Mommy's Little Helper

I have a little shadow, he follows me everywhere. He wants to do what I am doing, and says exactly what I say. Stetson's new favorite activity is helping me in the kitchen. When I am trying to do dishes, he gets between me and the cupboard and pushes me away from the sink, then reaches up to me and says, "hug", how can you resist that? But it doesn't end there, he latches on to me, and won't let me put him down; "help you", he says. So, he proceeds to "help" me by turning the water on and off about every two seconds, and occasionally spraying me with the sprayer.

It doesn't matter what Stetson is doing, when he hears my kitchen aide start up, or the beaters, or the popcorn popper. . . he is there within seconds, reaching up and saying, "watch". He loves to watch the beaters mixing up the food, and the kernals of popcorn spinning until they finally start to pop. Then, as soon as I am done mixing, he reaches for the beaters. Maybe I shouldn't let him lick the beaters, but I loved it as a kid.

Stetson has learned to entertain himself pretty well. The other day when I got out of the shower, this is what I found:

Have you ever heard the song about pulling the stickers off the rubix cube? I don't think he was doing it to get all the colors on the same side, he just loves to take things apart and put them back together, or unload something and then load it back up. What a funny kid!

My brother Jens is the 8th grade football star! I was so glad Stetson and I had the privledge to watch one of his games. He is awesome, and can play whatever position they put him in, from Quarterback to runningback, he can do it all. This particular game was the day after he got braces and expanders put on, so he was pretty miserable, but you would never know it! Go Jens!

I'm so grateful for the great examples my brothers are setting for Stetson. We had the opportunity to go to one of Jade's cross country races in Shiprock, and Jade did awesome! I don't think he realizes how much talent he has. Before the race Jens was teaching Stetson how to play football - I think he made a touchdown on this run!
And Grandpa was showing Stetson the fake grass. It must be pretty soft and bouncy because Stetson kept pounding his fist on the ground and then jumping up and down like he was on a trampoline or something, it was so cute!

We got to the race late, as usual, and missed my sister McKady. She has been running awesome this year and is usually the 5th runner on her team to come in. This wasn't one of her best races because she was sick and had blisters on both feet, but she still finished and did very well. Then, the battery on my camera died, and I wasn't able to get a picture of my nephew Taylor, and my brother Jade finishing the race. They both did awesome though; Taylor finished 4th, and Jade finished 16th - great job guys! Stetson stood at the edge of the track and clapped and cheered for every racer that came on to the track. He didn't get tired of it either, and was there to cheer on the final finisher - what a great fan!

An Authentic African Party

It was the day we had all waited for, and even though it was close to midnight most of the grandkids were still awake. Everyone gathered at the Salt Lake airport anxiously awaiting the return of Elder and Sister Black.And finally, they arrived! It seemed as though the escalator took FOREVER to bring them down, but they made it, and the next few minutes were filled with hugs and tears.

To Stetson, it was as though they had never left. He walked right up to Grandpa and reached up for a hug, saying "pa pa". But one hug wasn't enough, and he followed him around until Grandpa finally picked him up and carried him as he continued to give long awaited hugs to kids and grandkids. I have to agree with my sister-in-law, Shauna, I think that is what heaven will be like. . . a wonderful, happy reunion, and we will all feel as if we were never separated. Now that is definately something to look forward to!A week later, we were together again to hear Grandma and Grandpa report their mission, and enjoy an Authentic African Party together. It was also a special day for little Dodger, as he received a name and a blessing from his father, Andy. I'm so sad I didn't get a picture of him in his cute little blessing outfit, but I am sure his mom got a few, so you can check them out on her blog.

Grandma and Grandpa gave each of us an authentic, custom-made, African outfit to wear for the party. I think that was probably as colorful as the "Black" family has ever been.

Stetson had a blast with his cousins: Gavin, Derek, Trace, Logan, Macy, Megan

One of the members over in Africa, who is now serving a mission, called Stetson the "Little Cowboy", and had this cute African outfit made just for him. . . Thanks Elder!

Now there are some true "Black" boys

After Suzie finished taking a bunch of pictures of the family in their new African clothes, Stetson thought it was her turn to get her picture taken, with him of course. I LOVE this pic, as Aunt Suzie is one of Stetson's favorite people - so cute!!!

Grandpa Black, happy to be home!

A relaxing weekend and a big boy bed!

After a busy and overwhelming summer, we FINALLY took a weekend and went on vacation Isn't that the point of "Labor" Day - to NOT work? Our friends, Eric and Natalie Montague, just built a new cabin up in the Uintah mountains, and they invited us to come up and visit. I almost have a hard time calling it a cabin, since it is nicer - and bigger - than my house, but I guess that is not hard to do. We had tons of fun with the Montagues, and enjoyed their hospitality. We also got to do some shopping, and spend some relaxing moments together as a family - it was WONDERFUL! One of the highlights was the swimming pool at the motel; Stetson seemed to enjoy it a lot more than he did the last time we went swimming.

This is how Stetson looks after spending the day with his dad

Okay, I bought Stetson this huge popsicle, thinking there was no way he would be able to finish it - wrong - he ate the whole thing in about 3 minutes! He is definately a popsicle kid!

Monarch Meadows - the Montague Cabin

It was so beautiful; this picture doesn't really do it justice - sorry!

Kenny, just relaxing in the spacious living room of the cabin

Stetson and Ava Montague, playing in the rocks

Ava is just a month older than Stetson, and we got to celebrate her 2nd birthday with her!

Dakota Montague and Stetson, doing the "man's" work

Enjoying the comfortable bed at the Courtyard Marriott

Ready to go swimming (notice the cute little belly and the farmer's tan - that's my boy!)

I LOVE these guys!

STETSON'S BIG BOY BED. . .Since Stetson can climb in and out of his crib now, we decided it was time to graduate to a big boy bed. He was so proud of his new bed, he kept climbing up and just sitting there for a few minutes. And, he didn't fall out of bed the first night - or the second. When he fell out the the third night, he was pretty mad!

Sorry about the quality of the pictures, my camera was on a wierd setting, and I didn't realize it until I uploaded the picture - oh well!

Mommy, Wow! He's a big kid now!

I have always believed that when potty training a kid, it is best to wait until THEY are ready, though I have nothing against giving them some encouragement. So, I figured that after Stetson turned two, I would start the encouragement. Well, he is still not two, and I haven't started any encouragement. So apparently no one told Stetson that he needed to wait until MOM was ready! Oh, well!

Stetson has a cousin that is almost exactly a year older than him, who he absolutely adores. If he sees J.D. doing something, then he wants to do it too. J.D. has been potty trained for several months now, and doesn't mind going outside - whenever. So, thanks to peer pressure, Stetson has learned to pull down his pants (diaper included); once his pants are down he says, "pee", telling me that he needs to go pee. So we got him a little potty, and every time he does that, I have him sit on the potty. For the past couple weeks he would sit there for about 20 seconds and then lose interest, so we would put the diaper back on and carry on with life. Then, Sunday morning I was in the bathroom doing my hair and he came in with is diaper off, saying he needed to go pee. He sat there for almost a minute, tapping his cute little foot, and then stood up and said, "done". To my surprise, he had actually peed in the little potty! Of course, Kenny and I made a big deal of it, and he got a little treat. But still, I figured that it was probably a one-time thing, at least for a few more months, but once again, I was wrong. That night he did it again, and again the next morning, and so on and so forth. I know we are a long way from being TRAINED, but at least he is interested, and knows the concept! And he did it all on his own. . . I guess I am just going to have to get used to the fact that Stetson does things on his own, in his own time - just like his daddy!

I am so proud of Stetson, but wish that he wasn't growing up so fast. I guess I just need to step back and ENJOY THE JOURNEY!