Happy Thanksgiving!!!

At a time when we often reflect upon what we are most thankful for, my mind immediately turns to the gospel and my family - which ultimately go hand in hand. My knowledge of the gospel gives me hope of a family that lives together in eternal bliss with all our loved ones, our Heavenly Father, and our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for this knowledge, for a Savior who did what he did on my behalf, and for the gospel in its entirety and all the blessings I have within which it encompasses.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!!!

Cash - Updated

Again, I thought I'd put together an update for Cash's book (because I print off my posts each month and save them in the kids' books - I guess you could call it my journal writing because I'm terrible at keeping a journal):

Cash will officially be two and a half in a couple weeks. He is such a tease, so animated and athletic and naturally, for a two year old, he has more energy than two of me combined. He never wants to stop playing and plays hard right up until it's time for his nap or for bed. He is a very good boy and attracts all kinds of attention - from elderly ladies in the store who think he's a charmer - to little girls that follow him around - to all the young boys and young men in our ward that beg to play with the little guy. He craves attention and loves to entertain.

Here we found a cute little pizza joint in Payette that had all kinds of arcade games and rides, etc. for kids to play on while they ate. So some friends of ours went with us and it was so nice to be able to actually carry on an adult conversation while the kids were entertained and close by.

Cash is all boy for sure. As I mentioned above, he is very athletic. He loves to throw balls (which he picked up on entirely on his own at a very young age - we always carefully threw him the ball underhand and he suddenly surprised us by launching the ball overhand), chase and be chased (he pats his bum and says "get it" when he wants us to chase him - don't ask me why), wrestle and rough house with anyone who will let him (he is magically good at the head lock and has managed to make 4 year olds cry when they decide to wrestle him) and he always says "watch this" as he tries new acrobats when jumping off the couch or chair or bed (like landing and doing a summersault and coming to his feet to twirl - all in one movement - it's crazy). Cash is also always messing around Ty's weight bench and weights while Ty works out and although Ty promises to be keeping a close eye, I just know that one day he's going to break an arm or something and I'll freak.

These pictures are classics. Cash insisted on wearing his Sunday shoes and belt over his pajamas to go play and work out in the garage with his dad. Cash is really picking up on what his dad does - Cash tries to do his own pull ups and when he "lifts" weights he exhales the way Ty does when he's lifting a lot of weight. It's hilarious to see all the things Cash imitates.

Cash also loves to take baths, chew gum, ride his bike (he even pedals all by himself for short distances) draw, color, play with play-doh, read books and watch his cartoons. He used to always say "mo-mo" which, translated, meant he wanted to watch a movie. However, he has just recently switched from the two syllables to, "I wanna watch a movie." perfectly. His other famous sentence is, "Let go of me." when we make him hold our hand through the parking lot. His words are really coming along. He says, "oh no, a mess" when Vanna spits up; he says, "Thank you much" instead of just thank you - it's hilarious; and he will even say, "shhhh, it's okay Vanna" - it's darling. Although, at the moment he has a lisp with his "s"s. We'll have to keep our eye on that one. His favorite foods are pizza, mac & cheese, steak - and any meat for that matter (he's our little carnivor), green salad, any pasta and he'll even eat his vegetables if you smother them with ranch or ketchup (which probably defeats their purpose I know).

More classic photos...he likes to tease me when he takes Vanna's bows off her head and puts them on himself and runs from me when I try to get them out of his sticky little fingers.

What a stud!!! Whenever we get in the car, Cash requests the sunglasses because he says the sun hurts his eyes.

Cash hates going to bed without me first laying by him for a few minutes after we've had family prayer (and his dad is no substitute, for some reason it has to be mommy). He hates getting his teeth brushed (he usually doesn't do a good enough job on his own so I have to finish it up for him and he fights me like crazy), and he hates being put in the corner for time out, of course (he always says "yep" to whatever it is I'm explaining to him he shouldn't have done to deserve time-out and then says sorry to try to get out of his punishment but he knows he has to stay in the corner - and he's good not to wander away from it - until he hears the timer go off or until I say he can come out).

Cash has completely spoiled us with how easy he is to care for. He has always naturally created a schedule that works for him that we try not to deter from. He wakes up about 8:30am and takes about a two or three hour long nap in the afternoon, just following lunch, so from about 1-4 and then goes to bed when we do - about 10:00pm. So, if you read Vanna's update, yes, I have about two hours each day (usually) when both kids are asleep which is magical.

I'm sure there's much I'm missing but I'll have to jot it down on my next update. All in all, we couldn't ask for a better kid. Cash is a complete joy and we love him to death.

Vanna - Updated

I decided it was time to put together an update on Vanna for her keepsake book so here it goes:

Vanna is 7 months old today - that 7 months has gone so so fast! She cut her first tooth yesterday so, as you can imagine, she has been a bit fussy. She is discovering her voice more and more all the time. She babbles and squeals all the time - you just have to differentiate between the happy squeals and the fussy squeals. She is very entertained by her brother (as is everyone) and loves being held, taking a bath, playing with her toes, chewing on anything, playing in her exercauser and on her activity mat, swinging in her swing, and playing pat-a cake and peek-a-boo. She actually likes to get her diaper changed and get ready for bed because she loves getting her clothes taken off and being naked.

Hmmm...isn't she beautiful?! We're always stopped by people who comment on how pretty she is and how big and beautiful her eyes are. (I know I have a biased opinion:))

You've got to love the drool hanging from her chin...

Vanna is typically a very happy, good natured little girl although, she has a very sensitive heart (she's all girl). She hates being left alone and gets very upset if I put her down and walk away from her (even if she can still see me in the next room). In my opinion, she figured this out at a very early age. Her feelings are also hurt if a toy is taken from her or, if after giving her your undivided attention, you have to mix things up a bit and actually get something done in the day rather than play with her 24/7. Vanna hates the hiccups and getting dressed (mainly just getting a shirt pulled over her head and getting her arms shoved through the sleeves), she fights her sleep and hates an empty bottle.

Vanna is a little chunker. She has "meaty" thighs, as her nurses call them, and often has her bottom lip pushed out because her cheeks are so kissably big. She is growing like crazy - she is over 15 lbs. and keeps on eating. We started her on cereal at 51/2 months to try to help with her spitting up (she had a bit of reflux and seemed to spit up everything she ate). Although the spitting up still persists a bit, the cereal helped a lot. She is now discovering the world of fruits and vegetables, etc. and loving it - as you can imagine. Vanna is getting stronger and stronger every day. She is better at standing on your lap, sitting up, rolling, and I've thought she has had wonderful hand/eye coordination for a long time.

Vanna has finally figured out her schedule and has made my days a little easier/smoother as a result. She is ready for bed by 8:30pm (and boy do you know she's ready - the only time she is unusually cranky is when she's tired - she also rubbs her eyes) and simply needs a blanket to be snuggled tight against and a bottle and she's out. She wakes up between 7 and 7:30am - hungry again - after waking up once in the night for another bottle. We are never awakened by her crying the morning but rather her squealing and babbling to herself - it's adorable. She's ready for a nap by 10:00am which usually is quite short. She's then ready for another one by 1:00pm which is, thankfully, quite long. She usually takes another cat-nap in the early evening too.

We are loving our little girl and everything that comes with her. We're making progress in her room in fact other than painting the walls (we're painting wide white stripes throughout the entire room - probably not until spring though) and doing a little vinyl lettering I think we have it done. I made some curtains with the help of my wonderful mom and good friend, Ann (because I don't really have the sewing talent), I've repainted Cash's old dresser and shelf to match Vanna's new bedding, hung pictures, and reupholstered my old little rocking chair (with the same material as the curtains) that I grew up with. Here are some pix:

My Quirks

I've been tagged a couple times with this one and thought I'd give it a try. Apparently I'm to tell you six quirks (is that all?:)) about myself so here it goes:

1) I can't stand it when my clothes are wrinkled. With every laundry day I have a basket full of clothes that I have to iron before I can put them away. I iron my kids' clothes and I have even ironed my pajama pants before. I know it's silly and obsessive but I have to iron all the time and what's even more wierd is that ironing is one of my least favorite chores to do around the house.

2) I can't stand a dirty house. Again, I may be obsessive about this too but I clean my entire house once a week (we're talking dusting the light fixtures, cleaning the baseboards, mopping floors, scrubbing bathrooms, vacumming, cleaning blinds, etc.) and then do touchups throughout the week because let's face it - no matter how much or often I clean - it always seems to get dirty again (I wonder why- Cash!:)).

3) I'm always told that I talk too quiet. When I worked outside the home, I was always teased for "whispering" and was always asked to speak up. I guess it's true too because when Cash was a baby he used to get scared and cry when someone nearby would raise their voice or cheer or anything.

4) My neck turns bright red whenever I have to speak in public or when I get embarrassed or sometimes when I'm just hot or rushed/stressed. It in itself is kind of embarrassing because there is no hiding it.

5) I always have my toe nails painted. I know that it's probably not necessary in the winter when I'm always wearing socks (regardless of what season it is I'm always cold - unless I'm pregnant - I guess that's another quirk) but for some reason they just have to be done - and now, so do Vanna's.

6) I was running out of ideas (at the moment but I know I have more than 6 quirks) so Iasked Ty for any suggestions and this is his input - I sometimes set unrealistic goals for myself. I have to agree to some degree for example - instead of starting out with a goal to work out 2 or 3 times a week, I usually set a goal to work out 5 or 6 times a week for an hour - if you know me, this is completely unrealistic.

These were the first quirks that came to mind. I'm sure as soon as I post this I'll think of a bunch more. It's kind of funny to see how odd you are when putting something like this together but I had fun doing it. Tag - You're it!

Fall

I love the change in seasons and I love the Fall season. It's cool but not terribly cold, it's warm but not terribly hot, it's just cozy. I love nothing more than cuddling up on the couch with the family in a warm blanket, or bundling up in a warm sweater, or drinking hot chocolate (with lots of marshmallows, of course) on a cool night.

These are all our leaves from the trees we have in our yard. I had to rake them all together to get this picture (and prop Cash) but Cash loved messing up my pile and playing in them.

Trick R Treat

We had a great Halloween! Vanna had a Dr. appt. (so I guess the shots weren't such a great part of the day - I hate when our babies get so sad when they get their shots) and she is growing like a weed. She is 15 lbs. 2 oz. and 25 in. long. When the nurse was preparing Vanna for her shots and saw her thighs she called them "meaty" and it's true - you gotta love em.

Ty had the day off so he went with us to the appointment and then we went out for lunch at this very adorable and kid-friendly pizza joint. They have a huge arcade area (but it's not terribly dark which is what I usually don't like about arcades) and the best part was that we didn't even lose any quarters to Cash's desire to play because at his agehe thinks the machines are already working because of their music/sounds and bright lights. After the kids had a great nap, we got the kids dressed up for their night out on the town.

Vanna was a ballerina and Cash was a ninja. We went down our street to all the neighbors (they're all old and like a bunch of Great Grandmas and Grandpas to the kids) and they took pictures of them and got a kick out of the kids. Then we went to the ward trunk or treat where we got to see a lot of our friends' kids and visit. It was fun. We actually had a lot of trick or treaters at our house when we got home too. I think Halloween is Cash's new favorite holiday. He was so excited to be getting candy at every door. he wouldn't put them in his back either - he wanted to hold onto his treasures. Cash finally took his dad's advice to put the candy in his bag when he couldn't stuff any more candy in his tiny little hands.