Look, Dad! I'm learnding.

It’s hard when you go months in between blog posts and I’m sure nobody even checks this anymore because of the delay in posts. But, in case you thought to yourself, “well, I’ll give this Cory fellow’s blog another look…just in case” you’re in for a pleasant surprise! So, let’s see, August, September, and October have come and gone. Winter is here, the days are now like, what is it, 5 hours long? I guess the first thing to report is the awful Las Vegas trip. Why was it awful you might ask? Well, hang on I’m getting to that, but basically, Lindsay left for 4 days and I played the role of single parent.

Without spending all day telling the story, I’ll tell you the gist of it. Both kids at one time learned how to escape the parenting-safety blanket that we call cribs. Naps, out the window and nighttime bedtime pushes the midnight hours. It was awful, but to be perfectly honest I learned a lot in 4 days about Lindsay, myself, parenting and life.

First, here’s my shoutout to moms everywhere. You kick trash, sometimes literally, but in this sense figuratively. Being a mom is…well, let’s leave it at “really hard.” My wife is often exhausted when I get home and now I understand why just a little bit more.

Second, I learned I would be a sorry excuse for a mom. I am not good at entertaining children. Give me an hour, sure, I can figure something out like “ballcatch,” kids at the top of the stairs throwing balls down at me at the bottom of the stairs, rinse, repeat, fun. You cannot do that all day. Kids need lunch and activities, etc. Key failure for me on lunches…can you say Mac and Cheese everyone!

Third, punishing children or attempting to influence and change kids’ behavior is difficult. And all of those times you read that spanking doesn’t work, it’s absolutely true. I’ll admit I got so frustrated with them getting out of bed and not taking naps that I tried the spanking approach to influence their behavior of getting of bed. It didn’t work at all. As soon as I walked back out the door and I wasn’t an immediate threat anymore, back to business. Influencing a child’s behavior takes so much more time and effort and to be honest, in some cases it doesn’t work at all (more on that later). I couldn’t help but draw a parallel of my experience with my children to that of God’s experience with us. He gave us all we have, He watches over us and certainly protects us at times, and all with a purpose that we can “grow up” big and strong, and learn to be like Him. He’s given us the freedom to choose, but with consequences. I felt so frustrated by the fact that I would punish Kenna and Chloe for a behavior – one which I knew was important for their well-being, sleep – and they would consistently and almost instantly commit the error again. How often do I or any of us do the exact same thing with our Heavenly Father? I confess that I’m a little Kenna or Chloe in this big “crib” so to speak, consistently and sometimes instantly, getting out, suffering the consequences and doing it over and over again. Wow. Parenting and families are what it’s all about. If you want to become more like God, have kids and sincerely try to raise them well. It’s not easy, but why else would He give us such a power?

So, the story ends with me taking all toys of the room, and the fronts of the cribs off, so there would be no fun reason to get out of bed (and no more bruises from climbing out). Wrong. Jumping on a bed is fun. Running back and forth is fun. Pushing, fighting and screaming are apparently loads of fun. So my journey ends by simply setting up our pack-and-play in the bathroom and putting Chloe to sleep away from Kenna. My comprehensive list of fun things to do without toys suddenly aren’t fun anymore. Strange how pushing, fighting, and screaming by yourself isn’t at all entertaining. (We did eventually move Chloe back in, just with a big net over her crib that doesn’t allow her to escape. Muwahahaha)

That’s about all the time I got. Join us next time for, “When kids learn to open doors!”

Chloe's Birthday Party Invitation

Make a Smilebox greeting

Make a Smilebox greeting

April Fools - sort of...

So, you’re probably upset by the fast one I pulled on you in the previous post – a video that was supposed to, but never did appear. Well, give me a chance to redeem myself…the video was about 500mb in size, almost an hour long, and just wouldn’t upload for said reasons. I even left it uploading for around 5 hours and it still hadn’t finished. And no, I have not video editing experience to trim that down a bit.

What I’m trying to say is it isn’t my fault and that you may never see the splendor that was our performance. I will try one more time and leave it uploading overnight to see if that works.

Rock Band (live)

Well, I’m trying to keep this durned blog updated, but it is just so hard workin’, schoolin’ and fatherin’ full-time. However, I have finally buckled down and uploaded the video for the Stampin’ Up! Allstar Band performance. For those of you not aware, I work for Stampin’ Up! and they have an annual convention in which thousands of demonstrators for the company come to the convention for a few days to hear updates, learn new techniques, and just be crazy and have fun. Well, this year we decided to have an in-house band perform before the opening session of the second day of the convention. We practiced for a few times a week for a number of months to learn all of the songs. (the setlist is in the previous post)

Anywho, it was a blast! There were several thousand fans screaming our names! Okay, well they didn’t know our names until the end when we were more formally introduced, but you get the idea. I didn’t play in all of the songs given that I played the acoustic guitar. Also, my uncle Rett is the drummer and organizer of the band. Enjoy!

Here is a good view of the crowd with the cameraman on the right

The all important warm-up above

Uncle Rett

Life Updates!

So, what's new in everyone's life? I've got two semesters of school left and am thinking about an MBA – but I still shudder at the thought of more years of school. Chloe is a crazy hyper ball of energy and starting to talk a little – and calling my friends just to chat, Matt. Kenna is learning to use the potty and it’s really fun when she follows you around as your little buddy. Lindsay is starting at the Chiropractor next week to begin the sure-to-be long process of fixing her back, but the thought of getting it fixed at all is encouraging – although it is going to cost a load of money we probably will need for school. Student loans to the rescue!!! At Stampin’ Up!’s annual Convention this next Friday I’m playing in the Stampin’ Up! All-Star Band – my uncle Rett is in the band too on drums – and he is uber amazing! I’m just playing rhythm on the acoustic guitar, but it’s been fun. It looks like there is going to be several thousand people in attendance though. Here is the set list we’re playing in case you’re curious:

1. Kill Bill Theme (Intro)

2. Play that Funky Music White Boy

3. Brown-Eyed Girl

4. My Girl

5. La Bamba

6. Magic Carpet Ride (not Aladdin’s version J)

7. Boot Scootin’ Boogie

8. All Shook Up (Rock version)

9. La Grange by ZZ Top

10. Stop! In the Name of Love

Images are from my sister, Samantha Stanton - her blog and information on her photography is linked on the right side.

Spring really is here! Yuzzah!!!

So, Spring is officially here because I wore shorts this past weekend and we were briefly tempted to turn on the AC. We haven't yet, but we were tempted, that's how you know.

I'm still out of school this week and for the past two days when I got home from work, we went outside to play in the yard. The neighborhood kids are out a lot so Kenna enjoys it and Chloe enjoys it because there are a lot of dogs. Chloe loves dogs, and this week she was barking at one. She would copy the dog; it would bark then she would bark back in the same pattern. I got some video of it on my phone, but unfortunately, can't transfer it to a computer right now.

Kenna is finally getting the hang of peeing on the potty. She did it three times yesterday and hopefully we can have her peeing full-time by her third birthday, May 27.

Chloe is starting to talk, in Chloenese at least. She walks around talking gibberish all the time. None of it is intelligible, but very cute. She does say a few phrases and is getting better and imitating not only dogs, but people too.

Lindsay had her 25th birthday on April 29 and it was nice. We had the chance to go out to dinner and hang out together, alone. We had just gone out with each other two weekends before for the first time since Christmas, way too long, so it was nice to get two dates so close together. I got her a fancy pillow to help with her neck. She jokes that the present was half for me to get her to stop using her big, maternity body pillow - you know the u-shaped one that wraps around your whole body. I'm a snuggler at night so I get denied by her huge pillow, but I really got it because she has wanted a nice pillow for awhile now.

Anywho, here are some more pictures Sami took of the girls at the Tulip festival. Sami submitted the last one for a photo contest. I think my favorite is the first picture.

Spring is Here? Maybe.

Well, April is almost over, which means Spring semester is too! I have one more final this Friday and then I’m done for about two weeks until Summer semester starts. Summer semester will consist of three classes: Real Estate Principles, International Finance, and Investments. Fun! This past semester has been pretty nice, I don’t seem to have to do too much homework or maybe I’ve gotten so used to the time I invest in it – I don’t know anymore. I think that I’ve been in school for so long that I’m getting really used to it and how to do things just right so I can spend as little time as possible.

Kenna and Chloe have been really excited for the good weather – although they’ve been sorely disappointed on some days with random storms. Chloe loves being outside and if you try to bring her back inside she throws huge fits. She loves to just wander around the yard picking up random objects - and I do mean random, but no, no poop yet {crosses fingers}. Chloe and Kenna have learned to roll down the hill next to our house and they really enjoy that. They end up with grass, bark (from our garden), and other tidbits stuck all over them. Now, if we could only get the neighbors to stop letting their dogs poop in our yard….

Speaking of playing outside, here are some pics that Sami took when her and Lindsay went to the Tulip Festival. Although they were disappointed with the amount of tulips due to the strange weather this past month, they got some cute pictures of the girls. Sami, with your permission:

Some More Pictures from Winter

Lindsay Look-a-Like

I found this web site, My Heritage, on a friend's blog and it is very cool. I posted two things below from it. The first one is a meter that shows who a child looks more like, mom or dad. Apparently, Chloe looks more like Lindsay and Kenna looks more like me. We think it is the opposite, but whatever. I posted Kenna's too, but it didn't seem to work.

The really cool one is the look-a-like posted below. You can submit a picture and it matches your face with celebrities. I put this picture of Lindsay in and it says she looks like this italian actress Serena Autieri. I don't know who she is, but in this picture she looks a lot like Lindsay. In fact, at first Lindsay thought it was herself but with blonde hair so the picture was just morphing back and forth between blonde hair and brunette. :) Try it out!

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

Chloe

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Free genealogy - Family search

Rockin' Out!

Our goal, well, my goal (Lindsay said, "I'm glad your doing a blog and not me.") is to post 2-4 times a month. Once a week would be great, but we'll see.

Yesterday and today Chloe has been doing something pretty funny and we want to get it on video so if we do, I'll post it. In the car Lindsay was listening to my iPod which has a few songs from a band I used to be in with my friends called "Good Question." Anywho, Lindsay was playing one of the songs, "Hero" and Chloe was in the back grooving out to it by "bouncing" up and down. She was then trying to sing to "Everything's Alright."

This morning on the way to work (Lindsay has to drive me to work in the mornings because we only have one car right now. Lindsay trashed the other car and we haven't found a new one yet.) we decided to play Good Question again and get her to dance. When we started to play a song, she started head banging to the music, which also excited Kenna and she started to head bang as well. Then Kenna said, "Mom, we're dancing with our necks!"

Good Times!

Intro

Hello Friends and Family!

I've decided to start a blog for my family mostly because I love to check Sami's blog and think it would be a great way to keep in touch with faraway friends and family.

For those of you who haven't heard from us for awhile, here is a brief synopsis of our life together over the past few years to the present.

Lindsay and I were married in July of 2004 after years of waiting! We grew up together, in a sense, without knowing it, and met "officially" the summer before our senior year in High School. We got serious our senior year and dated until I left to serve an LDS full-time mission. I served in Joao Pessoa, Brazil and loved the experience and all it taught me. When I got home, Lindsay and I immediately continued where we left off and were married a few months later.

In the fall after our marriage we got pregnant...which has since given me my valuable marriage advice, "antibiotics and the birth control pill equal....Surprise!" No, the pregnancy wasn't planned and we were quite shocked. In fact, we had our first child six weeks before our first anniversary. A lot of life changes in one year! Although there were a lot of changes, we were very grateful that Kenna came to us healthy and happy. When Lindsay was 6 months pregnant we were involved in a very serious car accident in which Lindsay fractured her pelvis and hurt her back. She was confined to bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy and we moved into her parent's house to have her mom help care for her while I was at work.


Kenna was born on May 27, 2005 and weighed 8lbs and was 21 inches long. Her name was Ela for about 4 days and then we called the hospital and changed it to Kenna. She just didn't seem like an "Ela." She was such a great, mild-tempered baby, which we needed, and is now going to be 3 in a few months. She continues to make us laugh with her cute comments and it is so fun to watch her grow and learn. She is all girl and loves to hold clothes up to her to see if they fit and play with her dollhouse.


18-months later, enter center stage: Chloe! Chloe was born on November 17, 2006 at about 6 1/2 lbs and 20 inches. She was smaller than Kenna and so cute. As she grows we continue to see how different her personality is from Kenna. She is non-stop busy and a little more tom-boyish than Kenna, although she still loves shoes. Her and Kenna used to wrestle on a mini-couch they have in their room (initiated by Chloe). Technically, her name is still Chole at the Social Security office because they entered her name wrong (Lindsay gave up on waiting three hours with two kids to get that changed; she'll need a babysitter!) .

As for today, I work full-time for a company called Stampin' Up! and really love it. And no, I don't scrapbook. :) I also am getting a degree in Business Finance at the University of Utah and will be done early 2009. Lindsay works at home part-time for Savage Services and full-time as a mom. We're both busy!

We look forward to posting pics and keeping you all updated on our lives.