Sunday 10

1. The biggest news of the week is that Tyson is officially done being swaddled! He's strong enough now that even when he's all wrapped up, he can roll over to his tummy, and that just didn't seem safe. I've tried several times to get him off the swaddle but it would always lead to screams and missed naps, so I would always give in and wrap him again. Earlier in the week I stopped wrapping him up for naps, and he would eventually fall asleep but would have short naps. Thursday night was the first night without the swaddle and I geared myself up for a long night. It didn't happen. I put him down at 9, he woke up briefly at 1 and cried himself right back to sleep, and then he woke up at 5 to eat. I fed him and put him back down and he slept until 10! Friday night was even better!

2. Alli lost her second tooth on Wednesday. I got a babysitter for the girls and took Tyson to the Varsity basketball game in Orem. I came home and Alli ran out to show me the the new hole in her mouth.

3. In other Alli news, she went to Target with me on Wednesday. When we got there she said "darn it! I forgot my money!" She then said she wished she had "one of those bags to put money in - oh yeah, a wallet!" So she got to buy herself a wallet. She has been so excited about it. She asked if she could keep her Trafalga pass in it, and was disappointed when I told her no, because I didn't want her to forget it whenever we went there. Sooo...

4. On Thursday we went to the library and Alli and Holly got their very own library cards! They were both super excited about it.

5. Thursday afternoon Lindsay invited us down to decorate some Valentines sugar cookies. The cookies had more frosting and sprinkles than actual cookie, but the kids loved them.

6. Brynne and Jarrett enjoyed the sunshine, even though it was still freezing outside. They came in to ask for "glubs", and went right back outside to throw snowballs at the dirt.

7. We went to a few basketball games this week: one sophomore and 2 varsity. Brynne was beyond tired at the Friday night game and cried so many times that I finally packed up and left halfway through the 3rd quarter. That game didn't end well, though, so I wasn't too disappointed.

8. Last night Alex's cousin babysat the kids and we went to Texas Roadhouse with the Gardners and Marshalls. Oh, how I love their grilled chicken salad.

9. Here are some pictures from Trafalga. We've loved our pass, and have used it a lot lately. They added a climbing wall that the older girls have tried a few times.

10. Just a few pictures of my boys from the other night...

Go Cougars!

Alex tried to take the girls to a BYU basketball game a couple weeks ago. They were sold out, but the girls had a fun day out with Daddy, and they looked so cute in their BYU shirts!

P.S. Alli posed all of them. "Holly, you stand here and do this, and I'll stand on this side and do the same thing. Brynne, stand in the middle and fold your arms!"

It's About Time!

Here are some pictures from Holly's birthday...a couple weeks late, but they're here!



These are from the day before her birthday. We had a little family over for cake and ice cream.

On her actual birthday, we went to Applebees for dinner, then came home and she opened presents.

A few days later we had her friends from the neighborhood over for a friend princess party.

She opened presents...

...and we had a pinata...

...everyone hugged the birthday girl during "Princess Says"...

...we played "Frog, Frog, Princess"...

...and decorated princess crowns.

Holly's friends are the cutest! We had a fun time!

Funny Kid

As I was making lunch today, Brynne was coloring and asked me what her picture looked like. It looked like scribbles, but I told her it looked like a butterfly. "No it doesn't, Mom" she told me, "It looks like a bunny."

"What does a pirate ship say?" I had no idea, so I told her it said, "Arrrrr". She said, "No it doesn't. It says nothing." Aah. Trick question. Nicely played.

She had the broom and was hoisting it into the air. On the final push up she shouted, "You're a Timpanogos!"

A couple weeks ago Brynne and Holly were getting ready to watch a movie. Brynne was particularly excited about this movie, so she turned around and in her best 2 year old voice said, "Mom, we gonna watch the whoooooore movie". Sadly, attempts to have her repeat this reveal that she actually can say the word "whole" and this hilarious episode was just a slip of the tongue.

Sunday 10

1. I'm too lazy to download my pictures from my camera right now, so I'll have to update this post with pictures another day.
2. Holly's birthday was Monday. Her gift request was a new charm for her charm bracelet, so we went to the mall in the morning and picked them out. I let her get 2, and it literally took her 20 minutes to decide. It was laughable (mainly because Brynne was strapped into the stroller. If she wasn't strapped in, it wouldn't have been laughable...it would have been really annoying!) She ended up picking out a guitar and cherries.
3. That night we went to Applebees and Cindy, Neil, and Logan joined us. It was a lot of fun. When we got home, she opened her presents and had a little cake. She got her coveted ZhuZhu pet...why didn't anyone tell me those were so annoying!?!? But she loves it, so I can tolerate the noise.
4. Tuesday Alex had basketball and Brynne and I went to Kindermusic.
5. On Wednesday Holly had some neighborhood friends over for a friend party. It went pretty well, minus the random pinata I bought that totally didn't go as planned. I'm grateful to have so many girls Holly's age all within a minute of us! Lucky girl.
6. Thursday night I was finally able to have my birthday dinner with Joy. I think this is probably the 10th-ish year we've gone out for our birthdays. Other good friends have been with us other years, but the last few it's just been Joy and I. This year we decided to meet at California Pizza Kitchen, then walk around the mall afterwards. It is SO freeing to be able to browse the mall without kids! Alex was surprised how late I got home (like 9:40...not that late) and asked how far we traveled to go shopping. He just doesn't understand... Thanks, Jo!
7. Alli played with friends after school on Friday, and the younger girls and I played lots of games. Brynne also started this new thing saying she didn't know how to color and that I needed to teach her. Weird, because she LOVES coloring.
8. Saturday afternoon Alex took the girls down to Provo for the BYU game, but they were sold out. So Alex, Jeff, and 5 kids got pizza and watched the game on t.v. That left me lots of time to hang out with Tyson and enjoy a quiet house. After Tyson went down for his nap, I spent my time finding a new home for my Danish Mother's Day plates. I finally got Tyson's while I was in California, so I was excited to hang them all up together. My grandmother is part Danish, and she gives these plates to her grandkids every year they have a baby. It's a tradition I LOVE.
9. Alex and I went on a date last night! We took Tyson with us to Zupas, then came home so I could feed him and put him down to bed. Then we went to see Harry Potter. I was nervous about leaving Tyson, because he's not super consistent about his sleep schedule and I didn't know if he would wake up or not. Harry Potter was great, and Tyson only woke up 10 minutes before we got home. Phew!
10. The McCarty's came over for dinner tonight. We love spending time with them and it's always guaranteed to be a great time. Thanks, you guys!

Not a Resolution, Per Say

Play-doh. Small shoes on princess toys. Brynne with markers. I don't do well with these things. I don't know at what point in my life I morphed into kind of a control freak. My mom was never like that. She was so good at letting us play in the dirt, and explore the backyard and turn an old shed into our clubhouse. She always made play-doh for us, and let us help make cookies and bread. Somehow that didn't all transfer to me when I became a mother. I cringe when my kids pull out the play-doh, and I don't remind them to put the lids back on when they're done, because then I have an excuse to get rid of it when it's all dried out. I love when they play outside, until they ask to pull out the shovels because they want to dig in the dirt. I prefer to bake at night, because then I don't have to let my kids help.

As Alex (and a few others...) can attest, nothing makes me quite as mad as Alli and Holly playing in their closet. They have a pretty big closet, and sometimes they take their toys, blankets, and dolls in there and play. That alone doesn't bother me, but it's inevitable that at the end of their game, half of the shirts will be pulled off their hangers and be on the floor. Again, that's fine. But then what happens when I ask them to clean it up? Suddenly they have a laundry hamper full of shirts they haven't even worn. And it drives.me.crazy.

The funny thing is, I don't want my kids to turn out the way I'm treating them. I don't want my girls to be prissy girls who are afraid to get dirty. I want them to have fun memories of their childhood with a mom who is right in there with them, doing things with them (even if it involves...dare I say?...paint!) I want them to grow up loving to cook, because they've spent so much time in the kitchen with me that it's part of who they are.

So I don't feel like I can call it a resolution, or even a goal, but I've thought a lot about this subject over the last few weeks and I really want to try to just let go a little. I've already accepted that I'll never be the kind of person who can live in a messy house. And, truthfully, that makes me happy. But I can handle a mess for an afternoon while the kids and I do a project together, or decorate cookies. And someday, when I can see my grass and dirt again, I will just be grateful for stain remover and a washing machine. And maybe I'll even buy my kids a few shovels.

Happy Birthday to Holly!

Five years ago today Holly was born! She surprised us by coming a week and a half early. I woke up in the middle of the night with contractions, went downstairs and watched t.v. for a couple hours, and timed the contractions. When they started getting stronger I woke Alex up, we called a neighbor to stay with Alli, then we headed to the hospital. I got my epidural, the doctor broke my water, and Holly came out at 11:09 a.m. She was a very calm, easy baby, and for the most part has stayed easy. She is the best helper and so amazing at sharing everything. She always wants her siblings to be happy. She loves to cuddle and read books. It's been really fun to see Holly come out of her shell more over the past year. She's quite the little social butterfly these days, which I love to see. I love this picture of her, because you can really see the freckles across her nose. I think they're adorable.


We love our Holly! Happy Birthday!