Fieldtrip

I have been participating in a neighborhood preschool for Makayla.  There are six kids in her class, and each mother takes a turn teaching the curriculum.  Makayla has loved it.  I have had fun getting to know some of the other kids in the area, and I can tell they have learned quite a bit since we started last September.  This last week we got to go on a field trip to J&J Nursery.

We got to see how the plants are planted, and the different stages of growth.  This is some lemon grass (or something similar) that the kids thought looked like a jungle.

This is Makayla with her friend, Karissa.  They have become good little friends.

This is the whole group learning about those plants in the background.  They were all so well behaved and interested in learning about the plants.

This is a giant bear in the little gift shop area.  Makayla was seriously freaked out by it at first, but then she asked me to take her picture with it.  I wonder if we put that in our yard how many people we could freak out?

I am so grateful that I get to be a part of Makayla's education while I have her home.  She goes to school next Fall, and that is going to be so hard to let her go.

Birthday Surprise

I am rather fond of my husband.  He is calm, sweet, understanding, patient, kind, and hard-working (just to name a few).  I believe he is my perfect match in every way possible.  We get along so well, and I just love our life together.  That being said, Devin has not been into surprises.  I can pretty much predict what will happen on anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, etc.  However, this birthday was a different story!  Devin came home from work, collected me, dropped off kids with a sitter, and we headed out for my birthday.  We pulled up to the Ogden Airport to which he said, "pick a restaurant".  Yep, wild surprise, wasn't it?  WRONG!  The actual surprise was that Devin had planned to take me on a helicopter ride!  SCORE!  He worked with a guy that is just finishing up helicopter 

school, and he took us for a ride.  Incredible!

The biggest shock about the entire thing was seeing how little the helicopter actually was.  Picture the smallest compact car you can think of, and that was the inside of this bad boy.

We wore headphones to drown out the noise of the helicopter, and it allowed us to talk back and forth to each other.  Chris, Devin's friend, asked us where we wanted to go, and I opted to go over the mountains to see Snow Basin and Pineview Dam.  It was fun to fly over our city and point out our house, schools, busy roads and such.

 I missed taking a picture of my own house, so I snapped one of my brother's.  It is one of those....

 This was our view from the back seat.  It was interesting to watch the pilots to see how they controlled the machine.  Nice little learning experience.

 Devin and I were shocked to see all the open land still left in Northern Utah.  Beautiful landscapes!

Pineview Reservoir.  When we finished circling this area we headed up over Avon pass to Mantua, and came out the canyon to Brigham City.  After circling the temple and seeing a few other things we headed back to the airport.  By the time we got to Brigham my baby boy was literally doing flips inside of me!  He was probably wondering what was going on.

Ah, the dear, sweet, love of my life scored big this year.  What a wonderful surprise and a fun adventure we got to share together.  Here's hoping 28 is my best year yet!

Welcome Spring

Don't you just love Spring?  I am not a Winter person.  When is snows like crazy I try not to leave my house.  I don't like driving in the snow with two small kids, and I really don't like being cold.  Winter and I are friends until December 31st, at which point our relationship is usually terminated.  By the time March rolls around I usually want to cry because I am so sick of the sludge and snow.  This year, however, was not bad.  February was quite mild.  I will take rain to snow any Winter!  The mountains got what they needed, and I didn't have to shovel as much.  Win, win!

We went to the Zoo the last Wednesday in February (free day!) and had some nice family time.  On our way to the Zoo Devin spotted some deer (yes...while driving in crazy traffic) in a SLC cemetery.  When we were done with the Zoo, we HAD to swing by and check out the deer.  Let me tell you something, these little fellas were friendly.  This one came right up to me and stuck his nose in the car window.  Devin tried to get me to pet it, but I only pet animals that could be an actual pet.

Hasn't the weather just been lovely?  We have just adored these days that are over 60 degrees.  The kids get so delighted when we take them to parks.  We went to the Ogden Parkway and walked a few miles on the trails, then let the kids roam free on the playground.  They were in heaven.

This kid just LOVES his daddy.  Most of all, he loves his daddy to throw him in the air.  He is clearly not afraid of heights, because Devin really chucks him.  It gives me warm fuzzies to watch the kids with Devin.  A girl couldn't ask for a better daddy for her kids.

The kids have been helping me do some Spring yard work.  I was getting garden boxes ready while they ran wild in the yard.  I am so grateful for the property we own.  Most kids are just lucky to have a yard to play in, and my kids have a huge yard with lots of fun features.  I'm not sure we will ever move, because we love the area and property so much.  Blessed.  Very blessed.

Cousins

I babysit nieces and nephews on a regular basis.  We always have kids in our home.  I love seeing my kids make special little bonds with cousins.  I remember playing with cousins when I was little, and I am glad my kids get to experience that.  Babysitting can be stressful for me, but the kids look at it as constant play dates.  I guess it is all worth it.

Latest Cake Making

I really enjoy making cakes.  I like the process of picking a theme (or having one given to me) and pulling it all together to make a piece of work.  I have been making a lot of cakes for neighbors and friends lately, which is great because if I made all these cakes for my family we would all be hippos by now!  It has been nice making a little side money doing something so fun.  My kids love it too.  Just to be clear, they love watching me.  Occasionally Makayla will get to frost her own little cake when I am done making mine.  I think she likes making them as much as I do.  

I guess a few of my genes snuck in there after all.  

Lego cake.  I made this right as the Lego Movie came out.  Legos are huge right now, aren't they?

Pirate cake.  What one-year-old gets this bad boy for a birthday cake?  Haha, my nephew.  That's who!  The top piece came off for the smash cake.  He seemed to enjoy it.

Basketball cake.  I have a feeling I will be making many of these in the future.  Daxton loves sports, and basketball is his current favorite.  I had a hard time not wanting to eat these cupcakes!  Ahem, I mean the BABY had a hard time not wanting to eat them.

The Life of a Stay-at-Home Mommy

My kids love fruit.  They snack on fruit, and almost fruit alone.  I offer crackers and other things, but they prefer fruit.  Especially when Mommy is off taking a shower or something, because then they can sneak fruit around the house.  Grateful for fruit trees in the Fall.

Ah, kitties.  We love our kitties.  We hate our kitties.  Mostly we love them though.  Too much.

The iPad.  Where would we be without the iPad?  I am grateful for apps that teach counting, letters, etc.

I think she learns more from the iPad than she does from me some days.

Again, the iPad.

Sneaky Mommy taking a picture....

Sneaky Mommy got caught.

Run, Mommy!  He is coming for you!

Life doesn't get better than being home with kids.  It just doesn't.

Daxton 18 Months Old

              Yep, Daxton is definitely 18 months old.  He is running, jumping, giggling, yelling, hitting, throwing some fits, and wanting to be independent with every little thing he does.  He is the cutest little thing, and the most frustrating thing all at the same time.  This age is hard for me.  I love that he is learning every single day.  I love that he is starting to communicate with me more and more every day.  I love seeing his little personality come together.  However, I am exhausted.  I am constantly cleaning messes.  I am chasing him around daily.  I am trying out different methods of discipline to see what works for him.  Did I mention I am exhausted?  It probably doesn't help that the third bun is in the oven and cooking quickly.  Sigh.  Isn't motherhood grand?

          We took Dax to his 18 month well check a week ago, and everything looks swell.  The second the nurse walked in with his shot (the last one until Kindergarten....yippee!) he immediately starting crying and yelling, "owies!"  Poor kid.  The sucker made it all better though, and I didn't notice he got a shot at all.  He was even tempered, he didn't sleep a ton, he wasn't even extra whiney.  Overall, it was a great visit.

Length: 33" -- 75%

Weight: 25 lb. 12 oz. -- 50%

Head: 46 1/8cm -- 12%

           Still has a little head.  He got Devin's genes on that one (and every other gene Devin has).

             Daxton gets sad when Makayla goes to school, and then becomes overly joyed when we pick her up.  He loves his kitties, although he thinks they are both Bean Bean.  He was put into a toddler bed a few weeks ago, and it has been the easiest transition any child has ever had.  Seriously, he spoils me BIG time when it comes to sleep.  He takes one nap a day, and then sleeps 12-13 hours a night, and he basically never wakes up.  Ever.  He likes Mickey Mouse and does the cutest hot dog dance anyone has ever seen.  He is starting to put together three and four word sentences.  His favorite toy is still the ball.  Any ball.  If he sees a basketball or a hoop he will continue to say "baketball" or "bakbakaball" over and over and over....

         Life just wouldn't be complete without Daxton.  He makes me smile every day of my life.