Three Boys Update

Things have been changing around our house the last few weeks. Randy went back to work and has his biggest class of students ever.

Mark had his first day of Kindergarten yesterday. He LOVES school and riding the bus. It is so fun to see how independent he is as he heads off to school. I know he'll have a great year. Here is a picture of Mark the first day of school.

Now that Mark is gone every morning, Dax has more free time on his hands. He starts preschool next week and is so excited. We went to his open house today and met his teacher. She is amazing, and I know he'll enjoy preschool this year. Check out Dax below--this is how he came out dressed this morning (shorts first, then underwear). He loves to be silly.

Seth is 2 months old today. He has gained a lot of weight, and we will find out how much on Friday at his two month check up (our scale has him upward of 14 pounds!). The following week we head to the cardiologist to check on his heart. He is such an easy-going, content baby. Seth even sleeps in his bed every once and awhile now. We are enjoying all his smiles.

Which Ockey are you?

At least once a week I get asked who does Seth look like--Mark or Dax? I usually say something like this, "Well, at first I thought he looked like Dax, but now I think he looks more like Mark." So sometimes when I am nursing Seth late at night I think about who he looks like and acts like. I know he is only 7 weeks old, but here are a few things I have noticed.

Top Three Things Like Mark
1. Seth has some pretty bad gas like Mark did. He doesn't spit up quite as much as Mark, thank goodness. Dax never spit up or had gas bubbles.
2. Seth loves to be held to fall asleep and doesn't like to sleep in his bed. Mark was the same way. Dax wanted to be in his bed and still asks for naps.
3. Seth has the same shape eyes as Mark which means they get squinty when he smiles. Dax has big eyes like his dad.

Top Three Things Like Dax
1. Seth hates to look at books. I was worried about Dax because he would not read books, but he figured it out, so I hope Seth does too. Mark loved books from birth.
2. Seth has gained a ton of weight, just like Dax (and they both started in the mid 9 pounds). Mark was "only" 8 lbs. 6 oz.
3. Seth has the same dark hair that Dax started with that later turned blonde. I figure Seth will do the same. Mark sported the Howie Mandel look.

So what do you think? Is Seth a little Mark or a little Dax?

Mark at 2 days old.

Dax at 3 days old.

Seth at 3 days old.

Mark -- two months

Dax -- two months

Seth -- two months (almost)

Sometimes I just need a laugh . . .

I must have accidentally put Dax's jeans in Mark's drawer, so when he came down and said that these pants were really tight and he could barely button them (after he had been wearing them for 1/2 hour), I lost it. I hadn't laughed that hard for awhile.

Looks like he has capris on!

Our Garden

We haven't been good to our garden this year. We got it planted and moving along pretty well-- then it seemed like we got busy with other things. In fact, if it hadn't been for the automatic watering system we bought a few years ago, we'd probably have a desert in our backyard. Over the last week or two, we've picked a bunch of tomatoes, 10 ears of corn, a few quarts of beans, and a peck (that's half a bushel) of green peppers. We also have had maybe 10 cucumbers. Not bad for a neglected garden patch. Today was a bumper crop, though. Just today, we picked this:

That's a lot of beans!

Half a peck of peppers

Girls' Camp

Hey, this is Randy . . .
I had a great time at girls' camp this week. That's right, I have 3 boys and I spent time at our ward's girls' camp. I guess that's what you get when you have summers off.

I saw some pretty amazing things. First, on the drive up to Payson Lakes where the camp was held, I saw a doe and her two tiny fawns, still with spots on their coats. I longed for Dax and Mark to be there. They love that kind of thing.

Then, I saw 5 ruffed grouse playing in the bushes. This is only the second time I've seen what we used to call "pine hens" and the first time was at least 20 years ago.

By the lake I saw a mother duck and her 5 baby ducklings. Again, I wished for my boys to see them. They were still gray with yellow stripes.

Finally, on the hike, I saw something I don't ever remember seeing in Utah before. We were hiking along the Loafer Mountain trail and a black bear rumbled across the path. All 25 girls (and about 6 leaders) screamed, and he lumbered off into the woods. It was pretty exciting in a "frightened teenager" sort of way.

This is a stock photo, but that's actually about what I saw.
I think everyone was too afraid to pull out a camera.

At the Lake

We had a fun time at Utah Lake with the Alders on Friday. It was the boys' first time in a boat, and they were very excited. In the end, they decided not to get in the water (well, Dax kicked his feet a little off the back of the boat), but it turns out dad can still ski. He pulled himself right up on all 3 attempts. He wasn't nearly as good at wake boarding (he pulled up, but it was like he was on ball bearings and lasted about 5 seconds). Also, don't ask him to get anything off the top shelf because he is sure sore today!

Natalie and Seth sat this one out, but next time they will be on the boat for sure. Below are the pics and ski video.

Getting ready to go on the boat.

Dax and Ty

Randy on the tube

Dax squirting dad.

Dad and Mark enjoying each other.

Driving the boat.

Our Fish Does the Backstroke

So, you know all about Seth and his surgery, but one of our lesser known family members is our fish. I bought him from a fair at school-- fish, tank, rocks, food, water, etc. for $14. Mark and Dax really love him. Mark wanted to name him Jorge after Natalie's old fish from long ago. Dax wanted to name him Poochie after the name we called Seth in utero which was Moochie. We finally settled on Poochie Jorge, or PJ for short.

We think he is a black moor fish. Whatever the case, he has a unique and somewhat disturbing habit. He likes to float on his back at the top of the bowl. The first time this occurred, Dax came to tell us the fish was "sleeping" on top of the bowl.

We've learned if you gently tap the glass, he tips back over and swims away!

Yes, he is floating on his back. The first few times we thought he was a goner.
 But we have learned that sometimes PJ likes to do the back stroke.