Weekend

It has kind of become an unspoken tradition that every Saturday morning, Hank rebuilds the the train set. The kids seem to destroy it within a couple of days so it always needs to be rebuilt. Hank labeled all of the tracks this weekend and tried to show Taylor how to put the tracks back together on her own. We'll see how that works out! But I did notice that Taylor is more aware of not leaning on the table and knocking everything off. So glad I could capture this moment as it is real life for us.



We are watching the USA vs Canada hockey game right now. I caught the kids cheering as they were standing on our coffee table. We kind of have a split house on who we are cheering for....

Walk to the Park

Reunion

{I had to switch some of the photos around to fit my "photo of the day" project so not all of the photos were taken on the day documented. But no one really cares and the photos were taken this week so I say it's all good.}



Landon, Ryland and I headed over to Sprouts one day while Taylor was at school. The cashier fell in love with my boys. In fact, at one point she had Landon reading to her. Not that he can read yet, but she didn't care and he was pretty proud of himself. Yes, I know it's a bit crazy that I bring my camera with me everywhere. But if I didn't, I would miss out on fun photo opportunities like this one!



Grandma Carol and my kids were chosen for a free photo shoot. The photographer came out to Grandma Carols' house and photographed everyone doing the normal grandma/grandchild thing. This was one of my favorite photos and included little Laila who was in town and able to make it in the photos too!



Ten years ago, I met some of the neatest girls in college at NAU. Brandi was my roommate and Bethany and Pam were our buddies next door. We have lots of fun memories for sure! Today we met up at Chick-Fil-A and tried to catch up a bit. The four of us keep in good contact and whenever Brandi is in town, we all get together. Now there are nine children between the four of us. How fun!

The Big Sippy

Sometimes I take the beauty of the Arizona desert for granted. I know we live so far away from family and friends, but we love the desert life sans the scorpions. I've even gotten used to the owls hooting at night in our backyard and the pack of coyotes celebrating their latest find. Where we live is peaceful and beautiful. And there is nothing better than living in the pure desert after a rainstorm.



At Ryland's 6-month check up, the doctor suggested a couple of things. First she suggested that I started giving Ryland water in a sippy cup a couple of times a day. Secondly, she suggested I get Ryland's tongue tie clipped. I took her quite seriously and accomplished them both right away...today in fact.

I didn't mean to. I thought I was just taking Ryland to a consultation with the ENT dr. When I arrived at the doctor's office, they told me I was actually scheduled for the Avondale office, not the Surprise office. It was their error and thankfully the were still willing to see me. Now I would just have to meet with a different doctor since the original doctor who I was referred to was working at the Avondale office today. It must have been a God thing because the doctor that we got was awesome...so so awesome.

The doctor walked me through the simple procedure of clipping the membranes under the tongue. Then he said, "Are you ready?" I was like what...today? He could tell I wasn't prepared but after several minutes of conversation with the doctor and many quick prayers, I decided to do it...now! Why prolong the inevitable! Ryland was such a trooper. He didn't cry for too long and was giving smiles again soon after. I was the lucky person to hold him down as he sat on my lap. I'm just glad this is behind us. And so Ryland was rewarded with his own new sippy cup, something his siblings are already coveting

Reaching for the Stars

And she did it!

6 Month Well-Check

Today was Ryland's 6-month well check...a day I had been dreading for awhile because of the immunizations. Thankfully, he only had three shots today, but a total of 6 immunizations. And thankfully my mom had come over to watch the other two so that I didn't have to subject them to the horror of watching a baby poked by a big needle repeatedly and crying huge tears of pain.

Ryland did really well though. Within a minute of the shots, he calmed down and was drinking the rest of his bottle. Our new pediatrician is recommending that I take Ryland to an ENT doctor in regards to his tongue tie. It looks like it might have to be clipped after all. The thought of that in itself makes me sad. The sooner we do it though, the better and less traumatic for little Ryland.

Here are the stats from today:
LENGTH: 27.5" (84th percentile)
WEIGHT: 17 pounds (40th percentile)
HEAD: 70th percentile

Daddy/Daughter Time

Last night Hank took Taylor to the annual Daddy/Daughter Dinner & Dance at our church. I think it is so wonderful that our church puts on this special event each year. Taylor went last year for the first time. This year she was old enough to really appreciate it. I can't wait to see the photo that was taken by the photographer in a couple of weeks...can't wait even more to scrapbook this event.

When Hank and Taylor came home last night from the dance, I asked them to show me how they danced at the function. Taylor said they danced a lot of slow songs. I just wish I could be a fly on the wall sometimes, especially when it comes to capturing these precious memories. When they showed us their slow dancing, I chuckled and said, "Really, that's how you danced the whole night? You didn't pick her up and hold her in your arms." (I said that because as you can imagine, Taylor's head is at crotch level these days.) Hank said, "Oh yes, Taylor insisted that she dance like the big girls on the dance floor." I guess Taylor was watching all of the older girls and wanted to dance like them. I thought that was pretty cute. But I think almost everything she does is pretty cute!

O Canada!

O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, We stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

While I am 100% American and very proud of it, I am Canadian in my roots. I was born there. My entire family on my mom's side still lives there. I miss parts of Canada for different reasons. Canada produces some of the best treats such as ketchup potato chips. But the reason I miss Canada the most is because of family. I was fortunate to spend several months out of the year, every year, with my extended family so I know them well.

My aunt Monica and uncle Ron are here for a visit. This was the first time they met Landon and Ryland. I think it was love at first sight. Landon instantly bonded with Ron; Taylor instantly bonded with Monica; and Ryland was all smiles for everyone. Today is uncle Ron's birthday. He is still a kid himself which I appreciate. He spent several minutes this afternoon chasing and playing with the kids outside. It's nice to have someone else around to wear them out besides me :-)

Sitting

Monday after Hank got off from work, I met him at the Sprint store to get our new cell phones. To keep the kids entertained, they hung out outside the store and watched the hot air balloons descending. Some weekend, we will have to be hot air balloon chasers and track those things down when they land. They kids really enjoy watching them.



And yesterday, Ryland decided that he could sit up for a minute all by himself. They say once a baby sits, crawling follows soon after.

Love is in the Air

Well, today has truly been a great day. Hank surprised me by going through our storage and organizing all of our "love notes" from high school and college. He wants us to reread them together. We read through 15 of them and haven't even made a dent in the pile. The love notes brought back so many memories and reminded me of the person I fell in love with and it did the same for Hank. I think reading our words of endearment for each other were little gentle reminders that we were put together by our Creator for good and if we can just love the way we are supposed too, we will get through the fiercest storms in tact and still in love.

We took the kids up to Anthem to play at the park and to go on a train ride. We had a blast and will definitely go back again. Taylor told me a couple times today, "Mommy, I love you with all of your heart." Hank and I try to teach her the correct way to say that, but she doesn't get that is should be with all of my heart. So I said, "Taylor, repeat after me. 'I love you with all of my heart.'" The next thing Taylor said to me was, "Mommy, I love you with all of your heart and soul." Precious...totally grabs my heart and I knew exactly what she was trying to say. Landon just grunts "love you" and that is precious too! And Ryland just gives you that adorable smile that melts your heart. Our kids have totally won us over!

Buzz

While all of this was happening...








...this was happening.





{Taylor decided to build a mountain of clean, ready-to-be-folded laundry clothes on top of Ryland. Good thing Mommy was around to police things around here.}

Cupcakes

It's been such a fun, busy day that it is hard for me to pick just one photo to capture our day. So I am posting several photos from today and will decide later which one to pick. The day started with a playdate over at Bonnie's house, a quick run to get a slice of pizza for lunch, and then last-minute preparation for Robin's baby shower. The day just ended for Taylor at 9:30 pm...way too late...but she loves to make cupcakes. She helped me make cupcakes for the shower tomorrow. Taylor kept on saying, "Mommy, I'm making cupcakes for Bo Bo and her baby Bella." And of course I had to reward Taylor for all of her hard work by letting her lick the batter bowl!

Rolling Around

One of Ryland's new activities is to lay on his back rolling from side to side while holding on to his little feet. He even tries to chew on them from time to time. Can't believe my precious son will be six months next week!

Be My Valentine

Taylor celebrated Valentine's Day at school today. They had a little party and exchanged Valentine's with classmates. They decorated their boxes to hold their cards, played fun games, and ate cupcakes. They even had craft time. Taylor was sure happy when I picked her up from school. She had sugar and crafts all at the same time. I'm happy that she is happy! Here is her Valentine's loot.

Welcome Home

Ryland always has lots of smiles. But when Daddy comes home, Ryland really perks up!

Super Bowl Sunday

Nothing better than sitting on the couch next to Grandpa watching the big game and eating a popsicle!

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's doesn't just have healthy food, they have kid-size shopping carts. Other stores are missing out! It is quite cute watching a handful of toddlers walking around, shopping with their parents, and bumping in to a few occasional shoppers who may, or may not, have been in the way :-)

Breakthrough

This week Ryland had not one, not two, not three, but four teeth appear. His first four teeth all came at the same time...how often does that happen? No wonder my cute little man has been a little fussier than normal. Ouch!

Project Valentine

Yesterday, I found out that we need to make 14 cards for Taylor's classmates for her upcoming Valentine's party. At first I thought Taylor and I would make homemade cards since she loves craft projects. But then I saw this simple, cute idea from a couple of blogs that I frequent and thought what would be cuter than a photo of Taylor holding a heart!

Fancy Nancy

My sweet mom was so brave tonight. She took me and the three kiddos to dinner at Applebee's. Taylor and Landon had ants in their pants and didn't want to sit still long enough to eat. I don't think I can remember the last time when I was able to eat my food at my own pace and eat it while it is warm. These days, I am busy feeding three hungry mouths and scarf down my food when I can. Keeping up an adult conversation is almost near impossible. That's ok though...I love being Mommy to my sweet babes.

So after I put the boys to sleep tonight, us girls played Fancy Nancy, a dress-up game. Taylor ended up winning the game all by herself. Age three is so much fun!

Something New

Well, today was a new start for me. I have taken on a part-time job one morning a week marketing for local dentists. The job has been a God thing. It came at the right time, offers perfect hours, and is something that I will enjoy. After I drop the boys off at Grandma Carol's and drop Taylor off at school, I start my route.

Carol takes the boys to Gymboree, picks up Taylor from school, and then takes them back to her house for lunch. And then shortly after that I reappear. It's really a great little system. The above photo is of me picking up the kids after my first day on the job.

February

Last night we had dinner over at our friends, the Janssens. Their sweet little Taryn is only three months older than Taylor. The girls really get along well and will grow up to be lifelong friends, at least that is our hope.



Every Monday morning I work out at the gym. Landon usually cries when I put him into childcare. He still has some separation anxiety going on. I'm only away from him for an hour, but he still misses his Mommy. Usually when I pick the kids up from the childcare, we bolt out of there. Today though, I let Landon walk over to the window waterfall, which mesmerizes him, and see it up close. At first, he was too timid to touch it. So I touched it and showed him it was safe. Just like Landon, he took his right pointer finger and allowed himself to experience something new, something fun.