Christmas Morning

Vika was very excited about her new toy!  It sings and makes noises when she plays with it, could it be better?  She doesn't think so.  There is a fridge on the other side.  

Conner got so many new toys he doesn't know what to do with himself.  Santa thought he was a very good boy this year!

This what the tree looked like when we came downstairs!!

Conner was super excited about the stocking because he got the candy he asked Santa for.  Looks we were all very good this year!!
As you can tell we had a great Christmas!  We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day with both of our families.  We had so much fun!!

We are now preparing for our New Year's party!  We are going to be playing lots of games and eating lots of food!  Some of my family is coming to my house this year!  We are sad that not everyone can come, but we will still have fun.

Hope you all have a Happy and Safe New Year!!!

Conner's Christmas Songs

Conner would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas in his own little way!  

(Sorry, I had to help him a little.  I am not that great of a singer so I apologize.)

Merry Christmas!!

We would just like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!

Video of the Week

I am going to try to post a video of my kids every week.  My brother, thats in Korea said that he likes to see videos.  Sheeby this is for you!

Friends Trivia Friday

So, I totally forgot to post a question last week.  Sorry.  Also, I was told that it is really hard for most people to think of a quote, so I am also asking for your favorite moment with this person!

What is your favorite Phoebe quote or moment?

Mine is when she is working at the massage place and Rachel comes in.  She totally fakes like she is Swedish.  She says in her Swedish accent, "Put your face in the hole."  Hilarious!!

Simple Pleasures

Who knew that little baby legs would be so much fun?  My sister made these for Vika.  This was her first time wearing them because they are much too long for her short little legs.  

My sister asked me forever ago to take pictures of Vika wearing them so she could have them for her blog.  I finally got around to doing a little photo shoot.  This is what I got from her every time the flash went off.

I decided to put my finger over the flash!  She finally had a "normal" smiley face, even though there is a huge shadow.

Conner went over to his sister and took the baby legs off of her and put them on his arms.  For some reason they make him feel like a rockstar.  Go figure!!

Kids and Christmas

Seriously what goes together better than kids and Christmas?  

Conner had lots of fun helping me set up the tree!  I forgot to take pictures of the whole process.  I would have had Dave take pictures but he was working late that night.  

And the kids did great letting me take pictures of them.  Conner just wanted to move the pink ball ornament around the tree.
I love Christmas and everything about it!!  I am so glad that both of my kids love it too!  Conner's favorite thing about Christmas is Santa.  He asked Santa for candy, thats sure makes it nice and easy for Santa.  Vika's favorite thing about Christmas is the lights.  She likes to look at the tree!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

This video was taken a couple days ago.  Vika was so sick, but you never would have guessed it by how happy she is.  Also Dave got mad at me because I forgot to video what Conner was doing to make her laugh.  He was just spinning in circle and falling down on the floor.  He is the only one that can get her laugh that hard.  He is such a great big brother.  

Friends Trivia Friday

What is your favorite Ross quote?

Mine is 'Hey, thats weird you have the one thing that I don't.  You complete me.....kitchen.  You complete me kitchen matey.'  This is when Ross is about to tell Rachel that they are still married, and Rachel is planning to move in with Ross.

I Was Released

Last night the Bishopric came to visit, and they gave us some very exciting news.  We have officially been released from the Primary.  We have been teachers since January.  I have really grown to love all the kids in our class, but it was just getting to be way too much for me.  Don't get me wrong I loved being in Primary.  I love the songs and watching the kids sing and have fun listening to the Leaders in Sharing Time.   

I am just roughly guessing, but I think there were 6 or 7 boys and 1 girl that came on a regular basis.  Sometimes there would be more, and always more boys.  Each child brought a different kind of energy and personality.  I never knew what to expect each week.  I will miss all the kids and all the wonderful Leaders dearly.  

I Have Been Tagged!

Here are the rules:
1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Answer the six "8" items.
3. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

8 Favorite TV Shows:
1. The Office
2. House
3. Friends
4. Gilmore Girls
5. Eleventh Hour
6. Full House
7. Law & Order SVU
8. Freaks and Geeks

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Packed up our stuff
2. Drove home
3. Ate Panda Express
4. Watched a little bit of an old Office episode
5. Drove
6. Fed my kids
7. Fought with Dave
8. And did I mention that we drove?

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Christmas
2. My mom's homemade rolls on Christmas Eve
3. Christmas Eve dinner
4. Dave coming home from work
5. My little brother coming home from his mission next October!
6. Family Pictures
7. Watching a movie
8. My house being clean

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse
2. Chili's
3. Bombay House
4. PF Changs
5. JCW's
6. Osaka's
7. Gandolfo's
8. Texas Roadhouse

8 Things On My Wish List:
1. Conner listening to me when I ask him to do something
2. A Chi iron
3. Vika to be able crawl
4. Vika to FINALLY get some teeth
5. My house to magically be clean
6. New Christmas pajamas
7. My kids to stay healthy
8. Have Eternal Happiness

I now tag Tammy, Tiffini, and Deb!

Friends Trivia Friday

What is your favorite Monica quote?

Mine is 'Yeah right this place is a hole.'  She is talking to Joey after the girls had to move into the guy's apartment.

Thanksgiving Trip

We are going to St. George this week for Thanksgiving.  We are meeting some of Dave's family from California at Teri's condo.  It should be lots of fun to see family that we don't get to see regularly.  

We are also making an unexpected trip to California.  Dave's grandpa just passed away.  We are all very shocked and saddened by this news.  We were planning a trip to see him next month, so that he could see Vika.  

Wish us luck, and a safe drive!

Conner Says the Funniest Things

This is just a picture of Conner eating breakfast.  I thought it was hilarious that he had to wear his baseball hat with his jammies.

I am really sorry if this turns out to be really boring for most of you, but I don't want to forget some of Conner's funny sayings.  I really hope you enjoy!

*"I not doing anything wrong."

*"Conner need go potty.  I get potty candy."  (we give him a piece of candy if he goes potty.)

*"I wuv you Mommy"

*"Mommy Baby Vika is awake."

*"Mommy I watch Scooby Doo Where Are You.  Got work to do now."

*"I just teasing."

*Whenever he spills anything he says, "Conner almost spill, Mommy."  He really likes the word almost, but doesn't really use it correctly.

*"Baby Vika not a doll, she just Baby Vika."

*"Conner not cute, Conner handsome."

*"Spank a bum"  He can't say the sp sound so it sounds like, "Fank a bum".  

*"Mommy I need deodorant."

*"Mommy I wearing my church shoes"  He wears them with everything, even his jammies.

I really hope this video works.  This was supposed to go up on my birthday, but I couldn't get it to work.  I really wanted to share it because I think its really cute!

Friends Trivia Answer

So since no one tried to guess the answer I will just tell you.  The T-shirt said, FBI  Female Body Inspector.  Rachel shows it to Ross who asks her if he can have it.  

Friends Trivia Friday

When Rachel goes on a blind date with Phoebe's massage client, played by John Lovitz, he gives her a T-shirt.  What does the shirt say, and who wants it at the end of the episode?

How Old Is He Again?

Conner loves to put on deodorant just like his Daddy.  I think its hilarious.  Even though he smells like a man I still let him put it on.

Rather than have to deal with a huge mess of a brand new stick, we gave him one of Dave's old ones that is completely gone.  This has been working really well, but just today he figured out that his was different and now he is asking for Dave's again.

Heavy Breather

For such a long time now Vika has been breathing really raspy, and deep.  We had no idea what was going on with her, so last night I took her to the doctor.  He totally put my mind at ease, and made me feel so much better.  

People would say that something was seriously wrong with her, and I would just brush it off and say that it was just how she breathed.  But in the back of my mind I would think that something was wrong.  

The Dr. said that it could be a combination of 1 of 2 things.  The first one is called Laryngomalacia.  If it is in fact this one she would just have to outgrow it, and there is nothing I can do for it now.

Laryngomalacia (literally, "soft larynx") is a very common condition of infancy, in which the soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx collapses inward during inhalation, causing airway obstruction. It can also be seen in older patients, especially those with neuromuscular conditions resulting in weakness of the muscles of the throat. However, the infantile form is much more common.

The second is Reflux.  She has reflux for sure because she is constantly spitting up, but the question is if its causing damage to her vocal cords and making her breath so loudly.  He gave me a prescription for the reflux if I feel like she should take it.  

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), Gastric reflux disease, or Acid reflux disease is defined as chronic symptoms or mucosal damage produced by the abnormal reflux in the esophagus.^[1]

This is commonly due to transient or permanent changes in the barrier between the esophagus and the stomach. This can be due to incompetence of thelower esophageal sphincter, transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxation, impaired expulsion of gastric reflux from the esophagus, or a hiatus hernia.

I just need to figure out if its a combination of the 2, or if its just 1.  Either way she is just fine, and she will continue to be totally fine.  Thank you everyone for your concerns, but please don't worry anymore. 

My Crazy Life

I am going to warn you right now, this is a long rambled on post.  This is what I did last week.

 

Conner has a weekly sleep over at Grandma Teri's every Sunday night.  He loves it, and he will beg to sleep over almost every time we are there.  It has been really nice to have one night a week where Conner does his own thing without Me or Dave.  He is growing up so fast, and he seems like such a big kid when we leave him there for the night.  

Thursday was my birthday!  I spent the afternoon and evening with my sisters.  They bought me lunch at Mimi's Cafe and then we went shopping at the mall.  I feel like I am getting so old because we were walking around the mall for only 2 hours, and I was totally done being there.  I couldn't take it anymore.  Don't get me wrong it was really fun, and I love hanging out with my sisters, but I guess I just like to sit around and talk.  When we were done at the mall we went to Scrapbook group.  I always look forward to this night because we just hang out and sometimes scrapbook.  We always have so much fun, and share funny stories.  Andrea made yummy cheesecake dessert, and I ate a lot of them.  I had a lot of fun, and I got home really late.  It was a great day!  Thank you Deb and Nicole for everything you did for me on my birthday, you made it such a great day!!  And thanks Andrea for letting me hang out at your house and eat all your cheesecake!

Friday night was my friend Nancy's baby shower.  I had so much fun at her party!!  Tammy did such a good job planning and making it a great night.  I am so excited for Nancy to finally be having a girl after her 4 boys.  She got so much great stuff, and I can't think of anyone who is more deserving than her to have gotten spoiled like that.

Saturday was a very busy day.  Dave and I helped his mom by cleaning out one room in her basement.  We still have 3 more rooms to go until we are done.  The deal is we clean and they watch the kids.  After we cleaned we went to my Grandma's 80th birthday party.  It was a big surprise party, and she was totally surprised.  She thought everyone had forgotten her birthday, it was kind of sad when she told me that.  It was nice to see my extended family that I don't normally see.  After the party Dave and I watched my sister's 2 boys, at my parent's house, while Dan and Nicole went to the Temple for a wedding.  I just have to say that I am really not ready to have 4 kids.  Conner didn't help at all because he didn't get a nap and so he was very difficult, to say the least.  It really wasn't too bad, but I wasn't in a good mood because I was tired.  I ended up cleaning 3 big messes, one of which was totally my fault.  And I had to break up a couple of fights between Conner and Tyson, but that is totally normal.  They just like to play with the one toy that the other one is playing with.  If you ask Tyson the only good kids were him and Preston.  But that really isn't the whole truth.  I don't like to single out just one kid, but if Conner could have been able to cope with life it wouldn't have been so bad.  I love playing with Preston and Tyson, and I will do it again willingly.  But next time I would like to be at my house or Nicole's.  

I am looking forward to this week because we don't have as much going on.  Dave bought Carrie Underwood tickets for my sisters and me for this Wednesday night!!  It was my birthday present and I am so excited to go.

(Sorry about the lack of pictures.)

Friends Trivia Friday

Why does Phoebe break up with Gary, the policeman?

Funny Baby

Vika loves to play in her jeep.  She is so happy, and content just playing by herself.  I absolutely love it when she plays in it, it gives me a chance to do things.  

I love it when she scrunches her nose up.  It totally makes me laugh.  

Friends Trivia Friday

When Ross cheats on Rachel he has to take care of the "trail".  What is the trail?

Sillyness!

I just had to share this video.  It makes me laugh!!

Whats New

We have been so busy, and I keep forgetting to update, so here is just a few things that have happened since I last posted.  

Conner had his 3 year Dr. appointment.  He has grown up so much, and is so big!  He now weighs 31 pounds, and is 36 inches tall.  He looked so big standing up on the scale!  He had a lot of fun at this appointment until they gave him a couple of shots.  

Vika had her 6 month Dr. appointment.  She had a little bit of a cold, so I can't say that she is perfectly healthy.  She is now 14 pounds, and 24 inches long!  She seems so big to me, but she is only in the 17th percentile.  I have learned to not pay any attention to percentiles when it comes to my babies.  They are always on the small end, but they are healthy and they grow at a normal pace for them!  

Dave's Uncle Joey came for a visit from California.  He got here the day after Conner's birthday, and so we had another little party for Conner so that Uncle Joey could give him his gift.  Conner and Vika loved spending time with Uncle Joey!  He took Conner outside everyday he was here and played baseball, and jumped on the trampoline!  He had fun holding Vika for the first time, and getting to know her.  

We had fun going out to dinner with the whole family.  We went to Ogden to this steak place called Prairie Schooner.  The tables are all in covered wagons, and they have everything decorated to look like you are outside in the wilderness.  

Left side of the table, front to back: Steve, Aarin, Grandma Teri, and Uncle Joey.  Right side of the table, front to back: Me, BayLa, Conner, Joanna, and Alissa.  Not pictured are Dave and Vika.  

Big Blue Eyes

Friends Trivia Friday

Name at least one job of all 6 Friends.  Bonus points if you can name more.

My Sweet Sleeper

Vika has been sleeping everywhere lately.  I love to get pictures of her cute chubby face while she peacefully slumbers.  These are my favorite places that she likes to sleep.

This is her asleep on my Dad on a Sunday evening.

I was getting the kitchen cleaned up before I went to bed, and she fell asleep before I was done.

Vika was playing on the floor with her toys.  She started to fuss a little bit so I gave her a binky.  Within minutes she was totally asleep on her toys.

Friends Trivia Friday

Phoebe was with her Grandmother when she died.  Where were they?

Happy Birthday Conner!!!

In honor of Conner's 3rd birthday I would like to share my favorite things and pictures (in no particular order) about my son.  

*I love the way he tells stories.  He rambles on and leaves out all the prepositions.  It is hilarious especially when he is really into the story, and starts repeating himself.

*I love it when he gives me a hug, and a kiss for that matter.  He just started giving 'juicy' kisses.  Its when he kisses you on the cheek and makes loud kissing noises.  

*I love it when he says 'I love you, Mommy".

*I love how much he loves his Daddy, and wants to do everything like him.  

*I love the way he plays with his little sister.

*I love that he has to sleep with a baseball every night.

*I love it when he gets food all over his face, and has no idea.

*I love it when he tries to be bigger than he really is.

*I love how interested he is in sports.  ALL sports!

*I love it when he listens to me.

*I love it when he finally does something good, and he jumps up and down and says 'Yeah, I did it.'

*I love the way he laughs.  Even when he is fake laughing.

*I love it when he makes Vika laugh.

*I love how he mimics people.  

*I love it when I am on the phone and he says everything that I say.

*I love it when he sings along to his favorite shows, and my favorite shows.  I just love to hear him sing any song.  He even sings to the radio when we are in the car.

*I love it when he gives Vika her binky.

*I love it when he gives Vika kisses and she pushes him away because she is sick of being malled by him.

*I love it when I read him books and stop so that he can fill in the blank and he does.  Or says the words with me.

*I love how much he loves his family.  He loves his Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins!

*I love his huge smile and big lips!!

*I love that he helps me with laundry and cleaning.  And he likes to watch me do the dishes!!

*I love it when he says 5 stars, a hundred percent at the end of every song.  (from guitar hero)

*I love how he says Be-at Me-an. (Batman)

*I love it when he says, "Hey, sit on it Fonz."  And then points to his bum.

*I love it when Dave wants to have a talk with him and he says, "No here's the rub."  (he used to say "Here's the rub" until he realized the talks were because he was being naughty.)

*I love that he watches videos on Dave's phone, and sings along to Sweet Caroline.

I love you so much Conner!  You have forever been imprinted on my heart.  You always make me smile.  Thank you for being such a cute and great little boy.  I hope you have a wonderful 3rd birthday!  

Friends Trivia Friday

What is the name of the guy Rachel leaves at the altar?

Splish Splash

This is Vika's favorite thing to do.  She loves it when I get her wet, and she loves to kick her legs and splash the water!

I took a picture similar to this one of Conner when he was a baby.  This is one of my favorite pictures of my baby.  The pink makes her eyes more blue.

Jammin Out

Dave has been slowly learning how to play the guitar ever since we got married.  He inherited his Dad's guitars, and has been trying to do something with them other than letting them just sit around.

He has passed his love of music onto Conner.  This is Conner's new favorite thing to do with his Dad.  

Riding In Style

Even though she isn't smiling, she really does love this jeep.  She likes to push the buttons and make noise.  She also likes to look in the mirror and smile at herself.

Conner also enjoys playing with the jeep.  He is really good at sharing Vika's toys with himself.  Sometimes he will be extra nice to his sister and give her a baseball (if you know Conner that is a huge gesture).  

Friends Trivia Friday

What is the name of Joey's female roomate?

Bonus: What is her profession?

Silly Kids

Please don't look at the massive mess behind the cute smile!  Conner just couldn't stand that I was taking pictures of Vika and not him.  

Vika was totally laughing until she saw the camera.  I have yet to get her adorable laugh on video.  And the other pictures that she was smiling in were fuzzy because she moved so much.

So I know these aren't the cutest pictures of my kids, but this is what my life is like.  Whenever I pull out the camera to capture a really great moment, they stop whatever it is they were doing and just stare at the camera, and smile.  

My Superhero

This is Conner's new favorite thing to wear all day everyday!  

He runs around the house yelling "I Batman, Mommy."  He really loves the 'horns' on the head piece.

Just in case you were wondering, yes he is going to be Batman for Halloween!

Friends Trivia Friday

What is the name of Chandler and Monica's birth mother?

Bonus: What are the names of the twins?

Friends Trivia Friday

In the Pilot episode Ross says, " I just want to be married again", and Rachel walks through the door wearing a wedding dress.  Chandler then says he wants something and looks at the door.  What does Chandler say he wants?

Yankees

The day after the Mets game we went to the Yankees game!  It was an afternoon game, and so extremely hot.  We all ended up leaving around the 3rd inning.  

This is the only picture I took of any of us there.  As you can see Conner was very hot.  He is enjoying his bag of cracker jacks.

I at least remembered to take a picture of the field from our seats.  We were in the center field bleachers.  We ended up sitting next to a family from St. George, what a small world.

Conner was very anxious to get home.  He was climbing all over Dave at the airport.  He even stopped long enough to look at the camera.

This was one of the very few happy moments with Conner.  He was very low on sleep the whole time, so it was just non-stop tantrums from him.

NY Mets

The day after the Red Sox game we flew back to NY!  We went to the Mets game!  We got to the park pretty early so we bought some stuff and we got to watch batting practice.  It was really fun.

Our seats were on the Left foul line!  We had a great view of what was going on until the people next to us would lean forward and block our line of vision.  Conner fell asleep for about 2 innings and missed the 7th inning stretch (again).

Conner was on Dave's shoulder the entire trip.  It was easiest way to carry him, and he didn't want to walk as much as we were.  

This is almost everyone we went with.  L to R: Steve, Joanna, Alissa, Me, Dave and Conner.  Steve's girlfriend Aarin is taking the picture.

We had fun in NY, but we really don't want to go back anytime soon.  There was way too many people for our liking.

Boston Red Sox

We had a 4 hour flight to NY at the JFK airport where we had an hour lay over.  We then flew for about 45 minutes into Boston.  We were all so tired and hungry.  We went to dinner at this place called Charlie's, it was pretty good food with not very good service.  We finally got to our hotel and crashed.  Conner had a very long day and just wanted to sleep.

The next day we did a lot of sight seeing.  I forgot my camera, so I am waiting to get pictures from everyone else.  

This is a picture from our hotel room.  Fenway was right behind our hotel.  It was awesome.

That night we went to Fenway to see the Red Sox.  The was delayed about 45 minutes because of rain.  Me and Conner were soaking wet, tired, and trying not to get sicker.  We ended up only staying for about 3 innings.  I had to get a picture of the Green Monster!

This is Me and Conner watching the rest of the game in our hotel room!  The Red Sox won!
We had a lot of fun in Boston, and would love to go back sometime soon so that we can see more of the city!

Friends Trivia Friday

In Season 10 Monica and Chandler are looking to buy a house.  Who is the actress that plays the little girl that lives in that house?

Friends Trivia Friday

What is the name of the actor who plays David, the scientist guy?  Where does he go to find out the subatomic distillation of subatomic particles?

Another Vacation

 We are leaving tomorrow morning to go to New York, and Boston.  We are so excited and this time we are taking Conner.  Vika is going to stay with my sister.  Thank you again Nicole.  You are the best.  

We will be going to 3 baseball games in 3 days.  We only have 2 days where we can kind of do some sight seeing and shopping.  Conner is very excited to ride on an airplane, and watch the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox.  Wish us a safe flight, and a fun trip!

All Messy

Now that Vika is older than 4 months I decided it was time to give her rice cereal.  

She really enjoyed it, and loved that she could eat from a spoon.  I really think it made her feel like a big girl.  Lately she has been very interested in watching people eat.