VICTORY

THE BIG DAY FINALLY ARRIVED.........

So I've totally put off the potty training thing due to other people's horror stories and my pediatrician's advice to not start little boys until they are closer to three years old.

Well, the big three is quickly approaching us this coming July, and the last few weeks I started feeling gutsy and started talking up going in the potty to Parker. I got him all excited about it and he finally seemed interested, so I decided that once we got back from St. George that we would attempt the dreaded potty training.

But Parker had other plans. On a whim we went ahead and bought 'The Potty' while we were (finally) purchasing a double stroller at Babies R' Us last week. Upon bringing it inside the house, Parker immediately insisted on taking it out of the box, then demanded that we take off his jeans and diaper. O-kay... I wasn't going to start this for another week (this is before St. George), but hey, if the kid wanted to give it a go, I wasn't going to argue with him. We took off his diaper, put the potty in the bathroom, he sat down, and walah!!! To our utter amazement, our little Parker peed in the tiny toilet! He also sprayed the floor, but heck, I didn't even care. My little boy just went pee pee in the potty! He then proceeded to jump up and down, do a VICTORY dance and give us high fives....Chris and I couldn't stop laughing.

In the midst of our celebration, he decided he wanted to do it again.... and again.... and again! Although his tiny bladder was empty of urine, his little body must have been so excited that it quickly made more. The kid was straining like I've never seen to get more and more out, but he was so thrilled to see any drops his body would produce, that Chris and I couldn't help but be happy for him. (This seriously went on for about 45 minutes...) Our baby boy is growing up.

We were so proud! :)

Then out came the big boy pants that I thankfully had on hand, which spurred on more celebrations, as you can see from the pictures. That pose on the right came with absolutely no coaxing.... I was just following him with my camera while loving the show.

Emmie was celebrating too... in the potty box!

She was so happy for her brother and squealed and grinned at all the excitement.

So yeah. You could say that last Wednesday was a pretty historic day in our home.

We're now in St. George and we're back in the diapers, but come next week, we're hoping for more victories and that the little guy will still be excited to fill up and empty his little potty.

Secretly, I'm terrified that this was too good of a start and that come next week he's going to have no interest in this....

If anyone has any good potty training advice ---please share! I'm clueles...

& ALL EARS!!! :)

Where does my time go again?

I saw this article (thanks Jana!) and just had to share... I love it!!! Just click on the image to enlarge and read... I think anyone who has kids can say 'AMEN' to this article!

Just tonight, as 8 p.m. rolled around, I actually debated whether I should:

a) Eat my uneaten dinner that I hadn't yet found time to eat

b) Collapse in my exhaustion on the bed because although I am starving, I am simply too tired to even care about eating

OR

c) Force myself to eat and then enjoy the rare, peaceful quiet that my household is offering me as my kids snore away, and get in my first 'me' moment of the day where I can sit and relax for more than 15 seconds without being needed by a little person...

Yes, today I chose C. Sometimes, by the end of the day, I just don't have the energy to return a phone call, to finish up the laundry that I didn't quite finish earlier on, to work on a craft or hobby that is just going to create yet another mess for myself to clean up. Sometimes I just want to SIT for a rare minute. And enjoy it. And recharge. So that I can take on another day of taking care of the two little people that I most love in this world. Because it truly is exhausting and consuming and the word "busy" does not begin to sum it all up.

But although it wears me out, and I can't remember what it is like to have a few hours to myself, it is truly the BEST. And I love it. And I wouldn't change it for the world. But until one has kids, they won't begin to understand how hectic yet fulfilling, challenging and rewarding, demanding yet joyous this lifestyle with little ones really is.

Although on the surface it may just look like lots of stinky diapers, temper tantrums, sleepless nights & constant giving of attention, it is so much more. And you have no idea what you are missing out on until you experience it.

I truly LOVE my kids and give thanks each day for the blessing it is of being their mother!

Nothing truly worthwhile in life comes without lots of hard work, that is for sure!

Sometimes I wonder what in the world I did with all my time before I had kids!

Green Day

This little munchkin wore her green yesterday.

(not a great pic, I know but one of the only ones I took of her yesterday...)

THIS one, however, did NOT...(Daddy dressed him. :)) Good thing we had this big green hat for him to wear. He thought it was PRETTY funny to put it on his little sis and watch her squirm while she tried to get it up over her eyes. (Sorry - I didn't catch any pics) He kept telling us, "I'm sooooo BUNNY (funny)!". This is his new favorite thing to tell us. Poor Emmie. I'm afraid this is just the beginning of the big brother/little sister taunting relationship. FUN times. Good thing Emmie is such a good sport. :)

The little Leprechaun and I had fun making some lucky sugar cookies.

Yeah, so, Parky went a little crazy with the sprinkles.

But hey, who doesn't like mouthfuls of green sprinkles???

I know Parker does.

Okay, so I don't mind the sugar either!

Never thought I'd see the day....

How do you get your 2 1/2 year old to clean up all of his toys at incredible speed, without even being asked????
You unleash his 6 month old little sister onto the scene!!!

Parker is normally my little tornado following behind me making a huge mess out of whatever I have just cleaned up and whatever he can get his hands on. Hence, my house is never clean despite my seemingly never ending efforts!

But this last few weeks, with Emmie's new found mobility (and she is quite proficient at it might I add), a very mystical thing has taken place in our home. Parker has come to the realization that he does NOT want Emmie touching his toys. And so in an effort to keep her hands off, once Emmie is let loose in a room, he runs around saying, "No Baby! No Baby!", all the while throwing his toys back into their bins at astonishing speeds.
He also discovered today that throwing armfuls of toys into the laundry room and shutting the door also works to keep his possessions free from his little sis. (This new discovery was not as enjoyable for me to observe as the first stated action.)

Chris and I just look at each other and laugh at this!
Okay, okay-- so we have to work on sharing.
But for now, just for a minute, I am going to enjoy watching my little boy willingly, voluntarily, and quickly pick up after himself.
For once. :)

Didn't take long for Emmie to put the boy in line, did it?
Atta girl, Em! Glad to have someone on my team! :)

Just more whining

Soooo... it's 2:30 in the morning, and I'm BLOGGING! WHAT is wrong with me???

Let me explain. No worries, this won't be long, I promise.

So the plague that's been floating around my house, the one that has caused much upset and misery, finally caught up with me, it's fourth victim -over the weekend. I've just been trying to survive ever since catching this nasty bug (although Monday night I was just about ready to throw in the towel...), so blogging has definitely been on the back burner. However, the fact that the last post was all about ME, and that there was a big (& unattractive picture) of ME at the top, has been bugging me. It's been up there way too long, but I've simply been way too miserable to do anything about it.

Until now, that is.

So here it is, 2:30 a.m., I've been awake for over an hour with a throbbing sore throat, icky cough, runny nose, etc. etc., a nasty red, oozing eye (the last of the wonderful surprise symptoms that has presented with this lovely illness for all four of my family members), not to mention massive hunger pains (I've had a loss of appetite, although I HAVE been eating so I'm not sure why I've been getting such starvation pains. Probably due to taking in less calories mixed with nursing??) Well, I decided to give into my stomach and eat a bowl of cereal since I can't sleep anyways, and also decided that now may just be the best moment to bump down that 'Hair' post.

So no, this post is really about nothing. Just me and a little whining....a little explanation for what I've been up to - er not up to....a little something for me to do in the early morning hours where I am too miserable to sleep....& lastly, reason to put up a new post, as uninteresting and lame as this is!

So sorry to be such a waste of your time....stay tuned....I'm bound to feel normal again one of these days, right?

So here's a little wisdom for you to walk away with from this post:

Take your Vitiman C everyone and wash wash wash those hands, quarantine your family, whatever you need to do.... but avoid this thing like it's the plague, because I'm pretty sure that is what I've caught!

And trust me, you don't want it!!! :)

I know, I know, I'm so dramatic. :)

I surrender....

...to the waves, that is.

Yes, I am coming clean with something I've struggled with my entire life...

MY HAIR!!!

My hair is naturally: curly, wavy, frizzy, poofy, pliable, high maintenance, annoying, time consuming, you name it!

Many people don't know this because I spend 30+ minutes every morning of my life blow drying and straightening it! Ridiculous, I KNOW, but if you saw the way it looks when it air dries, you would agree that the time is well spent, that I'm NOT being vain (just trying to look somewhat normal) and you'd probably allot me 30 MORE minutes just to make sure.

However, I absolutely DREAD doing it! I just can't do dirty hair, so I wash it everyday. So, this last week, I took a big step in my life, and I surrendered to my hair and tried to work WITH it, rather than against it. It's so not cute, I know, but it's 6 or 7 minutes with a diffuser opposed to 30-40 that it normally takes.

Bottom line is that it's CLEAN, and it is better than what I wake up with.

So if you see me with this 'do, don't be surprised, and don't think that I'm trying out a new style that I think is necessarily attractive. I'm just trying to save a little of my sanity & most of all, TIME (which is hard to come by as it is with 2 kids under 2!) without going completely frumpy on myself.

FUNNY SIDENOTE:

About six years ago I wore my hair like this to work. I was an Admin Assistant for an ophthalmologist/optometry practice. When the doctor walked in and saw me that morning, he said, "What the???! Wow! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU???".

He honestly thought that my blow dryer had blown up on me in some sort of horrible freak accident. He was shocked to find out that I had worn my hair like this on purpose out in public. Ha ha. :)

So yeah. As you can guess, I never wore my hair like that to work again! And have hardly worn it out in public since!

ADDITIONAL SIDENOTE:

I can tell Chris isn't a fan either, although he'll never admit it. This last week that I've worn my hair this way, he just gives me a funny look, but doesn't say a word. He's too nice to say anything negative about my appearance. Hey - at least I'm showered and clean, right? Even HE'D have to admit that this is better than the medusa-looking style I wake up with every morning! Sorry honey. It's only a couple days a week that I'll be sporting this, I promise!

I know, I know... such a petty thing to complain about in the big scheme of things. It's sure annoying though!

So to all of you who have naturally straight, beautiful, shiny, wash-and-go locks (or GOOD curls!), to say that I'm a little envious is an understatement!

Count your blessings, girls!!! :)

Hmmm. Sometimes I think that a WIG might work out really nicely for me.

UGHHH

Sleepless nights, screaming kids, high fevers, vomit, coughing, congestion, endless boogies, body aches, ear infections, $100 in co-pays in 8 days....

.....YEP....

That pretty much sums up the last ten days at our household.

There aren't too many worse things than having sick kids, if you ask me!!!

Except maybe for those who pass it on to you....You know, like the people who knowlingly are sick, and hold your at-the-time healthy kids anyways because they just can't resist. And those who forget to tell you prior to your dinner party, that by the way, their entire family is just getting over strep throat and that little Jack (yes, the one with Emmie's toy in his mouth) might still have it. And the parents who send their obviously sick children to nursery exposing 12 other kids who then take the germs home to their parents and siblings. Not to mention all the other children who will come through the room later that day & play with the drooled on, sneezed on, snotted on, infected toys. And the parents who say, "No need to wash hands, they're all going to get it anyways..." (while wiping their child's runny nose on their shirts and then another wipe onto their own jeans...Eeewww!).

Um, not if my child isn't EXPOSED to it, they're not!

Seriously people!

I know sometimes it's just unavoidable - but come on! VERY OFTEN it is!

Going on 2 full weeks of complete misery and incubation is NO FUN!!!

So basically, according to the pattern, by next week my fam should finally be healthy again. But watch out the week after that...by then who knows what my little ones will have picked up....sometimes it's just not worth leaving the house this time of year!

Other than that we're doing fabulous! :)

p.s. The given scenarios in this post are exagerrated and made up. Despite my tone and candor, (which is playful sarcasm filled with a little exasperation of the truth) the reality is, I'm not blaming this one on anyone but ourselves...Taking Parker to the bouncy house Kangaroo Zoo (the suspected culprit) a few weeks ago during cold and flu season and despite all of our hand washing efforts, was not such a bright idea. Yeah. Let's just say we won't be going back there anytime soon.

But yes, the above scenarios, when and if they do take place, DO irritate me!

Am I the only one???

The results are in.....

I can't believe my baby is 6 months old!

I tear up when I think about what a gift this little girl has been to us.

We truly cherish every moment with her!

Her 6 month stats are in,

and here's the report:

Weight: 16.73 lbs, 67th %ile

Height: 26.8 inches, 86th %ile

Head: 16.5 inches, 34th %ile

How she's so tall with a mother who isn't quite 5'2 is beyond me... I'm sure that will change! :)

But STATS, SCHMATS.....

Here are some of the tricks our Little Em has been working on: A contagious smile that she'll quickly share with strangers... she is SUCH a happy baby and has contributed so much joy to our home! She wants to throw up every time she tastes rice cereal (can we blame her?), but still is happy as can be when the torture is through. She's been practicing these push ups

for about 7 weeks & has become a very strong little girl.

But she's just trying to keep up with her older brother....and doing a great job of it, might I add! When she wants something, she takes action (literally) and gets it by pulling herself over to appease her curiousity. She'll take about 2 crawls on her knees, then pulls herself along like a snake the rest of the way. This is supposedly more of a 9 month milestone (per the pediatrician), but it just shows that Emmie has always tried to expedite things....

Trying to make her debut into the world 2 months early

was the first indication of our eager-to-get-things-moving Little Emmie.

They all move at their own paces, that is for sure! Parker wasn't doing this until around 8 months.Emmie is perfecting her sitting up skills.
She can sit all by herself for close to a minute before she starts to wobble over.

The girl will put anything and everything into her mouth!Emmie LOoooves her crib. When it's time for sleep, her right thumb automatically goes straight into her mouth as soon as I begin to swaddle the lower part of her body. I can just lay her down, and she'll go to sleep! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G after having Parker who was such a difficult sleeper. When I go into get her after her nap, she's all smiles. She's still an awesome night sleeper, too. She usually sleeps from 7-10 p.m., I'll feed her, then it's back to bed til' around 5 a.m.ish. I have to say, that even after all these great tricks, being CUTE and ridiculously LOVABLE are still Emmie's forte. She has an overwhelming SWEETNESS about her & I just can't get enough of our precious baby girl!!!
We LOVE you Emmie and are so excited to continue to watch you grow and do all that we can to help you reach your potential!!!

Under arrest and proposing

So usually when one thinks of a couple getting engaged, they think of a romantic setting, such as a nice dinner, a carriage ride, a beautiful view, possibly the backdrop of a temple (if you're LDS)....you catch my drift.

Well, not in THIS story!

My cute little brother got engaged to darling Kylie Taylor (whom he met while being an EFY counselor last summer) last Friday night. And I have to say, after what he did, he's lucky she said yes! (KIDDING :))

Here's what happened:

Steven has a cop friend who followed them and pulled them over. After looking over Steven's license, the cop told he and Kylie to get out of the car and that Steven was under arrest for some outstanding tickets. He was handcuffed and told to get down on his knees and was asked if he had any last words. Steven said he did, and went on to profess his love for Kylie and asked her if she would marry him!

Kylie had no idea what was going on until he popped the question! Talk about a rush and wide gamut of emotions she must have experienced in a matter of a few minutes... NERVOUSNESS at being pulled over, FEAR and SHOCK as she was told her boyfriend was under arrest, CONFUSION as Steven started rambling about how much he loved her while handcuffed on the ground, RELIEF that he wasn't being hauled off to jail, a possible (tiny) bit of ANGER that a joke was being played on her, and finally EXCITEMENT & JOY as he pulled out the ring and asked her to marry him.

CRAZY!

Boys will be boys, I swear. I have to admit, it was pretty clever and it will be a moment to remember, that is for sure!

The important thing is that Kylie said "YES!"

You are such a darling girl, Kylie, and I am so excited to be getting a new sister!

The couple will be taking the plunge in the Salt Lake Temple this June.

Bring on the wedding plans!
CONGRATULATIONS Kylie and Steven! :)

The C word

Did I just hear you think the word,

"Chubby"?

Nah.

O---KAY. I'll admit it. MAYBE from THIS angle (above) the word enters into my mind too...But from THIS angle, all that comes to mind is

A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!

Oh I just LOVE LoVe LOOOOOOOOVE this baby girl!!!

And all I can say is, if that's CHUBBY, chubby sure is stinkin' cute these days!

Thanks Jill and Jason for the cute dress, and Cindy for the darling bow.... they were meant for each other! :)

Hooray for the girls

Introducing.... Afton and Emmie!

These cuties are only 3 days apart. Are they sweet or what? I met Afton's Mommy - my cute friend Alicia - while living in Arizona. Alicia's husband was going to the same grad school as Chris at the time to become a PA and they were in our stake. Alicia helped me to keep my sanity when we first moved there and we'd go on fun shopping trips to the Anthem outlets where we would raid Ann Taylor's $4.99 and $9.99 clearance racks. (She's a girl after my own heart - a real bargain shopper!) They still live in AZ but dropped in for a fun visit today since they were in town. Afton has such a sweet countenance and is so darn cute. We wished they could of stayed longer! So fun to see you Alicia and Afton!

Come again soon!

(L to R) Jill, Cami, Tammy, myself & we missed you, Lacey & Amanda! :)

Later, we (meaning myself and the kiddos) met up with some of my good friends from high school at Noodles and Company. It's always a little crazy when we get together because all of our kids just run wild. I'm sure that eating establishments cringe upon our arrival every time, but it's all worth it because it's so fun to catch up with these girls for a minute! I've said it a million times, but I am so lucky for such great friends throughout my life. We're coming up on ELEVEN (yes, 11!) years since high school ended (man we're getting old) and what a blessing it has been that these friendships have sustained over the years.

HERE'S TO HAVING GIRLFRIENDS! :)

V-Day

A mysterious Valentines Day package showed up at our doorstep at 8 a.m. on Saturday before Chris left for work. Parker was very excited to find this bucket of treasures on our porch. He was MOST excited though for the couple of treats that happened to be included. Surprise, surprise. So much so, he kept trying to share them with Emmie (bottom middle). Don't worry Parker, I'm sure she'll be addicted soon enough, unfortunately. For now, she is on a milk only diet. (We're soon adding rice cereal to the menu...)

All in all, we just had a relaxing day at home while Chris worked. I am such a homebody, and I sure love playing with my kiddos, so it was a nice day. (Minus the fact that we were all a little sick...)

Thanks to ALL of Parker's grandparents for their cute Valentines gifts!

Just because you want me to, I won't....

I can't believe that coming up this June, that it will be two years since Chris graduated from Pharmacy School. A lot has changed in that year and a half & we look back on our Arizona/grad school days with smiles and such fond memories. We love the friends that we made during that time in our life, and our closest Pharmacy school friends also moved back here to Utah post graduation. We got together with some of them the other night at Ben and Shannon's house. We all had our first babies in Arizona, and it's fun to reunite and see everyone's growing families. Here are our kids:

(minus cute little Siena who left just before we managed this picture...)

Notice how sweet and obedient they all are to sit where we asked them to and smile at the camera.

Well, all of them, that is, except for one. In the right hand corner you may notice a child literally RUNNING to get out of the picture. Yes, that is our Parker. Shannon threw him down several times hoping to get him to comply and quickly got out of the picture herself, but little P wasn't going to give in that easily. In fact, he wasn't going to surrender for picture time at all. This is not surprising behavior. I love and adore my little boy, but he is sure a strong-willed little guy, always keeping us on our toes.

I have to say, that the rest of the night he was really well-behaved. It's just when he is told to do something......

Ooooooooooohhh NO!

He doesn't like to do anything unless it is on HIS terms.

Does anyone else see a problem here?

Any advice on a defiant 2 1/2 year old?

Here's to hoping that this is a very short phase (we've been experiencing it for at least a year now) that is about to see it's end!!

Disclaimer: I know that Parker's unwilling participation to sit with a group of kids for a picture isn't that big a deal, & I wasn't sweating about it. However, I just found it funny to capture this perfect display of his very independent personality on film & thought I'd document this common behavior, as this is soooo my world these days. :)

They make me laugh

Pre-kids, I really had no idea how funny & entertaining these little people can really be. Parker is constantly making us laugh at his silly sense of humor and his endless insights which seem to be beyond his barely 2 1/2 year old little brain. I really need to write more of these interactions down... so, off the top of my head, here a few of the funny things he's said over this last couple of days:
A TEACHING MOMENT.... Parker being the teacher

Setting: Chris is reading books to Parker before bedtime. Roxy (our dog) leaves the room and Parker wants her to come back in.

Parker: Hey, Dad, go like this.... (Parker puckers his lips and kisses the air) and this...(pats his lap) Now say, "Here Boxy, Boxy Boxy (Roxy)" It will make Boxy come back!

Thanks, Parker for teaching your Daddy how to call for the dog. Most of all, thanks for making him (& us) laugh.

APPLES GET SICK, TOO

Setting: Parker was picking out an apple to eat. The day before, he went to grab one that wasn't good, so I told him, "No, you don't want that one, it's bruised, it's bad. Pick a different one". The next day, he said the following when going to pick out another apple:

Parker: (Pointing to the "bad" apple from the previous day) No. We don't want that apple. It's sick. It needs to go to the doctor. We need to take it to the doctor, Mom, and the doctor will give it medicine and make it ALL better!

We'll have to call Dr. Wilcox and see what he can do for our apple...

WHEN I GET LITTLER....

Setting: I opened some new Old Navy jeans for Emmie delivered by the UPS man today. (The girl is growing so fast! She hardly has any 6-12 month pants to fit her large 5 month old body) Upon opening them, I said, "Oh, these are cute!" Parker, who was watching me said:

Parker: Oh! Those are CUTE, Mom! When I grow LITTLER, I can wear Emmie's jeans, too!

Yep. When you grow littler, you can wear Emmie's flared jeans, too Parker! :)

CUTTING STRAWBERRIES

Setting: I took strawberries out of the fridge to cut up for part of Parker's meal. The boy LOOOOVes strawberries. He excitedly ran over to the cupboard, pointed to our butcher's block of knives and exclaimed:

Parker: Here, Mom! Use THESE knives to cut my strawberries! When I grow bigger, I can use the knives to cut my strawberries, too! But not right now. I'm tooooo littow (little) to use knives.

Everything at our house is commentated on the fact that when he or the baby "grow bigger" that they'll be able to do this or that, too. Too funny.

Just a few other little Parkisms of the moment:

• Whenever myself, Chris, or the baby sneezes, we hear a tiny, high pitched, "Bwess you, Mommy!".
• When Parker runs into something, or falls, etc., he (usually) jumps right up and before anyone can ask, he exclaims, "I'm BINE!" (fine)
• Even when I don't expect a thank you, I usually get one. (Like when I turn on the light..) His "dakes" (thanks) and "dake you" are so precious!
• "Oh! That'd be good!"
• "Don't be sad. Let's be happy!"
• "You be NICE!" (he is told this thousands of times as he teases the dog, but it's kind of funny when he says it to US!)

What would we do without these little ones who add so much meaning & SMILES to our lives??

Cute, FREE, & fun!

So here is a great blog to check out!

www.giveawaytoday.blogspot.com

Each day just by leaving your name as a comment, you enter for the chance to win a really great prize! (Everyday there is something new) The extra exciting thing is that my cute friend, Lichelle, has an awesome business, "Shelby Bows and Flowers" that is being featured there TODAY! I have gotten the majority of Emmie's cute hair bows and flowers through her (& also thanks to my sweet sis in law Cindy's craftiness). She has such great products and sells them at such reasonable prices. For a chance to win some adorable new hair accessories, go to the giveaway link above and it's as easy as typing in your name. Also, to check out more of Lichelle's darling products, go to: www.shelbybows.blogspot.com

(If you don't have a daughter or a niece, she also sells cute hats in adult sizes!)

GOOD LUCK!!!

OH so GOOD!!!

MMMMmmmmmmmmmm!!! Did anyone else fall in love with the Twisted Peppermint scent from Bath & Body Works over the holidays? I love love LOVE this smell, so much so that I just received four more in the mail that I ordered.

They are on clearance for only $3.00 right now....sadly, all they have left is the lotion. (I couldn't find any in the stores, that is why I purchased them online.) If only I could get my hands on the body spray (OR the body cream) and I'd be set until next year...

I'm tellin' ya, you're missing out big time if you haven't partaken of this yummy aroma.

Did I mention that I LOVE it???

Like I could just cuddle up to it, and sniff it all day kind of love?

Okay, so that's a little overboard but you catch my drift, right?

Anyone else hearing me on this?

Click here to order yours:

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=twisted%20peppermint&origkw=twisted%20peppermint&sr=1

OR

you can always come visit me and I might let you try one of my six bottles for yourself. :)

Interpretation of tongues

This is the (stinkin' adorable) face that we're constantly getting from Emmie these days: Our interpretation of the sticking out of tongues:
"Nah-nuh-nah-nuh- naaahhh, naaahhh!
I'M CUTER THAN YOU!"
What a lucky girl. She's not only cute, she's SMART too!

FOR REAL?

Yep. That's our backyard fence. The little bit of it you can see is on the right, the rest is covered by well over a foot of snow. That's from the TOP of our fence that has over a foot!

Where do we live, you ask? The polar tundra?

Pretty much we may as well be. Wikpedia describes it (polar tundra) as "home to several peoples who are mostly nomadic reindeer herders"....Parker would like that. He loves reindeer. We'll have to try that out next winter. For now however, we are in hibernation. All phone calls will be returned next spring.

What's all this I hear about global warming again?

Not in my neck of the woods........

Bounce bounce bounce

Where do you take a wild but fun, energetic, rambunctious two-and-half year old little boy in the dead of winter in Utah?

I found just the place! THE KANGAROO ZOO! We took Parker here this last Wednesday and he loved it! He bounced, slid, climbed, & ran, all the while exerting plenty of that endless energy he has pent up inside of him! Admission was only $6 for a great morning of fun. The only bad part was leaving because Parker of course didn't want to go. I went to a similar place about 8 months ago with some friends and our kids, but Parker was too young and needed my assistance the entire time, and six months pregnant I just wasn't into climbing plastic mountains with a (almost) 2-year-old in tow. Parker was still a little small to climb up all by himself on a few things, but he was able to do much more this time around and he LOVED it! We will definitely be going again.....I've been thinking about enrolling Parker into gymnastics to let him bounce and run around for an hour a week, but I think this may be the perfect alternative.

So if anyone's interested in a playdate at the Kangaroo Zoo, let us know, it's a date!

(Cami, Tammy & Jill we're ready to do it again! I'm not prego this time around so it won't set me into labor... :))

We're moving

You heard me right.

Our bags are packed, we're READY TO GO!

WE'RE MOVING!

It's decided, we've talked it over, and we are soooooo moving into this beautiful victorian farmhouse in gorgeous Sonoma, California!!!

Well, IF we WIN it, that is!

HGTV is giving away this amazing dream home! I REALLY hope to win it, :) but if I don't, I REALLY hope someone I know DOES, so that we can come and visit!!! You can enter to win everyday until February 19th, 2009. So hurry up and sign up, it only takes a second. Oh, and did I mention that the home is brand new and worth over $2 million? Click here to view this incredible home and to enter for your chance to win!

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv-dream-home-2009-giveaway-enter/package/index.html
Chris and I always dream about raising our kids in a small, classy, country town on lots of land...
If YOU could live anywhere in any style of home, money being no object, where would it be and what type of home??
I don't have many complaints about where we live now, but Sonoma California is looking PRETTY GREAT if you ask me! :) I've also always dreamed of living back east in Vermont or Connecticut for some reason... we can always dream, right?

Thirty-something

Alright, so this is late, but, aren't I always?

Chris turned the Big 31 last Sunday, January 11th & Parker, Emmie and I just wanted to once again wish him a

Happy Birthday!

He is such wonderful guy and I am so blessed to have him as my very patient husband and as the father of my adorable 2 kids, who were very blessed with his adorable genes.

We LOVE him dearly and so appreciate what a wonderful man he is, for his strong spiritual side & his extensive knowledge and love for the gospel, for the hard work he puts into providing for our fam, and among many other awesome qualities, can I just say how much I love that he is the such the handy man? In my eyes, a 'real man' is a handy one. :) He's done sooooo much around our new home this last year... In the very little spare time that he's had (due to working OT to pay for a fence, and a new bedroom in our basement), he has managed to: lay sod and install a sprinkling system in our backyard this last summer, install & build shelves in a downstairs closet, put up bead board in Em's room, paint Emmie's room and our family room, he has built a number of the furniture pieces in our home, built and installed a marble countertop for our laundry room, installed cabinets in our laundry room, the list goes on and on.... and he fixes just about anything that needs it. (Including the toilet when he clogs it!:)) I can't tell you how many times a day I hear this from Parker, "Uh oh... it's bwoke. Daddy will bix (fix) it". Yep. And he usually does. I hope and pray that Parker will be just like him when he grows up. We are tremendously blessed by our 'honey'. (Whenever I call Chris this, Parker starts calling him it as well. It's so funny...)

So I think I mentioned the word "genes" somewhere above... well check out THESE jeans! Pretty sweet, ay? I found this picture of Chris with Karl Malone when he was a kid and it cracked us up! I'm not sure who has the better outfit... Chris or Karl....it's a close call. Karl looks like he is primped up like a woman, and Chris looks like he just rolled out of bed, jumped into his favorite 3-day-old, acid wash, grass stained, peg-legged jeans....

Alright, Karl, maybe YOU WIN!

Chris was just a kid, he didn't know any better. But you look like you borrowed your wife's outfit for the day... and maybe even her legs! Those are nice!

Gotta love the 80's!

Happy Birthday, Chris!

xoxo

p.s. I have no idea what in the world Karl Malone was doing in Chris' neighborhood for this picture to take place... I'll have to investigate...

All about Emmie

On Christmas Day Emmie turned FOUR months old! I can't believe how the time has flown. She is getting to be such a big girl in every sense....she had her four month check up yesterday and here are her stats:Weight: 15 lbs, 8 oz.....71st %ile

Height: 26 inches....92nd %ile

Head: 49th %ile

Little (er should I say 'Big') Em is SUCH a delight to have in our home!!! We are all in love with her, including Roxy the Dog. She weasels her way in to sit by Emmie wherever we go, as demonstrated in the above picture. She lays at her feet constantly and the getting kicked in the stomach repeatedly by Em's tiny feet doesn't seem to phase her. I guess it must be nothing compared to the abuse that she endures from the 2-year-old who chases her all day pulling her tail and inflicting all kinds of torment upon the poor little pup.

Back to Emmie... she is SUCH a SMILEY girl! We just love those big grins. Her cheeks are so chub that they bury those dimples, but they are in there, I swear! She LOVES her brother already....whenever he comes nearby her legs go crazy and she flashes her gums with an adoring smile. Parker is such a helper to pile her toys up on her stomach. She thinks any attention from her brother is great so she loves it. Lately they love to hold hands and Parker talks to her in a super high pitched voice, always saying, "Hi baby, hi baby, how'r you-ou?" It's so precious!
She started rolling over on December 29th and hasn't stop since. Every time I set her on her back she flips herself over and seems to love the tummy time. She can flip herself back again but seems to enjoy chillin' on her belly. She also likes to suck that thumb... I'm not sure I like this little habit but Chris assures me that at least she always knows where to find it when she needs it. I can't argue that point but I am still encouraging the binky.

I am thrilled to say that she is still a champion sleeper. She usually sleeps all the way from 10-5 a.m. before waking up to eat, then goes back to sleep! Ahhhh.

Did I say she is heaven-sent or what??? It is a dream come true. I've said it before and I'll say it again...I really had no idea that you could actually sleep at night for more than 2 hours at a time with a newborn.

I am LOVING it, and even more, I am LOVING HER!!!

Our family has truly been blessed by this sweet, tender, beautiful baby girl!

We love you, Emmie!!!

Where do I go to order more just like her??

Christmas in Review

Despite the craziness that seems to accompany the holidays, we really had such a great Christmas! Sitting back and watching Parker and Emmie enjoy the magic of this time of year was true joy. Okay, so Emmie being four months old is a little to young to begin to understand it all, but just having her here with us is a joy in itself. We got some really awesome presents for Christmas this year, and are so appreciative of it all! However, the most important things in life sure aren't the things. We are most blessed by those who are a part of our lives, and are grateful that we could share and enjoy the holidays with them!

There are way too many pictures that I wanted to post, and way more than you're interested in viewing, so for my own keepsake I threw them into collages...We spent Christmas Eve with the Hansens. They just completed an addition onto their home this last year which looks so great and made the holidays all the more roomy for everyone. It was a great evening and we were even visited by one of Santa's elves which I failed to get a picture of. Chris' brother, Eric and his wife Cindy and son, Atticus were in town for the holidays from Texas (top right) so it was fun to see them. Christmas morning fun!

My little brother, Steve spent the night and we all had fun watching Parker see what Santa brought him Christmas morning. He strolled into our room at 3:41 a.m. rearing to go, but that did not fly so Chris rocked him back to sleep and he reappeared 3 hours later to start the day. He was a good boy this year so Santa followed through on his requests for "Pat Pat" (Little Einstein) and Mickey Mouse toys. Emmie loved her new Bumbo chair.

Later on Christmas day we went to my Grandma's house with my Dad's side of the family. We've done this for every Christmas that I can remember. My 83-year-old grandmother is quite the hostess and such wonderful memories have been made in her home. She puts so much time, effort and energy into making the holidays and birthdays special. She is also quite the decorater... I had to take a picture this year of her dining room table (posted above). We later headed over to the Hansens once again for a fabulous turkey dinner and more festivities. It was a wonderful day - thanks to everyone for making it so great!

On Monday the 29th my Mom and Stepdad were in town and we had yet another holiday party at my Stepsister's home. It was also a fun time! I didn't get any pictures, however!

PHEW!!!

Bring on 2009...

I'm ready and excited for a New Year and fresh beginnings!

I TRIPLE DOG dare ya!!!!!

I grew up watching and loving A Christmas Story each year at Christmastime. This show is such a classic! I have to admit, that after I married Chris, between his red hair and my green eyes mixed with yellow specks, I feared that we may just reproduce a little Scott Farcas. You know, the scary red-headed bully with yellow eyes ("Heaven help him - he had YELLOW eyes!") that tries to beat up poor Ralphie in A Christmas Story. THERE, I said it. I was truly a little fearful that in mixing our genes, we'd have a small tribe of little redheads that might look like this famous bully. Well, my children definitely DON'T look like Scott Farcas, thank goodness! (I hope I don't sound mean --- it's okay to say this because I'm talking about a character, NOT a real person! (Right??) ) However, it wasn't until a few weeks back when Chris and I were watching this great movie when we realized that Parker is a mini RALPHIE!!! We were giggling through the entire movie because we were so shocked by the resemblence. Add a pair of glasses, slick his hair down, and add 7 years to his age, and, TADAH! It's RALPHIE! No joke. See for yourselves! Oh wait.

IT GETS BETTER!

Chris' brother, Eric and his wife gave thee FAMOUS lamp (I believe Ralphie referred to it as "the glow of electric sex...") to their parents for Christmas! Is that hysterical or what??? The box it came in even said "FRAG-I-LE" on it written all big. (If that isn't funny to you, you've never seen this movie and need to get with it and watch it!)

SOoooo, here is our little Ralphie, standing by the oh-so-famous lamp. If anyone knows of a casting call for the remake of this movie, we have the perfect man for the part.

Don't shoot your eye out!

Gotta love it! :)

P.S. These were the best fake glasses we could come up with....Chris' brother's old nerd specs.

You better watch out....!

SOooo, Emmie's first meeting with the "Big Man" went great. She was just pretty chill about the whole thing. No tears, and no fears! Way to go, Em!

Parker, on the other hand, had a DEATH GRIP on Chris and was holding on for dear life! It was pretty funny. I have to give it to him though, there were no tears or screams, just sheer terror. Despite his horror and absolute refusal to basically even LOOK at Santa, he DID manage to let Santa know what he expects on Christmas morning. While Chris was holding him in this stooping position below, over his shoulder Parker rattled off with confidence, "I want "Pat pat" toys" (we call Little Einsteins "pat pat" at our house), and "UHH, MICKEY MOUSE!". Of course.

Good job, Parker!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

As we strolled through the mall a little later, Parker started to get whiney, but he sure straightened out when I reminded him that he,

"Better watch out! Santa's watching!"

His response was, "YEAH!" and then a magical thing happened... cooperation for the rest of the outing. HALLELUIAH!

Does that line still work in January???? :)

(Pretty JOLLY Santa, ay?? Isn't St. Nick supposed to at least crack a smile? I even asked him to when I was snapping photos and the above pictures exhibit his response...or lack thereof...)

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Who can watch this claymation version of Rudolph and not be reminded of their childhood? I used to LOVE this show when I was a kid! I DVRed it for Parker a few weeks back and was excited to let him watch it and learn about the legend of this little Reindeer.

Did he like it?

It's pretty safe to say that he DID, seeming as every morning for the last 2 weeks between the dreaded hours of 4:45 a.m. and 5:15, we feel a pull at our covers followed by a tiny voice, "Mommy, Daddy! Watch Reindeer!". (No exaggeration!) Yep, the little munchkin is so excited about his new found friend, "Rudolph", that he awakens way too early from his slumber and invites (okay, forces) us to do the same, to watch "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". We don't necessarily end up watching it THIS early in the morning, but at sometime during the day, you're sure to find this show is playing in our home. I'm tellin' ya, when this 2 year old gets passionate about something, to say our household gets on overload of it is an understatement!

Speaking of claymation, Parker and I (okay, 95% of the credit goes to the 2 year old...thank goodness.) sculpted these very, um, creative snowmen (yes, all are snowmen) in the picture of above. Parker was so proud of his masterpieces. I didn't have the heart to tell him that they look more like disfigured alien insects... hmmm. I must be such a good mom. :)

MEETING THE REINDEER

We lucked out last week when we took a family drive through the Christmas lights at Thanksgiving Point (above) and found out that in addition to the light display, they had some of Santa's real reindeer there for us to visit. Needless to say, Parker was pretty excited to meet one of Santa's real reindeer, even if it wasn't Rudolph. It was FREEZING cold outside, so Emmie and I stayed in the car while Chris and Parker went to get their glimpse of the animals. They were only gone for about five minutes, but they returned having fulfilled their mission and most importantly with a satisfied Parker.

WELL,
The tree is up, the lights are twinkling, the snow is falling....It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.... and we're EXCITED!!! :)

Next on our list?
VISITING SANTA....
we were going to go last week but I got sick....& now Parker's sick (not what I had)... hopefully we'll make it one of these days! We're running out of time!
HaPpY ChRiStMaS PrEp everyone!!!