25 Weeks

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Facetime and Potty

 When Justin was given the offer for his job in 2012, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. It has been a great thing for our family, but has been hard with all the travel it requires. 

Many of our nights are spent like this.

 Thank goodness for face time!

 One of Natalie's favorite games is to play pretend sleeping right now. She even snores! I don't know where she learned that, but does a great impression. Tonight she was happy to report to Daddy that she had went number 2 on the potty. I was happy too. 

The three day potty method worked really well for us.  (Let me know if you are interested I can send you the short ebook to read on it)

The first two days were really intense. Lots of accidents and only getting her to go in the toilet twice each day. The first night she also wet the bed and that was no fun for her. The second night she stayed dry though. At the end of the second day I reread the short book and realized I needed to improve some of my teaching habits. 

I made a few adjustments and by the third day around noon she really started getting it. That was good, because I was really starting to dislike the lady who wrote the method, haha.
No, really I was quite pleased with the method. It reinforces positivity, consistency and follow through. All things that I believe to be good traits of good parents.
 

We only had two accidents that third day and the second one was really because I wasn't watching close enough. 

She continued to have dry nights through the weekend and 95% dry days. 

This week she has done great and finally tonight mastered the pooping on the toilet. 

We have not used a diaper for 11 days now. It is wonderful! I am so proud of Natalie and am grateful she has caught on so well and wants to be big and use the toilet. I know that there will probably still be some accidents in the future, but am hoping for the best that this really sticks with her.

Natalie has been enjoying all the extra stories we have been reading while she sits on the potty.

I am starting to build my collection of diapers for our baby and buying for two would make me cry. I can't believe she is old enough to do it, but am glad we have got it done!

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Turning 2

This little girl turned 2 on March 9th! I can and cannot believe it at the same time. She has brought so much joy into our lives and I am so grateful to get to spend each day with her. This is how her birthday went.

Waffles with Strawberries and Whip Cream for Breakfast. She thought the candles were a nice addition, still not quite sure about blowing them out.

We hurried along with breakfast so we could make it to the zoo. 

Justin took the day off work so we could be together as a family.

I did a tiny bit of decorating to make the day a little more special. She appreciated the banner.

 We packed our lunch and took it in with us. We paused by the elephants to eat. She was packing around this apple and all I could think was, 

"I hope she doesn't drop it because she will still want to eat it." 

Well, I held it for her for a minute, and I dropped it. Yep, she still wanted it, but don't worry we threw it away. Clumsy mama...

 What to do for a two year old's birthday? I thought the zoo would be a nice outing since we had not been there in a year. Well, she did alright, but really wasn't overly enthused at it. Justin and I both got bored about 30 minutes into it. We were happy when we made it around the map.

 She did enjoy staring at this big kitty across the glass. I thought it was rather creepy.

After the Zoo we came home for a nap for the Birthday girl and food preparations for the parents.

 

 I have never been a very good cake decorator, but was pleased with my work here. Not perfect I know, but for me they were pretty. Those are Mickey Mouse stand ups in the center. She LOVES Mickey and Frozen right now. 

We had our good friends Garrett and Nicole, and Rick over for dinner that night. I didn't invite any of Natalie's friends because I feel like friend birthday parties for two year olds are hard. Our company was perfect for the circumstances and Natalie had a blast. We had hamburgers, french fries and fruit salad for dinner. Then presents, playing and cupcakes. 

We got her a baby doll for her birthday, and two of our friends did as well. Each is a little different and she plays with all of them. One can take a bath, one can drink a bottle, and one is little enough to pack in most places. She is a good momma to them and will be a great big sister. 

 Grandma Blazzard got her those darling pink John Deere Cowboy boots. She loves them!

This picture pretty much sums up her party and interests in life right now. Princess and Frozen gear, baby dolls, and chocolate cake!

This little red head has so much life and love in her. She is smart, loves books, is fairly obedient, loves her family, Jesus Christ, watching youtube videos, playing with other kids, driving the car, and playing chase. We continue to learn from her every day and I am so grateful she made me a momma. Happy Birthday Ms. Natalie. I look forward to celebrating many more with you!

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Monday- Potty Training

Today, Natalie and I started the first day of our 3 Day Potty Training Method. She made it to the toilet twice, and had several accidents. I do think she is showing signs of understanding better and I am hoping tomorrow is better. I have to admit this evening it was hard for me to keep up my intensity of watching for her signals because Justin came home. However, it is totally great that Justin was home! A Monday night with His presence does not happen very often. We even had Family Home Evening.

I gave a lesson on praying and Natalie ran around in circles and wanted to look at other pictures in our Gospel Art Book rather than the praying picture. Justin and I ended up coloring her picture for her. It was a great evening. I look forward to completing these three days of potty training and having my husband home again tomorrow night. Happy Monday y'all.


Justin and Ruth Blazzard

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Since I was too sick at Christmas time to deliver any neighbor/ friend gifts, I decided Natalie and I would have some fun with this holiday. I assembled these simple gifts for Natalie's little friends.

 

She looked like a cute little leprechaun delivering them with her red hair and basket. It was fun to watch her be able to do a little act of service for her friends. All she asked in return was to play with their toys. Most houses I tried to keep her on the door step, but a couple she sneeked in and began playing. 

She especially enjoyed eating the Lucky Charms for breakfast. We don't each much sugary cereal around these parts, so she was quite pleased with the 'magically delicious' marshmallows in her bowl.

On another side note, our baby is growing well. I think we have her name picked out, but I am not telling yet. She is a big girl and I am feeling rather round. I am grateful to have most of my energy back and to be doing pretty well with food again. I really hope to make it a point of getting more walks in. It has been a little bit harder this pregnancy to be really active with having a toddler and the time of year right now. 

Justin is wonderful, but was especially so this last weekend as he pretty much took care of Natalie the whole time. I had several meetings and responsibilities with my church calling that took me away from home Saturday and Sunday. This calling has given me a whole new perspective on how much time especially the Priesthood leadership in our church spends away from their family serving other. I am grateful for their sacrifice and always learn much from their example. 

We are excited to have Justin home tomorrow and I am looking forward to our Relief Society Birthday Celebration with a Tea Party as the theme. Happy Week to you all!

 

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Stake Conference

We had Stake Conference this weekend. I have to admit it is nice to not have to worry about Primary for one week. Sitting and being edified by speakers is a great change up to my Sunday norm. We were privileged to have Elder Baxter from the first quorom of the seventy visiting our conference. He was funny and has a British accent which was fun to list to. He also delivered the words of God and that was the best part of the weekend.

When he first stood up at the adult session, he asked us all to put a big smile on our face. He said, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about Joy and if you loose the Joy you loose it all. I hope I can always remember that and serve in my roles as wife, mother and right now in the Primary with great Joy. Joy for my Savior and His amazing Gospel. There was much more said, but just remember to have Joy and Hope. Never loose Hope.

Natalie made it through the 2 hour stretch today with only one visit to the hall. She was a real champ. We also brought M&M's to feed her the last half an hour. We are good parents like that. i have been trying to get her to pick out her clothes lately to help her be more independent. Sunday mornings we go through all her dresses until she says yes. Mostly her response to anything these days is "No." This dress was her pick this morning and good thing, because it is almost too small. She also just got these new white shoes and socks for the Spring and Summer time. She loves them and put them on first thing after getting her dress on this morning. Every morning when I ask her to pick socks she wants to wear these "church" socks, she was glad it was finally a "church" day.

Another great part of the day was we all got naps. It was a gorgeous day and it was nice to spend some time with Justin as he was busy most of Saturday doing service and attending meetings. We are looking forward to a busy week with Tuesday being our 20 week ultra sound day. Boy or Girl? We shall see.
 
Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Two Great Men

Leaders greatly impact the atmosphere of any activity they are in charge of.

This is truth and because that is true, these two made my years of 

playing high school basketball fun, challenging and a real treasure of memories.

Mr. Buck and Mr. Gray coached together for 25 years the JV and Varsity Basketball teams at OHS.

They always expected our very best effort and attitude on and off the court. 

The teams I played with were very successful. We made it to the Elite 8 each year and always did well within and out of league play. While there was much talent among my team mates, Buck and Gray knew how to coach the essentials and how to help us succeed. They pushed us to be conditioned and to do things right.

They were usually very calm during games, Gray always, Buck was easier to get riled, but he still mostly kept his cool. They both spent tireless hours at practice, watching film, compiling film for highlight DVD's for us, coaching games, and driving mini school bus so we could make it to our games. I believe they made it the State Tournament for 17 or 18 years in a row with all of the teams they coached. This picture shows girls from all of the different years they coached.

Funny Memories

We made many road trips during the 3 years of playing for them. Oregon is a big state with a low speed limit. During the time I was playing, the bus garage decided to get monitors for the many buses that recorded a drivers speed. It was very difficult for Mr. Gray to stay under. Not only did he get a warning from the bus garage, but was also pulled over by a cop and written a citation. I never let him live that down, but he was always a good sport about it.

If we were playing sloppy during practice or had a hard time doing the essentials, Mr. Buck would get irritated and require us to do 1 pushup. Yes, that is right, 1. I am not quite sure his logic behind 1 and not 2 or 5 or 10 or make us run a suicide, but we also joked about it. Some how he would get his message through to us.

I will always look back on my time playing for them with fondness. They are two men of great character and sound principle. There example and expectations greatly influenced my life and I know many, many others. It is sad to see them go, and they will be greatly missed. 

Thanks for living lives of influence Mr. Buck and Mr. Gray.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard