I gave in and agreed to a family picture on Christmas Eve. We had a great Christmas this year. It was nice to have the hussle of Christmas to make time go faster until the baby. We did Christmas Eve at my parents house, it was fabulous as always. Christmas morning was just the four of us at home and then back to my parents for dinner. We did a little Christmas with Brett's parents on Friday night. Brett and I didn't go all out this year and tried to focus on just being with family, I couldn't ask for anything more.
At Lydia's preschool this week Santa and Mrs. Claus came to visit the kids. This is the first time this year my kids have seen Santa. Evelyn of course was fine she got right up and sat down, Lydia however was not happy. She was nervous the whole time, wanting to sit on my lap and not on the floor with all the other kids. Then when he called her name she wouldn't even walk up to get her gift. Once she opened her gift she had a change of heart and wanted to go give Santa loves and tell him Thank You! I snapped a picture then.
Evie is the one in the black top and shorts with a red bow around her waist and two pony tails.
First, my sister does not listen to me! I am not a believer in having a baby shower if it's not your first baby. I don't know why! Audrey went a head and planned a surprise (sort-of) shower for me. It was soooo great. Everyone met at my mom's house and we went to dinner at Pei Wei, yummy!!! Then back to my mom's to open presents and then, of course we will use any excuse to go see a movie, we all went to see Four Christmases. I have to admit is was so nice to have all my favorite girls throwing a party just for me. We did miss a few ladies who couldn't make it. Thank you to all my best girlfriends for all you do for me. A special thanks to Audrey, you are THE BEST! I love you all.
Audrey made this diaper cake, FABULOUS!
It consists of binkies, onsies, pants, bibs, bottle brush, toys, spoon, fork, ribbons, bows and lots of diapers all set on top of a cute baby blanket.
The binkies are one of my favorites, They have real Swartzky crystals on them. This bippie is so Brett!
Another picture of the diaper cake.
We had Evelyn's birthday party Friday after Thanksgiving at Chuck E Cheese. I tried talking her out of going there but I wasn't very sucessful. It actually wasn't too bad, not very busy and the kids seemed to have a blast. I guess that's what really matters, right! I also tried talking Evelyn into a really cute store bought cake but she kept saying she wanted me to make carrot cake. The best part about Evelyn's birthday party was watching her really get into dancing with Chuck E, it was hilarious.
Had Thanksgiving at my mom's and it was FABULOUS like always. I had my camera but didn't take pictures, I don't know why I am so bad at that right now. Here are some great and not so great memories created.
1- Lulu was in town.
2- We missed Aaron this year!
3- Fantastic Food
4-I spilled my 44 oz diet coke.
5- I dropped, broke and spilled a jar of pickles (very sticky by the way)!
6- I was asked to stop helping this year.
7- Being with my wonderful family.
My Daddy!
Happy 6th birthday Evelyn! Mom and Dad are so proud of you. You are such a smart and talented little girl. We love you so much sweetheart! I hope you have a great day!
We spent this weekend moving the girls into a room together. I was really nervous about it because in talking with the girls and trying to plan the furniture, it wasn't going so well. Brett and I decided that maybe if we got the girls new bedroom furniture it would be more exciting for them to share a room. With a lot of help from Grandma and Grandpa we picked some new furniture. The girls were so excited for their new stuff to be delivered and set up. It was a lot of fun to see how happy they were with how everything turned out. I went with my mom yesterday and picked out some matching bedding for them. It turned out so cute having them together. A special thanks to Brett's parents for all of their help. 
The first night together!
*I don't usually do these but since it was my sister who tagged me I will do it this one time.
8 TV shows I love to watch:
(some of these are not new, but classics)
Friends
Will and Grace
Seinfield
Sex and the City
Dirt
Jay Leno
Nancy Grace
Anything that makes me laugh
8 Favorite Restaurants:
Mikado
Happy Sumo
Texas Roadhouse
Pei Wei
Sapporro
My Mom's
Audrey's
Cafe Rio
8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
Watched Evie at dance for 2 hours
Visited my sweet little brother
Played with my girls
Blogged
Had heartburn
Cleaned my house
Drove through Gardner Village, fresh with Christmas lights
Had dinner with just my mom and Audrey
8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:
MY BABY BOY
Evie's birthday
Thanksgiving
Christmas
No more heartburn
No more pants with elastic wastes
Evie back on track for school
Any girls night out
8 Things On My Wish List:
Happy and Healthy new year
For Audrey to fall in love
An easy delivery
Move back to Murray
For Heather to stay put
See Aaron on Thanksgiving
My house to magically stay clean (without any effort from me)
One billion Dollars (dreaming big)
8 People I tag:
(no pressure, do it if you want or don't)
Nanette
Courtney
Christina U.
Linda Jones
Tiffany
Audrey B.
Jenny
Natalie
Well... Halloween is over and October has come and gone. It was a good Halloween a little different this year. My dad was out of town, my younger brother not home this year. We usually do a dinner at my mom's but with things so upside down this year I told her just to come out to my house. We had a great time. The kids got a ton of candy this year. Hope everyone else had a safe and fun Halloween.
With my kids being out of school all this week, I thought that I would take them to Gardner Village to see all the witches and pumpkins. It was just me, my two beautiful girls and my wonderful mom. We had a really nice time and the girls enjoyed taking pictures with the witches. We had to make a stop in the Candy Store, which Evie did not want to do but that ended up being one of her favorite parts. It didn't take her long to realize there was candy there that we couldn't get just at any store. For those of you who know the story will understand this.... Lydia DID get back in the saddle this year. What a brave little girl.
We went to a Halloween birthday party over the weekend. I tried to avoid getting dressed up being all pregnant and stuff. I would love to take all the credit but Audrey and Heather both gave me the idea to go as Juno McGuff and Brett as Paulie Bleaker. I couldn't resist the temptation seeing as I LOVE the movie Juno. I couldn't have pulled it off without my sweet husband being willing to follow along. Guess what.... we did get Best Costume at the party though.
I haven't been very good at posting lately, between computer problems and camera issues it's been a little challenging lately. We have been very busy though. I was a helper at Evelyn's school for her Halloween party (which was earlier this month since she is on D track). It was a lot of fun, Lydia was also able to come with me. Here is Evie sitting at her desk waiting to start the activities.
My activity was dressing the kids like Mummy's in toilet paper. There favorite part was busting out of the paper.
Then after Evie was off track we got to go on a field trip with Lydia's school to a pumpkin patch. I love Lydia's preschool and Lydia seems to be adjusting well to it. Here are my girls driving a pumpkin.
At the pumpkin patch they had this really cool pirate ship that the kids could play on. They had a little hay maze for the kids too. I am so glad that I have had this little bit of time to go to both of the girls schools and see a little of how there day goes. I am so proud of both of them.
My mom has a Halloween Treasure Hunt every year for the grandkids. Each year is a little bit different but it's so exciting to see what new things we will do. The kids (as you can see) all got T-shirts before the hunt and flashlights. We had dinner at my moms house this year and it was her homemade chili. I don't like chili but I love my moms. Heather told a story to set the whole scene for the hunt and then we were off. Each child has there own turn to find the next clue at the next location. We go all over the valley, lots of different places. My mom works really hard every year to put this together for her grandchildren. She just loves to see how excited they get about something she has put together for them. Even when I was little my mom did all kinds of fun different activities so that we could build memories together and I think it's great that she still does it with the grandkids. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful Nana! Thanks mom for the great treasure hunt.
I am 26 weeks now and feeling pretty good. Having a little heartburn but I'm just keeping the Tums on the night stand. This little guy is a kicker, which I love. I am almost 100% sure this will be our last baby so I am trying to saver every movement he makes. My girls are always rubbing my belly and talking to him. They are getting so excited to see him. They both have said that they want to feed him bottles, can't get either one to agree on diaper duty. Look how big he's getting.
I really feel blessed for a lot of things in my life. One thing that I feel blessed with is having some really great friends. I am a firm believer that a girl needs her girlfriends. It's important to spend time together and just relax and have a good time. I have some really great girlfriends, we don't always (all of us) hang out together. We usually do movies but some times we will do something different. On Saturday I went out with some of my best girlfriends Kristy, Jesi, Audrey and Heather. We went to dinner and decided instead of a movie we needed to get into the spirit of Halloween. We decided to grab some masks and other items to head out for some good old fun.
I did say once that night, "Are we the only parents that still act like children"? Thanks for all the laughs girls!
We went to a Halloween store over the weekend. I love Halloween! My girls tried on these old fashioned hats, that I thought were pretty cute. Audrey did a lot of trying on Masks and scaring Lydia. My girls already know what they want to be this year but I am waiting for a bit, more then likely they will change their minds.
Lydia has gone to preschool this week without crying. She seems to have a great time there and loves her teacher. She is also really enjoying dance, which makes me so happy. I think having something extra for them to do that they love is very important.
Evelyn is doing really well in Kindergarten, when I go to drop her off all the little boys are so excited to see her and want her to chase them (really we are starting this already). She is taking Jazz this year along with Ballet and she really has a love for dance.
The baby is getting bigger and I am feeling good. You can now feel the baby when you put a hand on my tummy. This is my favorite part of being pregnant, feeling this little life. It's so amazing to me. Still no progress on a name though. The picture to the right is what the baby looks like right now in my tummy.
Don't anyone get too excited, Bart is NOT what we are naming this little nameless boy. One of my friends asked what I have been craving this pregnancy. I don't usually crave one thing in particular when I have been pregnant in the past. I just enjoy eating (without any guilt) the things I would normally try and stay away from. I will pay for it in the end, I always do. I say I am having a Bart because this pregnancy I have actually been craving Butterfinger. I like butterfingers but I don't think I have ever set out to actually buy one, until now. This is going to be one SWEET little boy.
Those of you who don't already know my full-time job is taking care of my family. I absolutely love my job and wouldn't trade it for anything. It's so great to be with my kids every day, but just like every job there are some things I do NOT enjoy. Today Lydia started preschool and it was rough. Lydia is so attached to me and I knew this would be hard for her, I just didn't realize how hard it would be for me. She tried to be a big girl but as soon as we went through the door she broke down. I stayed for a little. It came down to her arms wrapped tightly around my neck and her screaming "NO MOMMY, DON'T LEAVE ME"! I had to just walk out with tears streaming down my face. It's really quiet in my house as I post this blog. Both of my sweet girls at school now!
Brett's brother came up from St. George and we spent the end of last week in Park City again with Brett's family. Travis has two little girls, Maddison is exactly a week older then Evie. They have always been really close and it's been hard for both of them living so far away now. Evie really misses Maddie and I'm sure Maddie feels the same. I only have a few pictures because on this trip to Park City my camera was left at one of the city bus stops that we took to main street for dinner. I don't think I will be getting that back. Anyway, we did an all day pass and we rode the coaster probably 20 times and the alpine slide 5 times. It was so great. We didnt have to wait in any long lines. The best part is riding at night, the tracks cool down and they are twice as fast plus it's in the dark. We had a blast!
We are starting to make it a tradition to escape to Park City the end of summer for one last get away. Brett's parents have a time share and we get the whole week for a great deal. Brett and I took the kids up two weekends ago, Audrey and Mikayla came and so did Kristy and her whole family. We had such a great time. It was great to have one last summer thing before school started.
Evelyn started Kindergarten today. She was so nervous but excited. I am so proud of her and I know she is going to do so well. She picked out her outfit today and I have to say, she looked cute. She had to wear her "Skinny Jeans" is what she calls them. I did cry when I was driving home without her. Is it 3:25 yet?!?!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I want to wish my bestest friend a happy birthday. Audrey and I have been close our whole lives. We talk every day at least 2 times a day and we are always together no matter what we are doing. I am thankful that Brett is so understanding about how much time we spend together and how much Audrey means to me. Happy Birthday Audie, I love you so much. I hope you have a great day!
Lydia is classic for getting sick when it's the time most you want them to be healthy. Christmas she breaks her collar bone, family trip to Disneyland she pukes for 3 days straight, lands us in a California hospital me fighting them on putting an IV in her. Two years ago on her birthday got to close to the candles to blow them out and burned her eyelash off. So it shouldn't have come as a shock to me yesterday, on her birthday she comes down with the flu. She wasn't puking so we went a head and had her party, mostly because I couldn't bare to tell her it was canceled. She tried really hard to act like everything was fine but I could tell she wasn't herself. She didn't eat her birthday cake or dinner which was probably a good idea. Me being pregnant and very emotional, I cried a lot for her yesterday. I felt bad that she was so excited and was counting down the days until her birthday for a week. She is at that age where she has caught on to the excitement of holidays and birthdays. She gets sick on her birthday and I'm sure it wasn't what she had anticipated. Here are a few pictures. On a more positive note, thank you to everyone who came to the party and we missed those who were not able to be there. She is playing this morning with all her presents and seems to be doing lots better. I also slept really well last night and so did Lydia. We got some much needed sleep. I can't believe my little baby is 4, where has the time gone. I love you my pretty little Lydie.
Happy 4th Birthday to my sweet little girl. Lydia is such a tender heart and she keeps me laughing with the funny things she says. I hope she has a great birthday. We love you Baby Girl!
Well, we decided to take the kids to Lagoon since we haven't been in a couple of years and we didn't do Disneyland this year. Of course Audrey and Mikayla went with us because that's how we always do things. We didn't tell the kids where we were going, they all had their guesses but none were close to what we were actually doing. I loved how excited they got as we were driving down Lagoon Drive and the roller coasters came into view, it's priceless. We were nervous at first that it was going to rain all day but it only sprinkled a little early afternoon for a few minutes. It wasn't very busy at all which makes it really nice with little kids. Evie is my dare devil she loves the thrill of rides. Luckily we were able to get her on a few rollercoasters (she wasn't really tall enough for) and she loved every minute of it. Me being pregnant made it nice, Lydia and I went off on our own a couple times to ride some little rides that I could do. The kids were all really well behaved and the weather was great and the lines were short, it was a pretty great day at Lagoon.
Click on this picture to see everyone's face, it's funny.
Lydia lovin' the little rides
Everyone getting off the Bat for the first time.
Lydia eating her Hottin' Candy.
My girls chatting with each other as they drive.
