Sign Language

We have been teaching Brady sign language since he was about 9 months old, it took him quite a few months before he had the dexterity to actually sign, but now he is cruising right along. He knows to date how to do 32 signs! There is a complete list to the right of all the signs he knows. His most recent signs are: daddy, hot, rain, fish, potty, wind, rain, hurt/owie, cat, shoes, car, and tree. He learns them SO fast! He signed hurt/owie for a week or so before I knew what he meant (he doesn't do it exactly right, but pretty close, and as long as we both know what he means, that's what matters).

At his last doctors appointment the doctor said for his age he should be able to say about 20 words. We were floored! He barely can say ONE word! Then we explained that we are teaching him American Sign Language and Spanish along with English. He then explained that it would take him longer to be able to talk, cause three languages is a lot to take in at once, but that once he caught on to them, he would be tri-lingual! It's a lot easier to teach him English and ASL cause I can say the word in English and do the sign. It's also easier for him to sign than to talk. But with Spanish he gets confused. And it's hard for me to speak Spanish ALL the time, so that will be the last language we focus on. But I still read him lots of books in Spanish every day and speak Spanish to him about 1/4 of the time, and I say a lot of things twice in English and Spanish so he gets familiar with both.

As for words Brady can actually say, he says "ba-ball" for any kind of sport or ball. He says "uh-oh", "ooouhh, oooohh" for train or truck, and "wooaah". It's really cute.

I have learned a ton of Sign language just through watching the children's "Signing Time" videos. I'm not sure how many words I know, but quite a bit. I have a wonderful neighbor who is deaf and I get to practice a lot with her which is great for both of us cause we can communicate! I have also learned a lot from her. She is so sweet and very funny (even in ASL:)).

I highly suggest teaching your kids Sign Language cause it helps them communicate at a younger age and helps avoid tantrums cause you know what they want or why they are crying. Yeah for ASL!

Dinosaur Museum and Petting Zoo at Thanksgiving Point

The water fountain thingy at Thanksgiving Point-So FUN! Brady's back is to the camera in the white shirt in the front.

Climbed into the chair by himself, he's so cute:) Slipping outof the chair 2 seconds after he got in.

He's so clever, hiding under the sign, and he thinks he's so funny, and he is:)

When Brady gets really excited, he "jumps" up and down really just squatting and popping up, not actually coming off the ground:) It's the cutest thing ever. He got really excited about feeding the goats when they licked the corn out of his little fingers.

This is our neighbor's daughter, Callie, she is Brady's "girlfriend" cause they look so cute together and they are the same age (just a few weeks apart). They even hug and kiss (after he pushes her). It's so cute:) Mama and Brady at the Dinosaur Museum! Free Pony Ride!! Brady LOVED it and held on all by himself!

"Rooaaaaaaarrrrr!!" Brady's little laugh in this picture is so cute!

Thanks Two Dollar Tuesday for making August at Thanksgiving Point affordable and FUN! Even though it was a ZOO, no pun intended, it was fun. I think Brady liked the petting zoo more than the museum! And I got to milk a cow, that was my first time! I wasn't very good at it:( But it was cool, in a way, but then I felt bad, cause it reminded me of when I was nursing, and if I was a COW I would hate someone pulling on my nipples the wrong way! Anyway it was a blast. Then we got 50 cent ice cream cones and played in the water sprinker/fountain thing which was a blast.

My Mission Book

I finished my Mission Book!!! I am so excited to share it with you all, and since you all can't see it in person, please check it out by clicking on the following link! I am so excited about it! I did it on Heritage Makers, and it took me a while, cause I wanted to make sure I put everyone's names in and got all the dates right, so here it is: http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectId=1202910&productId=9&projectSponsor=417109 I served my mission in Spain, Bilbao (which is actually not a mission anymore) from July 6th 2005-December 23, 2007. I'd love to hear your comments. Let me know if you wanna make a book too for any reason! It's so awesome!

Provo...Grand Canyon...Phoenix

We went down to Phoenix so Robert could check out some dental schools, and because he knows I love Arizona. We had never been to the Grand Canyon and decided to add that into our trip. It was amazing. I love RED ROCK! This first picture you can tell was taken from inside the car, from the bug splats on the windshield:)

Robert got together with some mission friends, and we all had little boys about the same age, and they all stayed up way past their bed times having a ball together. Brady riding the donkey in the Grand Canyon lodge on the north rim.

Brady and Robert on the North Rim. Sorry about the foggy smudge, after taking all our pics, I realized there was a water spot on the lense. Sheesh.

The Potters

Brady and I

We ate at the restaurant at the lodge and Brady sat in a high chair as usual, hardly ate any of his grilled cheese sandwhich we ordered for him, and kept throwing food towards the table next to us. How can I get this kid to behave in public?? In church he throws his toys two rows ahead of us! We'll just have to get him into sports and suggest he be the pitcher or the quarterback!

Momma and Brady:)

It was such an amazing trip. As hot as it was in AZ, I loved being there on my old stomping grounds. It was fun to visit my mission companion Hermana Kurowski, of course that's not what she goes by now, but it was fun to catch up with her. It was also fun to meet Robert's mission friends, an get to know them. And who knows, maybe Robert will be going to school there next year!

My favorite part was going back to the Anasazi office where i worked in Mesa. I got to introduce Anasazi to Robert, and them to my new family. I haven't been back there since 2007 when I was young, skinny, and single with no prospects. I even got a chance to see some old friends' faces which was a total bonus.

For those of you who don't kow, Anasazi is a nonprofit wilderness therapy organization for troubled youth. Youth go there with various challenges, for 6 weeks and basically hike around in the desert. They learn how to survive using primitive living skills which in and of itself is very empowering. They learn how to make good choices or to "walk forward", and most importantly they learn of their individual worth, or as we call it, their "seeds of greatness".

Their parents are not off the hook, they participate too. They work with a therapist, write weekly letters to their child, attend the Arbinger Institute seminars, and read various books from the Arbinger Institute about how to change yourself, and love others etc. Anasazi helps families to heal their hearts and relationships and to walk forward by changing their old destructive habits.

I was not a troubled youth, but I learned more at Anasazi in the 5 months I was there, than at any other time in my entire life. It changed my life forever, my way of being and the way I look at and treat others. I only wish that Everyone could experience it. If you happen to run accross any of the Arbinger Institute material, read it, it will open your eyes. Two of their books, the latter written by C. Terry Warner, are: "Leadership and Slef-Deception", and "The Bonds that Make us Free".

To those of you whom I walked with on the Trail, worked for Anasazi, and to the desert I grew to love, you will have a special place in my heart forever. Thank you for changing my life.

Pots n pans

This video is a few months old, but it's still funny enough to post. Brady is since walking all around, not crawling anymore like in this video. He is one active kid!

Quick learner at 16 months

Brady has been learning so much lately and so fast I can't keep up with him. He recognizes tons of words, but can't say much yet, but is getting really good at mimicking sounds and trying to say words.

He can't say but knows these words: ball, turtle, dolphin, blanket, dinosaur, drink, book, basketball, balloon, octopus, baby, push, throw, come here, mama, dada; he can do "arms up", point to his nose and your nose; "open your mouth" and he opens it up wide; point to his tummy; "where's your tongue" and he sticks out his tongue; "get the ball" and he looks and gets his ball; get the basket ball and "put it in the basket"; cover his eyes; goes up and down stairs holding on to the railing; give kisses with a wide open mouth; gives hugs; he can jump; clap; growl when he sees animals; wave; give high fives; splash in the water; do motions for "Wheels on the Bus"; he has quite an arm and can throw the ball pretty hard; he can hold the phone up to his ear, and probably more that I can't keep up with. He is also getting in his two top molars which I didn't notice till they had already broke through. He is so much fun!

Some things we're working on are not throwing food; hitting-when he hits, I say "be nice" so now he thinks that that means to hit, so now I say "be careful", he seems to do better with that one; not turning on and off the tv or pushing the channel and volume buttons or taking out the media cables from the tv. Brady is such a smart kid and we have so much fun with him. It is amazing at this stage how much he is learning and absorbing. Yeah for Brady!

Wendy's baby belly

Wendy isn't technically a Potter anymore, but she doesn't have a blog yet, and wants everyone to see her baby belly. This is at the St. George Temple on April 1st. She was about 18 weeks pregnant then and now about 22 weeks. They just found out it's a GIRL! I guess saying "Boy oh Boy" all the time won't assure you have a boy. Ha Ha:)

Easter Egg Hunt

Brady's first Easter Egg Hunt at the Potter's! This video is mostly for Grama Dianne so she can see her grandkids! Yeah for Easter at Jeff and Dawna's. Thanks guys, you're the best!

Spring Break in California

We went to Yorba Linda, CA in the LA/Anahiem area for the week to visit Robert's brother Jeff. Robert's sister Wendy and her husband came with us too. We drove their big Suburban loaded with all our fun stuff. We had so much fun swimming in the pool/hottub, playing sports, watching movies on Jeff's home theater, watching General Conference, Easter egg hunting, going out to eat and singing karaoke, horse back riding at sunset, and going to the beach. It was so fun we were exhausted every day!! We even had an earthquake-that was the total California experience. Enjoy these few pics of our trip:

On our way down we stopped in St. George and went to this sweet park with lots of Red Rocks to climb. It was beautiful.

Outlook of St. George, UT. You can see the temple in the back ground just to the right of Robert's elbow:) Robert and I went to the Newport Beach Temple. It was beautiful inside and out!

St. George Temple and the Potters

All the boys ready to go golfing. Jeff, Brady, Robert, Lance, Cade, and Cannon. Brady didn't really go golfing though.

Brady and Cannon getting burried in the sand at Newport Beach. The beach was a blast! We went boogie boarding, played football, croquet, boccie ball, etc. The ocean was so warm!

Brady in his sun hat eating sand:)

My First Book!!

Yeah My first book! It was so fun to make for Brady! His own customized ABC book! Here you can see a few examples of some of the pages. (Sorry for the camera flash glare). So I guess this is the reason I haven't been blogging as much, cause I've been busy online making books and other projects through Heritage Makers.

I just started working as a Consultant for Heritage Makers too, which has been so fun! I work from home, go and do parties/workshops whenever I want and share my new hobby! It's the best of both worlds! I am also making a wedding canvas with a pic of the temple and some pics of us; a mission book (which I'm so excited about); a deck of cards; business cards; birthday cards etc all online with Heritage Makers! You should try it, it's GENIOUS! My new website is http://www.meganscreativecorner.info/. Check me out:) Let me know if you wanna make a book too!!