Happy Birthday Jeff

My sweet Jeff turned 29 yesterday. I wanted to shout it out to the world how much I love this man! I made a list of 29 things I love about him & he gave me a weird look, & asked why 29, that's a random number. Well, honey you're 29... not such a random number :) Since I've made the list I've thought of more, so here's a few:

*He's so patient

*He's always happy

*He makes the best out of any situation

*He rarely gets mad or upset

*He always upholds his Priesthood

*He serves in his calling faithfully

*He helps me with meals, cleaning & the kids

*The kids adore him & he's such a great dad

*He's always willing to help out & doesn't think about himself

*He may not be much of a talker, but he's a great kisser ;)

I'm seriously the luckiest girl to have this man sealed to me for all eternity! I'm blessed each day by his presence & his example. I love you babe! Hope you had a Happy Birthday!!

Mounds

Yesterday we gave my in-laws a candy bar, wrapped up; it had a note that said: Remember Almond Joys have nuts, Mounds don't. Well, there's no nuts on our girl! They opened a Mounds. It took my mother-in-law a while to get it. Needless to say, I'm still in shock that it's a girl! I was kind of expecting a boy, Jeff thought for sure it was a boy & I guess he got it in my head that that's what we were having.

They got a clear shot & it's definitely a girl. And she's healthy & right on schedule. We are very excited to welcome the tie breaker!

The big ONE

I can't believe my baby turned one! Time literally flew by! Here's a few pics of our celebration. Above is Kyler's cake before he completely demolished it. And him on the carousel ride they had at Pirate Island. He loved that ride!! He got a bunch of balls, clothes & books. The blue & yellow ball was his favorite, once he opened that he didn't want anything to do with the rest of the presents.
Ethan & Lexi were so excited to go to Pirate Island for Kyler's birthday they couldn't sleep the night before. I don't think they were disappointed, they had a lot of fun!!

This picture was taken after lunch & all the games. The kids were pretty wiped out. We spent about 2 1/2 hours there. But they all had a blast!

Kyler absolutely loved his cake. He dove in face first! Once he did that all of the kids started laughing hysterically at him, so he laughed back & put his face in again. They all laughed again. So he kept going, he absolutely loved all the attention! The kids had gathered around him and watched him until he had demolished the whole thing.

Here he is face first. Jeff's family came over on his birthday to enjoy the little show. And eat some cake & ice cream with us.

The end result. He didn't eat a ton of it. Most of it is on his face & hands & then he started throwing it on the floor. A quick bath & he was back to the party begging ice cream off of grandma, as if he didn't already have enough sugar!

Last night my family came over to celebrate with us. We enjoyed some dinner & then sang Happy Birthday to the 2 March birthdays. My neice Natalie & Kyler were born just 2 days apart. Instead of making an entire cake for him & her, I just made cupcakes. He ate the entire thing!!

Natalie enjoyed her cupcake too & ate most of it. She's so lady like. She hardly got messy compared to Kyler.

Needless to say I am pooped from 2 days of partying & celebrating. But I am really glad we have family to celebrate with!

I love Kyler & am so glad he is part of our family!

counting my blessings

I know it's been a while since I've updated. These 4 kids keep me busy. Each child brings so much joy to our family, I want to document & share what each child is doing.

Ethan is loving kindegarten. He's off-track right now & misses school, he misses his friends. We had our 2nd parent teacher conference with his teacher recently & found him to be on a 1st grade reading level. He got 4's (which is the highest) on everything except his handwriting. He is our sneaky, teasing, loving, kind big brother. I often find notes on my bed that say, "I love you mom. Love Ethan" with cute little pictures. It makes my day! The other day I found a note on my pillow that said "Ethan did your bed" and on the back it said "love Ethan." I can often find him doing random acts of kindness for me & I love it! He is currently playing indoor soccer & is signed up for outdoor soccer & baseball in the spring. He's very athletic & very competetive! Ethan loves playing Mario Cart. I love to see his testimony grow & hear him talk about how he feels about our Savior.
Makelle is definitely in the terrible two's. There's a lot of crying & tantrums. But then I see a side of her that is so sweet. She's always concerned about "ky ky" she loves giving him hugs & kisses. She loves to dance & is obsessed with Mickey Mouse & Dora & the new show Bubble Guppies. She got a new bed yesterday, which I will have to post a picture of; Jeff & his dad made it & it is awesome. She loves being a big girl & doing what the older kids do. She loves reading books! She loves nursery. She has an amazing sense of humor for a 2 year old.

This picture says what Lexi loves to do the most. Not only does she like to push Kyler around in her baby stroller, but she loves to play his mom. She's always picking him up & consoling him when he's crying. She really does a great job taking care of him- if only she'd learn to change diapers!! Lexi's second favorite thing to do is practice her cartwheels. She's recently mastered a one handed cartwheel & is now trying to learn how to do handstands. She's doing very well! She loves going to dance & preschool. She's become quite the social butterfly since attending these two activites. Lexi has always been on the shy side, until now. She will now talk to any adult who comes over. Now we just need to get her talking to more kids her own age. The kids recently went to the dentist to get their teeth cleaned. Ethan still has no cavities. Lexi had 2 this time. Can I just tell you how devastated I was?!? I felt like a horrible mom, they had to do a baby root canal on one. I'm so blessed that my mom was the dentist assistant & was there for her. She said that she did awesome! And afterward she chowed down some pizza & breadsticks while still numb. And of course a strawberry shake.

I don't even know where to begin with this kid. He has been a struggle from the start. He's never been a good eater & I'm struggling with that now. I know part of it is because he's teething & part of it is his cold. Most of the time I can peel a pear or an apple & he'll walk around chewing on that, but refuses to sit in his seat to eat. He refuses a bottle & doesn't drink much from a sippie, no matter what's in it. Lexi ran him over with her bike the other day & gave him a bloody nose & scrapes all over his face. He's doing better & now his nose is just bruised & a little swollen. He loves to scream & cry. He loves his daddy & cries at the back door when he goes off to work. He says: mama, dada, bye bye, hi, ball, num num, no, ya... and others, my mind has gone blank. I have been blessed that he's been an ok sleeper. He'll usually sleep from 7pm-7am. With two, 2 hour naps. He loves to blow kisses & play pat a cake. His absolute favorite thing is balls, he loves to play catch & kick the ball around. And his next favorite thing is wrecking whatever the kids are making. He's already learned to take what he wants & he loves pulling everything out of my cupboards.

I have seriously been blessed with these 4 amazing, beautiful children. They bring so much joy & happiness into my life.

I love free stuff

When I heard that the zoo was having a free day, I just couldn't pass it up. It wasn't too cold once we bundled up a litte bit. The animals were a bit more active than in the summer. And the kids has a lot of fun. I wish I would've taken a picture of the ostridges (sp?), they were running around like crazy and giving us a really good show.
The famous elephant shot. Each kid wanted their turn sitting on the trunk

So they got their wish

I loved that it wasn't too crowded. I was disappointed that the tigers weren't more active. They were takinga nap. But still cool to look at.

My little man, all bundled. He was chill & loved watching the animals. Kyler is now walking! I'm glad he finally did it, he's been trying for weeks now. He entertains himself so much better. I rarely see him, he's off playing with the other kids, but comes and finds me when he's hungry. Wow, I have awesome kids! They let me get my stuff done & wait patiently for me to be done, so they can have mommy time. They were all so helpful in getting themselves ready one morning when we were in a rush to get out the door, no whining, no tantrums, no fighting. I am so grateful for that morning & pray I'll have many more like it!

with a new year comes...

Need I say more? We're excited to welcome the tie breaker to our family. The baby is looking healthy & I am feeling better than expected. My due date is August 14th

The Diaper Fairy strikes again

The diaper fairy came & took all of Makelle's diapers about a week ago. She left a puzzle, Makelle loves it! She can do it herself & does it all day long! The first day was a disaster! She had more accidents than successes. I was really frustrated & thought maybe it was too early. The next day she didn't have one pee accident & since then really hasn't... unless we're at Grandma's house; she's too busy playing. She's pooed on my floor quite a few times, but had her first successful #2 in the potty a few days ago. We were so happy! She's still a work in progress, but for the most part it's done! Can I just say how excited I am to only have one in diapers!!! That hasn't happened for about 3 1/2 years
Here's my big 2 year old. HOORAY!