We were SO SO spoiled. Next reunion request... cabin. Where we put the kiddos to bed and stay up til 3:30 playing card games.

Sunday

We attended church with the Garzas (minus Reed who was doing a 30 hour rotation in surgery.) They attend a branch and it was such an amazing meeting. The size is definitely different from a Utah ward! Troy made himself known by throwing a baby powder bottle at an elderly man next to us, right in the head. My goodness.

After church we hung out at the house until the Kitchen's came for dinner. They made such a yummy meal. Chicken and potato crockpot masterpiece, with a salad that Ben keeps raving about, fruit, and peanut butter sheet cake for dessert. Could I be more happy? We were so spoiled the whole time we were there. Here are some pictures of playing outside after dinner..

We had ice cream for dessert. Troy wasn't about to stop eating to take a picture!

Brooklyn specifically asked Liss to paint her nails. Cohen was getting a little too interested, so Brock made him play some football ;)

Our three kiddos kind of match! Are they not adorable?!

When asked to give Brooklyn a kiss, Cohen and Troy responded differently..

Brendon is a little smiler. So CUTE!

With the Kitchens, you are always required to take funny face pictures. Brock totally schooled me.