Daddy Discovery

We had the most gorgeous Spring weather at the end of the week. It was sunny, clear, and warm with a slight breeze. We took advantage of it and met up with some friends at Gardner Village on Thursday. We fed the ducks, wandered shops, peeked at the petting zoo animals, and hit up the candy store. I bought an entire pound of fudge for Conference weekend (although we finished it last night). :) I was seriously just basking in the sun. It was fabulous.
Friday was just as beautiful, so I took the kids to the park for a little while before we ran a couple errands. They ran and played. I walked Talia around the paths in her stroller. The breeze was a little overwhelming for her so she preferred to stay in her carseat. We came home from our errands and watched Tangled while we ate lunch. After naps I found out Ian was coming home early! Hooray! I threw together some sandwiches for dinner and then we headed out on a family date night to the Discover Gateway children's museum. Daddy had never been there with us.

I decided to just add him to our pass so he could come with us a couple more times before it expires. We had a lot of fun. Friday nights at the museum are pretty empty. It was nice to have the run of the place. Usually when we go there are LOTS of other kids. I think the boys really enjoyed getting to play on whatever they wanted. They showed Daddy all their favorite things too. Davin loves the water, Weston loves dressing up, and they both love the construction site. The helicopter is a universal favorite too, although I think Weston enjoys being in the air traffic control booth more than in the actual helicopter.



We didn't get to bed until late after our family outing, but it was worth it. We like each other and it's really fun to hang out together. Ian and I decided at the last minute that we should utilize our weekend home to work on potty training Davin, so after we got the kids to bed Friday night I ran to Walmart and picked up the necessary supplies: Marvel Heroes potty seat, Disney Pixar underwear, and a couple bags of M&M's. Update on the potty training to come.

And finally, a random picture of Talia. She is starting to wear some of her 3-6 month clothes, so I have been taking pictures of her in all the new outfits. I think this one is so cute and Springy. :)

My Kids Are The Cutest

I'm sure yours are cute too, but mine take the cake in my book. :)

Weston

Weston is such a little grown up. For example the other day there were Cars magnets on the kitchen floor and I called out something to the effect of, "Who left the Cars magnets on the floor? If they don't get picked up in the next 30 seconds they're going in the trash!" (in a super nice voice, of course). And he ran in saying "Sorry Mom. Quite by accident I left them out." Quite by accident? Where did he pick that up? I'm sure I never talk that properly, so it must have been from his teacher at school or something.

Weston is such a baby. When he doesn't get his way he pouts and huffs. Here he is at Davin's birthday party after he was told to let Davin open his own presents. Apparently being 5 is hard sometimes.
Weston is such a sweetie. He coos and talks to his baby sister with so much love. He is really a very kind big brother to Davin most of the time. I have to remind myself of how great a kid he is so that I'm not too hard on him and so he knows I love him. The other day we were going through all the books on the boys shelves weeding out the ones that were falling apart or that we don't read anymore. I pulled one out called "Mommy's Little Boy." I was going to put it in the DI pile since we haven't read it in ages and it is just a cheap dollar store type of book, but Weston caught my hand and said, "Mom, don't throw that one away! I always read that when I'm crying. Sometimes when I'm in trouble I don't think you love me." Oh my goodness, funny and break my heart at the same time. I sighed and gave him a big hug and told him for the thousandth time that I always love him. :)

Davin

Davin's preschooler speech is adorable. My favorite is when he is angry at Weston or trying to get him to do something he calls him Weston Wobewt. It's hilarious. About 6 months ago he used to call him Weston James when he was mad because that's what he gets called (Davin James) when he is in trouble or being told to do something (usually for the 5th or 6th time).

Davin is smart. He knows all his letters. He was wandering around the house yesterday singing the ABC song. This morning when I turned on A Grand Day Out (Wallace & Grommit) he got all excited and said "Dat my name! Dat my name on dere!" Whenever he sees a capital letter D he thinks it is his name. :)

Davin loves to pretend. He is very rarely Davin. He is most often Buzz or Spiderman, either flying or shooting webs. He also like to pretend to be a puppy or kitty. As you may remember from a previous post, he will want to be pet, eat food off the floor, and bark incessantly. Who needs a real pet?

Davin is a peanut. Weighing in at only 26 pounds at age three he is a lightweight. We love to throw him around when we play. He is also still a great size for snuggling. Lately he has been wanting hugs. He'll come in (usually while I am feeding Talia or otherwise occupied) and say, "Mom, you dive me hugs? Pweease?" How can I say no to that? I can't. Sometimes he has to wait, but I love giving him big hugs and loves so it works out.

Talia

Her cuteness really needs no explanation. She just is. I love how her face lights up when she sees me.
She is getting really good at locking her legs and standing. She can also sit up in the Bumbo for a few minutes without bobbling too much. She is a mellow, happy baby (for the most part). She doesn't like to miss out on the action though because she rarely naps while we are on outings. She still wakes up once each night, but is going to sleep in her crib at night on her own just fine. She takes her naps during the day in the swing. She is still mostly nursing, but gets 1-2 formula bottles each day depending on how much we are out. She loves to be naked. I usually let her hang out in her crib and watch her mobile for a little while in just a diaper before getting her in jammies. She is happy for baths, and I think she's going to love summer when all she has to wear is a onesie. :)

Being a mom is a pretty great job. There are days where I wish I could be the one leaving for "work" in the morning instead of Ian, but then I remember how much I would miss out on.
Life is good.

Journaling

This blog really is my journal. After printing up the last 3 and a half years worth of blog posts into books. I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity I have to record my life at this time. Being a young mother is a busy (and sometimes frustrating), but wonderful season of life. I know that I will look back on my blog as such a treasure.

Anyway, I realized that I very rarely post on Sundays. I also tend to not post too many of my spiritual thoughts. I'm trying to change that though. This has been quite the weekend. I played the piano for a baptism on Saturday morning. Weston came with me. I love that he always wants to come to things like that. He has come to several baptisms and funerals that I have played at. Always by choice. He almost didn't come this time when I told him he couldn't bring a toy to play with, but at the last minute decided to join me. I don't know if he just doesn't want to miss out or if these kinds of things just fascinate him. Either way it makes me happy that he chooses to be where the spirit is.

Saturday evening was the General Young Women Meeting. It was broadcast at the stake center and I really wanted my YW to be there. I called them all to remind them and offer rides on Saturday afternoon. I may have also sort of bribed them by taking them out for ice cream after. :) I was very pleased that all but three of them came. There were lots of good talks and beautiful music. Very uplifting.

Today was a super busy Sunday. I'll be honest, it stressed me out a little. I taught the lesson in Young Women's then also spoke in Sacrament meeting with the rest of the YW presidency. This means that I had spent several evenings this week studying and preparing my lesson and talk. I lucked out that I got to teach the lesson on repentance to the YW. I ended up only having about 25 minutes to teach, but I think the main message got across. I hope that I inspired them a little to get down on their knees and repent today. I wanted them to know how much our Savior loves us. He wants us to be happy and repentance is the way. We make mistakes. Every day. But the atonement is there for us every day too.

I told a story from my teenage years about a time when I had lied to my parents. I don't even remember what it was about. I sure hope I'm not the only one who lied to my parents as a teenager, but anyway, I felt horrible about it. I knew I needed to tell them the truth and apologize. I was so scared. I was sure I would be grounded for life. When I sat down to talk to my mom and dad I was crying and told them what I had done. I said I was sorry and that I knew I was wrong. I will never forget my dad simply putting his arm around me and saying that he loved me and he was proud of me. When we repent I imagine our Heavenly Father has the exact same feelings of love, joy, and pride for us times at least a hundred.

My point was that repentance isn't something we need to be afraid of. It's how we grow and progress spiritually. And our Father in Heaven loves us and will forgive us! Anyway, it was a good lesson. Amazingly I got through most of it without crying. I thought my handouts turned out pretty cute too.
My talk was on making and keeping covenants. I was a little worried about it because I didn't have an experience to share pop into my mind when I heard the topic. However, after some research and reading several talks on the subject I was pretty happy with my talk. I was so inspired by the talks I read too.

My favorite was a talk by Bonnie D. Parkin, the Relief Society General President, called "With Holiness of Heart." She says, "Making covenants is the expression of a willing heart; keeping covenants, the expression of a faithful heart. Sounds so simple on paper, doesn’t it? Of course, the doing is where we prove who we really are. Thus, every time we reach out with love, patience, kindness, generosity, we honor our covenants by saying, “Here am I; send me.”"

We keep our covenants every day without really thinking about it when we live the commandments, serve others, and teach our families. We reap the blessings from living those covenants too. This week/weekend has been full of wonderful teaching moments for me. I'm grateful for the opportunities I have to serve in the church, and for my testimony of my Savior. I hope you all had an equally inspiring and wonderful weekend!

PS-Weston asked if he could take pictures of Talia the other day. He actually got some really cute shots. This was my favorite one, after the picture he took of her socks, of course. ;)

Davin's Big Day!

Yesterday my baby Davin officially turned 3! Every time my kids have a birthday I can't believe how big they are getting. It's happening so gradually right in front of my eyes that when milestones like birthday creep up the fact that they are growing up hits me right between the eyes. Anyway, Davin is just the cutest and he had a very happy birthday.

Davin started the day with presents! He got a Chuck the Talkin' Truck play set, a Playdough backpack (full of Playdough and tools), the movie How to Train Your Dragon, the book Olivia, a new shirt, a Toy Story 3 Glodoodle, and some Cars magnets. So far he loves all his new things! Although I have no idea where we are going to keep the Chuck playset. It's way bigger than I thought it would be when I bought it online.
He went to preschool in the morning and got to decorate a cookie like a cat and wear the birthday crown. I wish I could have taken a picture with my eyes when I walked into his classroom to pick him up. He was sitting at the head of the table wearing his crown, with frosting all over his face from his cookie. Bahhh it was so cute!

From school we went straight on our outing. Davin picked Carl's Jr. for lunch, although he didn't eat anything except fries. He loved the play place though, so I guess that's what counts. After we ate and played for awhile we drove the rest of the way to the dinosaur museum. Davin loves the dino museum, so of course that's the outing he chose. We had a nice time. It wasn't too crowded and there was even a new exhibit since the last time we went in January! Talia did great! She slept then was happy when she was awake, even though I forgot to bring a bottle so she hadn't eaten in awhile. Whoops!
We came home and were all pretty exhausted. The boys watched their new movie and played with new toys all afternoon. We had a picnic dinner of grilled hot dogs, fruit and chips (per Davin's request) while we watched the BYU basketball game. Sadly, they lost, but it was a good game! Anyway, it was a happy day for my little Dav man!

Finally, here are a few photos from earlier in the week. Davin was pretending to be a puppy and was climbing all over me, so I distracted him with some "dog food" (aka Reeses Puffs cereal). Well Weston didn't want to be left out of eating dog food on the floor, so they both ate their afternoon snack from the floor. Silly boys. :)
And simply because she's cute and I don't think I had any pictures of her in this outfit, here's a couple pics of baby girl! I always think she looks like a piece of candy in this outfit. I could just eat her up!

Bargain Shopping

I swear Kohl's is bargain shopping at it's best. I wait until I have lots of coupons to combine then I hit up the clearance racks and get some things I know we will need, but I get them for a lot cheaper. I had a handful of $10 off coupons that I have used up in the last couple weeks plus an extra 15% off one for this weekend. Here's the summation of my shopping fun. You know I love a good deal!

Things I've bought at Kohl's recently:
-2 pairs of underwear for me
-new bra
-capris (in a smaller size too. Hooray!)
-nice work shirt for Ian
-new pajama shirt for me
-cute picture frame for the boys' room
-2 pairs of shorts for Ian
-2 pairs of Speedo goggles for the boys
-wall decor for the den
Spent: 59.72
Saved: 245.51

Plus, when I shopped this weekend I also got 2 more $10 off any $10 purchase Kohl's cash coupons that are good this week, so I will be using those too. Probably to get Ian a new white shirt (he goes through them fast now that he's in the bishopric and wearing them multiple times per week) and jeans. Needless to say I was pretty excited about my fun deals. And I love having something fun up in the den!

Birthday Fun

First of all, THANK YOU! for all the fun birthday wishes and memories. I loved it. I had forgotten about some of those fun/funny things we had done together. Thanks friends!

I had a really wonderful birthday day. I spent the morning exercising and showering when I wasn't running kids to school. After I picked up the boys from preschool we met up with a friend for lunch at Jason's Deli. Yummy. We had a nice, long lunch at a restaurant without a playplace. The kids were really very well behaved and ate their food. After lunch we drove across the street to the mall where I bought myself some new makeup at Clinique and got my free gift. Always fun. Next we hit up See's for some birthday chocolate, then ended the outing at the little play area. It was a good outing with happy kids.

I spent the afternoon reading and relaxing. Definitely not doing the millions of chores and such that I knew I would have to do on Friday. Ian bathed the kids and put them to bed while I picked up Pei Wei takeout for dinner. We ate and watched shows together. The night was capped off with a cupcake with a candle in it and a little Happy Birthday serenade from my thoughtful hubby.

Friday was hectic, but I did get to meet up with another friend to check out the new Chick Fil A at Fort Union. Mostly my impression of it was that it was crowded. :) After lunch we swung into Target to pick up the photos of the kids we had done last weekend. They really aren't my favorite pictures, but they are ok, and I'm glad to have a photo of Talia for the living room wall.

This morning we had an early ward conference meeting/training. That meant that I had to leave early so I would have an hour to get things ready for Davin's Toy Story birthday party. The party was actually really low key and fun. He loved it.

We had pizza, chips, apples, root beer, and capri suns for lunch. After we ate, the kids ran around playing for awhile. Once they were rounded up we played pin the badge on Woody. Ian made each of the kids really cute badges. Davin's said Sheriff Davin and the rest of the kids were deputies. That was about all the organized game playing they were up for, which worked out just fine. Next we did cupcakes and sang to Davin. He was so funny about blowing out his candles. He did them in short little bursts of air, so it took him two tries to get them all out. :)
Lastly we opened presents. He got a new set of Thomas train tracks to add to his collection (which he has been very into playing with in the last month or so). He also got a new Jessie action figure and a set of color changing Cars characters. His friends gave him a Nerf gun. He loves it. Tara apologized to me after he opened it, but I don't mind. I assumed Nerf dart guns were part of the deal when I had boys. Also, the boys aren't strong enough to cock the gun themselves, so I have a good regulation on it. After some more playing with toys and the adults visiting everyone headed home. I think it was a success. Davin loved it and said "I haff birfday gain?" Lucky for him he still has an actual birthday day this next week and will get to have just as much fun again. Love that boy!

Happy Birthday Shannon

Happy Birthday to the love of my life.

(It's kind of a big deal)

Your no frills birthday present to Shannon: Share a comment about a fun time you remember with her (birthday related or otherwise).