D-man's 3rd Birthday!

Our little man is THREE! (Well, he's been three for almost two months, but I'm a little slow). Daniel was lucky enough to have three birthday parties. I have pictures from two-- the third will come later. He is elated to be three and realizes now that he is, indeed, a big boy. We love this boy to pieces. Enjoy some pics!

Brother/Sister Love... Bedhead... Fathers & Sons (before and after)

Some quick pics...

Just a little something for the grandparents (and anyone else that loves my kids as much as we do...)

Hodge podge of goodness

Too tired to really "catch up" with my life so I'm going to provide you with some short snipets that should help. House is on the market-- always a pain keeping an immaculate house, but it doesn't really matter since no one is coming to see it... :( We'll keep our fingers crossed, but we're perfectly content to stay here as well.





Rachel is growing like crazy. She cruises all over and can now stand up for a few seconds on her own. She'll be walking before you know it. She is so cotton pickin' adorable that I can hardly stop squeezing her at times, but she doesn't seem to mind. Only says "dada", but I'm trying not to take it personally. Her hair is growing in thick and red. I hope that she keeps the red! What a lucky girl!





D-man is a stud. He is such a little boy! He is still obsessed with excavators, bulldozers, dump trucks, rollers, cement mixers, motor graders, tow trucks, fork lifts, and anything else that is macho. (If you aren't familiar with any of those things, I assure you that Daniel would love to give you an earful). Speaking of, BOY CAN THIS KID TALK! I don't know where he gets this (hmmmm...) but he doesn't stop! I am amazed (and terrified at the same time) at the things that he knows and remembers. John and I have had to completely change our vocabulary! He loves to play, play, play.


Johnny T and I are good. John is assistant coaching a soccer team with a friend, and I am playing lots and lots of volleyball. Our church callings keep us busy, but we love them. Gosh, this is starting to sound like a Christmas card. Okay, I'm done!

Let there be sun, and it was good!

I am so incredibly ready for warmth. I have never been a big fan of cold, but I don't mind it for a month or two. Well, those months have passed and now it's time for some sunshine! I love going to the park with the kids. John surprised the kids when he got home from work today and told them that we would go and play and then have a treat. I was so excited to leave the house that I grabbed my camera and got ready to shoot the excitement! I cannot wait for our daily walks to the park. I think that the kids are pretty excited too... :)





Happy Friday the 13th!

Daniel, my croonin' little man!

Daniel loves talking, singing, yelling, crying. We think that when he was premature they injected something into his lungs that made him extra loud. Others think that it's because his daddy is so loud. I don't know who else he could have learned it from... :) Enjoy the video of my little man! (Sorry that you have to crink your neck!)

Also, little Rachel is now an official crawler! She has been for the past couple of weeks, but this is my first time posting about it...


By the way, if you're interested into the lyrics of "DIG, DIG, DIG", they are as follows: Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig my excavator Push, push, push, push, push, push my bulldozer I think that you all probably know the ABC song, although you might not be as familiar with his twist on some of the letters. That's my boy!

Hey Good Lookin'!

As some of you might know, little Rachel was born with a little skin-tag looking thingy on her face. Throughout her eight months of life, countless numbers have inspected her face and tried to rub off what they thought was spit up, drool, or food remnants. Aren't they surprised when they rub and rub and still it doesn't come off?! :) We have one young man in our ward who was very concerned about it and I thought that he was going to rip it off himself! We grew used to it and hardly noticed it, but it was something that we thought that we should remove. Our pediatrician referred us to a plastic surgeon because she "wouldn't touch a little baby girls' face with a ten-foot pole" (apparently, she has no problem snipping something off of a little boys face...) So, three weeks ago little Rachel had her first surgery. They knocked her out with a gas mask and cut it out and stitched it up. I was really worried that it would leave a more noticeable and unsightly scar, but I was incredibly pleased. It looks better than some of the scratches that she has given herself! :) We were very happy that all went well and now we won't have to worry about young men trying to snip off her face...

BEFORE


AFTER

Besides that, our house "renovating" (I'm not sure exactly what to call what we've been doing) is nearly done and our house should be on the market within a week or so. We're anxious to see if there are any bites. We're fortunate to be in a situation where we don't HAVE to sell. If it happens, great. If it doesn't happen, that's fine too. We just want to get things moving on it so that we can better plan for the future.

Daniel is a hilarious kid. I have caught myself frustrated with him for one thing or another and then he'll just say or do something that completely catches me off guard and I feel instantly better. It's usually funny the first time but then loses it's humor as it's repeated over and over and over again... For example:

Me: Daniel, please don't throw Rachel to the ground.
Daniel: (looks at me carefully to see how serious I am)
Me: (looking serious)
Daniel: (moves closer and closer to Rachel in a threatening manner)
Me: Daniel?? (in a menacing and stern voice)
Daniel: (jumps up, throws hands up in the air, and with a big smile says, "HAPPY MOMMY!!!")

Me: Daniel, please don't step on Rachels head.
Daniel: No.
Me: That will hurt her, Daniel, please stop.
Daniel: No.
Me: Daniel, do you want to go to time out?
Daniel: (with hands on hips, apparently mimicking mommy) Don't talk to me like that!!

One day at Walgreens, we were waiting to fill a prescription and Daniel was getting to something that he shouldn't. I told him to come over. Of course he says, "Don't talk to me like that". I find it not so funny seeing as we have an audience and my two-year old is telling me what to do. I try again, "Daniel, please listen to mommy". His return: "You do it again, you'll go to your room! One, two, three..." His memory is far too keen.

What can I say, Daniel wears the pants in my family... :)

Happy Birthday!!

This post is our economical way of celebrating my dad (aka "Pops") on his special day. "Pa", as he is most commonly called these days, happens to be the greatest dad on this planet. I say this with a very full heart as he has sacrificed a LOT of time helping John and I get our house into shape. Dad is always willing to help someone in need, family or otherwise. I don't know how many times I have called on him to help me with tasks, big and small. He gladly does it even though he would much rather be golfing. :)

As the baby of the family, I have always felt that I was Dad's "little girl". He has the greatest sense of humor and perfectly clever wit which makes him great fun to be around. I'm certain that Dad has to be the funniest guy on this planet. I knew that Dad would support me in anything that I wanted to do, whether it was sports or music. He was at my games and taught me how to enjoy the game and better myself. There were many nights that I remember going to our church to shoot free throws and play around. To this day, I don't think that my Dad ever lost in a free throw shooting contest. Maybe we need a rematch?

I remember once in high school wanting to go home from school early. I don't remember the reason, whether I wasn't prepared for something, or didn't want to see someone, but I called Dad and he came to pick me up, no questions asked. And do you know what we did? He took me to McDonalds! (Yes, we could make some sentimental commercial about that event! By the way, McDonalds is to my Dad as Disneyland is to a two-year old-- the happiest place on Earth!) I always felt like I could talk to my dad, and he wouldn't judge me or reprimand me. He would listen and often make me feel better just because of his optimism and good humor.

I am proud of my dad for all that he has accomplished. He has seen some tough times, but I have always seen him persevere and learn from what life had to throw at him. I have learned countless lessons from the example that he has set for me. He is one of the hardest working and most giving men I know. I am so grateful to be his daughter. I could go on and on, but my daughter wants me and I want to get this posted while it is still actually his birthday...

I love you, Dad! Happy Birthday!

(I was wishing that I had the brain freeze picture on my computer, but I didn't... You got lucky!)