Bring on the Potty Training!!

So, Brady left town this afternoon and will be back, thankfully, tomorrow evening. I meant to ask him to stop by and grab a pack of diapers for me on his way home from work before he left. That didn't happen. So, he got home and packed and did a few things to get ready for the repairmen that are coming in the morning to fix our long list of warranty items on the house, and then had to get to the airport. No time to go get diapers. I have 3. So, I put Aubrey in the tub tonight, and after she got out I let her run around in panties and told her if she needed to go pee pee, to go sit on the little toilet. I turned the light on in the bathroom and set up the little potty and the next thing I knew she was in there sitting down and telling me, "pee pee mommy". I looked in the little potty, not really expecting to see anything, and low and behold she had really gone!!! I was thrilled and praised her forever and told her if she needed to go again to go in the potty again. A little while later, she came up to me and said, "pee pee, panties" and was tugging on her panties. So, I told her to pull them all the way down and go sit on the potty, and she did!!!! And she went again!! I can't even believe it!! I am so happy. So, I am hoping she will keep it up. We shall see. I hope this isn't some sort of fluke. I'd love to be done with diapers for a while before the next baby gets here.

Tingey Baby #3 (8 weeks 2 days 15 hr 22 min 34 sec))

Here is the ultrasound of Brady and Debbie Tingey Child #3. Eight weeks along and already 1 inch head to rump. I think he/she is waving hello.

Wesley's Birthday

Wesley was really excited to make his birthday cake. He kept telling me we needed to hurry and make it before his friends came over. Sad!! Poor kid. We had talked about doing a chocolate party and having a few friends (boys only, as requested by Wesley) come over. But, then things changed when mom came down with the 9 month flu. So, I told him we'd have a party with dad when he got home and luckily he was okay with that.

We had chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, and chocolate candy bars on top.

Funny thing is, Wesley didn't care to much about eating the cake. He likes the frosting and was excited for us to sing happy birthday so he could blow out his candles. The cake is still sitting on the counter with one slice taken out of it, which was for Aubrey and she didn't even eat it.

Being that we ran out of time, between me not feeling well and Brady working major overtime to take care of things at work AND home, we opted to just take Wesley to the store and let him pick out his own gift. We finally walked out of the store with this cool set. It is a castle with knights and they have swords and knives and shields and all kinds of fun stuff.

Dad helping Wesley put things together. He has had a lot of fun with it.

Utah Trip: Last Leg

Although I don't have any pics of the last part of our trip, I wanted to finish telling about our journey.

We left the Blue Mountain Saturday night tired and dirty. But it was fun. Especially for the kids.

Sunday, I got up and took Aubrey with me down to the meetings at the White Mesa branch. It was a nice little meeting and brought back a lot of memories of my time as a missionary in Salamanca, Spain.

Sunday afternoon my mom made a nice dinner for us and we spent some time over at her house. She made roast, potatoes, and rolls and green beans. It was very nice. Thanks mom! We visited and the kids played and went out and saw the chickens.

Monday, we finished up some laundry and packing and hit the road. I was going to stay the night in Albuquerque and fly home with Aubrey on Tuesday. But, then we heard about the tropical storm that was going to hit Galveston, and I decided I'd rather just drive with the boys then get stuck in New Mexico an extra day. It was a long drive home. But, we made it! And we didn't bring any sickness home with us. Except maybe morning sickness, which I'd love to have just left behind.

Utah Trip: Intermission Please....It's Wesley's Birthday This Week

So serious! Contemplating what to do now that he is in the tree. Hmm.....

The classic, stick his tongue out for the pic.

Climbing.........something Wesley loves to do.

Wesley and Kadence. This morning, out of the clear blue sky, he told me he was never going to get to see Kadence again. I told him he would if she came to visit or if we went to visit them. He didn't say anything after that. So, I was going through pics and found this one of them playing at Chick Fillet........."Chick a lay" as Kadence would say.

Wesley loves candy. Especially CHOCOLATE!! He told us, for his birthday he wants chocolate and toys. That is easy enough. He already made out like a bandit over our vacation. Grandma Tingey brought him his present early.........10 new trains from the Thomas the Tank Engine Series!!! THANKS GRANDMA!!!!! She hit the train gold mine and got them all on sale......an extremely good sale. And Aunt Laura and Uncle Sam gave him a fun money game so we can work on helping him grasp the concept that all coins are not quarters. THANKS Sam and Laura!! Granny Great and Grampa sent him a nice birthday card, which he was thrilled to receive a letter in the mail. Thank you Gran!!


This week Wesley will be four years old! I can hardly believe it. I watch him, and it amazes me how grown up he is becoming. He is a good helper. Especially lately, since I have not been feeling myself. He plays with Aubrey, gets her snacks, and is obedient when I ask him to help me clean up (most of the time anyway).

He has been really intrigued by the Olympic games in Beijing. He sits and watches the events with Brady and hardly blinks. I love to watch his face. I wish I could see into that little mind of his and know exactly what he is thinking sometimes.

He has been into Dora the Explorer lately. And Diego, Dora's cousin. Today, he told me I was Dora, he is Swiper, dad is Diego, and Aubrey is Boots. LOL What about Back Pack?? And Rescue Pack??? J/J Those who know nothing of Dora are probably lost by now. It is funny how kids get so into things.

Lately Wesley has been calling me Sister Tingey?? I guess he hears the kids at church call me that, and even some of his friends call me that away from church. It cracks me up. I told him the other night he could just call me mom. He said sometimes he just likes to call me Sister Tingey. So, I called him Brother Tingey and he told me he is not Brother Tingey, he is Wesley Tingey. Hmph. Okay.

He is getting better with his number recognition. He has struggled. He gets numbers and letters mixed up. He calls the 7 a L and the 5 a S and the 8 a B. We are getting there. He knows the whole alphabet and their sounds. I have been working with him on using the sounds to sound out words. It's slow coming, but he seems interested so we will keep working on it. He loves books. I am happy about that. I hope he always likes to read.

He is still a picky little eater, which drives me nuts. But, at least he will eat good things. He likes fruit and veggies. And he loves ketchup sandwiches!! Yuck!!!

I love to lay down by him at bed time. I can tell when he is getting really sleepy, because he tells me over and over that he loves me. And he pats my cheek and then holds my hand. I love it! I love my little guy!!

Wesley loves his daddy. He loves to go swimming with him, play Age of Empires with him, read with him, and especially loves to do carnival rides with him (you know, the put the kid on your feet while you are laying on your back and fly them all around kind of rides). When he says the prayer at breakfast, he always prays that his daddy will be safe at work.

He is such a sweet boy and we are so grateful to have him in our lives.

Utah Trip: Hawkins Reunion

We made it to Blanding!!


Grampa and Aubrey. Wesley eating cookies!!

Talon and one of the twins. Granny Great.


"hobo dinners" You should have seen some of these customized dinners. I've never seen so much beef! The dinners were yummy. My favorite is to put cabbage and squash in them. mmmmmm.


Unfortunately, our car wasn't the only thing to give us fits. Our camera was/is acting up to. Hence the blurry images on some of the pics. (yes, I am sure it is the camera and not the user) Aubrey and Wesley had a blast in the mountain. I don't think Aubrey has ever been as dirty as she was when we left.

cousin Phoenix. Wesley and Avina pretending to be ghosts.

chillin'

It was fun to relax and visit. Aunt Danelle and granny Ann had some fun things for the kids to do. A scavenger hunt, and bubbles..........the kids had fun and made out like bandits with all the fun little toys from the scavenger hunt.

The first evening in town we had a get together up at Aunt Jenny's..........instead of a BB-Q, we did a desert night! yuuummmmmyyy! Jenny made a really yummy cobbler. Thanks Jenny!! We had been traveling that day and pulled into town just in time for this little shin dig, so we were really tired. But, it was fun to see all the kids and family. And, of course, I didn't get any pics!! I could just kick myself.

Then, we spent the day Friday preparing for the reunion and then headed up to Blue Mountain where Grampa and Gran's cabin is, and stayed the night and had fun visiting and roasting mallows and all that fun camping stuff. I didn't get a pic of our little tent city. Most of us slept in tents, so the guys rigged up a place under a few tarps for us all to set up. Wesley was so excited to sleep in the tent. He really enjoys camping.

Utah Trip : A Morning at Temple Square

We left Rockin' R Ranch on Sunday afternoon and drove up to Syracuse. We stayed Sunday night at Aunt Laureen's. They fed us dinner and everything! It was nice. Wesley chewed the rubber off of Laureen's shower squeegee........Gross! I about died. But, he apologized and Aunt Laureen did a good job holding in her giggles.

Monday morning we headed down to SLC. Aubrey was still puking at this point. So, I wondered how it would go. She did fine. However, cousin Nathanael decided it was his turn to be sick. Poor kids. Anyway, we met up with grandma Tingey, Aunt Christy, her son Nathanael, and her niece, and Aunt Becca. I had never been to the top of the church office building........that offered some neat views I'd never seen. Wesley really liked it. We weren't there long. But it was more fun this time since Wesley is older and more interested in seeing things. Grandma treated us to lunch at the Garden Restaurant at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial building. I always enjoy being in that building..........it is so nice.


Cool view of the State Capital building.

Wesley's idea to stand in front of this statue....a young boy with his mom. The other is, of course, a statue of Joseph Smith. Aubrey was not happy as you can see.

The Salt Lake Temple never ceases to amaze me.



This is me and the kids with my Grandfather Low. We were able to stop and visit him for a bit. Aubrey puked on his couch and Wesley clogged his toilet. LOL. But really, we had a nice visit.

I know this is really random..........Nick is hilarious. I had to put a picture of him up. This is Brady's youngest brother.


I wish I would have been feeling better and been more on the ball. I didn't get pics of us with my friend Autumn and her two little cuties, Hunter and Peyton, or my mission comp. Jessica and her adorable little boy, Hayden. But, we did get to stop by for a few minutes, literally only a few minutes, and say hi to them. Also, I didn't get pics with Abby........I saw her briefly. She came and picked up our car and kept it at her apartment until my dad could travel up North to pick it up. (explanation just below.)
And then, it happened. The car started to over heat really bad and we stopped and checked the fluids etc. and found that the oil was indeed turning milky....................YIKES!! So, we made it to Provo, got a hotel, rented a car (after many wasted hours of car hunting by myself. We were just gonna buy a car......I am glad we didn't.), and ended up being in Provo for 2 days with the stomach flu. I got to spend some time with my friend Natalie. She was my shoulder to cry on and my moral support in going about finding a rental car and all that good stuff! I was on the verge of falling apart, but she helped keep me together. I didn't get a pic with her either! Dang it!!
So, Brady and Wesley had the flu the worse this time around. Aubrey seemed to be doing better. I got it, but not bad. Which I guess is a huge blessing. It was at this point in the trip that all my suspicions that maybe I was/am pregnant were confirmed in the affirmative through a store bought test. So, we got ourselves all pulled together and finally headed to Blanding a day later than scheduled. The morning we left, Brady was feeling so much better and was able to stop by and see some of his friends from Provo for a minute before we left. He got to see Rodney, Steve, and Benjamin. Steve and Benjamin are old roomies from BYU. Rodney is a nice man Brady still home teaches every month via phone. And of course, no pics...........*SIGH*

Part Two: Trip to Utah/Tingey Reunion

We left Blanding and headed off to Antimony to the Rockin' R Ranch. We had a nice scenic drive through Southern Utah........stopped by Goose necks (this stop was the first time our car wouldn't start when we went to leave again......took a few tries, but got goin' and made it to the ranch). It was a beautiful drive. I had forgotten how amazing the land scape is in that part of the country.

I have to thank my sister in law, Christy, for a few of the pictures from the reunion. So, THANKS CHRISTY!!


The kids enjoyed the little hike to the overlook at Goose necks.

If I am remembering right, that is the Dirty Devil River at Lake Powell pictured above.


WE MADE IT!!! The Tingey Reunion was a lot of fun. From rodeos, to Olympic games, to just hangin' out at the playground. We all had a great time.


Neither one of our kids would ride the horse this year. Aubrey was off before she made it all the way on.

Go Grandpa!!! Go Dad!!

Nice hair Aubrey!! (and mom at that)
Aunt Laura is the pretty one in next to Aubrey.

The dancing is always fun! Right Angie??

Wesley loved the Olympic Games. Aubrey wasn't feelin' well this day so she missed out on all that fun.

Ready for the boat ride! Aubrey wouldn't get to close to the animals.

Aubrey kept asking to go in the boat, but when it came right down to it she wouldn't get in. So, dad, Uncle Chris, and Wesley went for a little ride.

Cute kids! This is Aunt Christy and cousin Nathanael.

Aubrey loves to have her nails painted!!

Aubrey holding her new cousin Henry. Such a handsome guy!!


Wesley and another one of those silly faces.