Feeding the Birds

Daddy loves birds, and wants his girls to love them as much as he does. When we went to the zoo as a family, all three were pretty excited to go to the bird exhibit and feed the birds. The girls were a little wary at the beginning, but eventually, I think they started warming up to daddy's point of view concerning birdies.

So Thankful

Nothing like Thanksgiving, to make you reflect on the blessings in your life. I really do feel blessed with all that I have. I am so grateful to have my family. Shayne is such an amazing man, and he is the perfect counterpart to me. He is always calm when I am not, he can read my emotions even when I am totally being a girl and puzzling (that one took a lot of practice I think). He takes care of our family so well. I am thankful for my two beautiful girls who are the light of my life. Being a stay-at-home mom can be a challenge, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to do it. I love that I don't have to miss a thing in their lives, and I get all the after-nap snuggles. I am grateful to be the one to hear all the quirky things they say and watch all the facial expressions. I am grateful to be close to extended family on both sides. I love that my parents and siblings have all stayed close, and I really couldn't ask for better in-laws. I am so grateful for fantastic friendships near and far. Not having family nearby can be tough, but such great friends is a lifesaver. I am mostly thankful for my Heavenly Father and Savior, for their love and guidance, and the knowledge that I have that my family can be together forever.

Yes, sometimes it does rain in Arizona

Amazing, I know. But whenever it does rain, we take advantage of it and go outside. Not really enough rain to jump in puddles or anything, but they at least get wet...OK, damp a bit.

Family Time at the Park

It's a rare day when we find ourselves all at home on a weekend with cool weather outside and no commitments for anyone. So we decided to pack a picnic lunch and head to the park. Now that Daddy is done with school, the girls love bringing him to any and every outing. Whenever I tell them that we're doing something, their first questions is always, "Does Daddy get to come too?" I love that they love their daddy so much, and now after a long time of an absent daddy (what with working full time and school) they have him back again. It is so fun to go places as a family. I think we all took it for granted before Shayne went back to school, but now we cherish every moment that all of us are together.Izzy and mommy on the swings. I'm the really cute one in pigtails, so she must be the huge pregnant lady.Feeding the ducks and geese at the fish pondOlivia's new skill...hanging upside-down on the bars. I would like to say that I demonstrated this trick for her, but the big belly wouldn't even let me get my leg over the bar.

Who Eats Pennies?

Apparently lots of people, including my two-year-old. We had an extremely busy morning, and I was excited to put the girls down for some much needed quiet time and to have some alone time to myself, when I heard choking in Izzy's room. So of course I freaked out and ran in there. When I started fishing around in her mouth, I got out 6 pennies! No idea where they came from (doesn't everyone let their two year old sleep with pennies in their mouth?), nor do I have any idea how many were there to begin with! Olivia never swallowed anything weird, so I had to call the doctor to see what I should do. The nurse thought it was quite funny, and I'm sure some day I will too, but she said as long as nothing was stuck in her throat, I just had to count the pennies as they came out to make sure that they all came out. I just have to squish through her poop for the next three or four days hunting for buried treasure. One problem, how many made it down before I got there? So, the doctor sent us for x-rays to see how many got in. Izzy was loving this the whole time because now she didn't have to take a nap and she had Mom at her beckon call. All the nurses at the x-ray place gushed over the girls (maybe because we were the only people in there under 50), and Izzy thought the whole experience was fantastic, until they strapped her into this clear plastic brace with her arms above her head. That was the end of the fun. Plus, being pregnant, I couldn't be in the room with her when the x-rays were taken, which made her even more mad. Afterwards, the x-ray tech showed the girls the x-rays (which was quite exciting because they had recently watched a Curious George episode where he breaks his leg and gets x-rays) but told us she couldn't explain any of the findings to us, we had to wait for the doctor. A few hours later, the doctor called to tell us that there were NO PENNIES inside her. Hallelujah! No poop squishing for me, and no more loose change around the house. However, Olivia was quite bummed because her Papa told her she would be able to find some money that she could spend coming out of her sissy's bum!

Horsey Rides

The girls love getting horsey rides, but Shayne and I wear out quickly. They've resorted to trying to give each other horsey rides when mom and dad are too tired. However, it doesn't quite work out how they imagine it, I'm sure.I'm kinda scared Izzy is going to get squashedThis is what it usually ends up like

Or like this

Rice Krispie Treat Commercial

Have you ever seen those commercials where the mom or Grandpa is making rice krispie treats with the children, and it is this room full of love and soft music? There is usually a tiny smudge of marshmallow fluff on one of the children's noses as they patiently take turns stirring the treats with the wooden spoon. There is also some over-voice talking about taking time for the little moments... SO NOT HOW IT REALLY HAPPENS! In order to make sugar cookies, it took us two full outfits, one for getting flour all over as we cut out the dough, and one for getting frosting all over as we decorated. It also took about four jars of sprinkles, which I don't know why most sprinkles don't have a shaker top, they are just an open jar which dumps out the entirety in about .5 seconds. I could see the disaster happening before we even started dumping, but of course my children are entirely independent and will not have any help shaking (the commercial showed grandpa and grandson stirring together, but mine refuse to let me help with anything when we are cooking together.) Also edited from the commercial is the mom yelling at the kids to get off the table, stop eating all the dough, get the frosting knife away from their sister's hair, don't take a bit out of every cookie we frost, etc. etc. YEAH, I'M ENJOYING THOSE LITTLE MOMENTS...

Happy Anniversary Babe!

It's been seven fantastic years since Shayne and I were married in the Oakland California temple. I still remember that day perfectly (although some of the days since are kind of a blurr). I am so grateful to my wonderful husband for picking me to be his eternal companion. He is such an amazing man, someone who makes me want to be better, a fantastic example in so many areas. Life has only gotten sweeter since that November day in 2001, and I am so grateful for all the blessings in my life. I couldn't ask for more in a husband. He is so loving, patient, kind, considerate, funny, romantic, the list goes on and on. He would sacrifice anything and everything for his family and I am so grateful for his dedication. I love you so much sweetheart. Happy Anniversary!

It's finally cooling off!!

It's the middle of November, and finally cool enough to go outside. After four months of having to stay inside, we were chomping at the bit to get outside. We took a little trip to the zoo and spent hours and hours there because it was such nice weather. The girls are loving going to the park every day, riding bikes, and just playing on the swingset out back.

Happy Birthday Isabelle!

On November 1st Izzy officially joined the ranks of two-year-olds. A few days before, she figured out that her birthday was coming, and she would remind us all and sing us the "Happy Birthday" song that she wanted sung to her on her big day. However, whenever you ask her how old she is, she would say four. No matter how many times we corrected her, she still believes that she is four. We invited another family over to celebrate with us, and that was just as exciting as turning two. She got to pick out her cake (which of course was princess Ariel) and happily awaited the big day. We were so surprised when she officially turned two, that we didn't have a day full of tantrums. In fact she handled all the attention and excitement extremely well. She shared her new toys (most of the time) and was just happy to have some friends over. It was a pretty low key birthday from our perspective, but it was perfect for her. Izzy's one year old year has been so much fun, I hope this coming year will yield as much. She has such personality and spark, she always keeps us laughing. Shayne will do anything to score some snuggles and love from his little princess, and she gives it out quite freely. We feel so blessed to have this little girl in our family.

Spoils of Trick-or-Treating

The girls loved Halloween. Even Izzy couldn't wait until after dinner to put on costumes and go trick-or-treating. I think it helped that they have been practicing for the last two weeks. Olivia would go behind a closed door and Izzy would have to knock and say trick-or-treat in order to get something put into her bucket. Well, all the practice paid off because the girls got a HUGE haul! They went out with Shayne for about an hour and came back loaded. Of course mommy had to do the "poison checking" (which is what my parents did when we were little) and all the delicious chocolates needed "extra checking" (which again is what my parents did when we were little) and somehow never made it back to the girls' buckets. After the candy gorging, we experienced the hyperness which I'm sure every parent loves. Then came the meltdowns, and eventually bed. Another holiday come and gone with all the glory the girls could muster.

Olivia's "Quiet Time"

Since Izzy still naps, and mommy still need time without children, we have "Quiet Time" in which Olivia lays on my bed and can watch a movie. Of course, she has an entire entourage whenever "Quiet Time" comes complete with tons of dolls, blankets, toys, and recently a random box from Costco. I had to get something from my room during "Quiet Time", and found her fast asleep inside the Costco box.

The girls get into the election

We've been watching a lot of the SNL parodies on the election this year, and I had no idea how much the girls liked them, until I left the computer to do something and came back to them dancing to the music. They totally got into it!