Swimming + park = great day

I didn't realize how much fun my kids would have at a pool.  We spent about 90 minutes in the play area and almost every minute was spent going down slides.  Sydney's lips were purple after a short 15 minutes and remained blue.  She said that she was not cold however--not in the slightest.  :-)

It was good Kayla was there to catch them most of the time.  If they fell over they were under water as the water was 18 inches deep--so we picked up kids out of the water several times.  We showered off and headed home for a much-needed nap after our swim time.

After naps, we took a stroll to a nearby park.  Although sunny and in the 40's, it was just cold enough that we ended up leaving after playing for only 30 minutes or so.  

We went back home and played some inside games.  They ran across the room to tackle the blanket we were holding and fall onto a pile of pillows several times.  

I met some of Kayla's friends that night for a "Downton Abbey" party.  Yes, I am already addicted to the television show.  We had watched several episodes to try to catch me up on the story line the few evenings before the party.  Very fun.  I told Doug that I want to host a movie night with girlfriends now.  It was a blast.

World Of Wonder (WOW)

Wednesday was filled with fun!  They ate all meals and snacks together at her little picnic table.

There was (once again) princess dresses involved.  Kayla and I worked out while they played together so well.

We then went to the World Of Wonder Museum close to Kayla's house.  It was a WOW experience.  We stayed for 3 hours and they would've stayed much longer.

There was a place with dress-up clothes.

Costumes and dresses with music and mirrors to watch yourself dance.  Wow.

Sydney was sporting a dress with a Whole Foods apron on top.  Whole Foods had sponsored a large play grocery store in the museum.

There was a little station to create a giant bubble around yourself.  It took us several attempts to get them interested and Kayla finally had the idea to go 'in' with them.  They didn't want to leave.

There was a craft room, a music room, and building room (PVC pipe to build anything), a large boat to play on, a fish tank, a cool lizard, a train set, a train station, a bank and tons of fun.

Airplane!

I had credit leftover from being bounced off a flight (by choice) almost a year ago and it was expiring in February. I decided it was a good time to go to Denver to see my friend Kayla and for Ethan and Sydney to see her daughter, Brynlee.  After being cooped up in the house for over a week, all 3 of us were so excited to leave!  

We took off in a snowstorm, which made for a stressful morning getting to the airport and sitting on the runway for too long.  Ethan and Syd were champs and took a liking to a little boy sitting behind us.  They talked to him and wanted to just look at him.  It was pretty cute, but I was worried they would be turning around the whole flight, so I subtly told them to face forward.  Ethan is really into 'potty talk' right now, saying "poops" all the time and was saying those things to this new friend.  That was also a motivation to end the interaction.  Wish he would put this "poops" to work and start using the toilet!

They colored, ate snacks, and got orange juice from the flight attendant and were happy kids!

The Denver airport had a large train system going between terminals, so we got to ride to baggage claim and they loved it.  They stared at the passing tunnel and felt the movement of the train with such excitement.

As soon as we arrived, they found amazing toys and Ethan discovered Bryn's dress-up clothes (mostly princess dresses) and was in heaven!

Post birthday

Grandma Beckstrand gave Ethan and Sydney the game "Don't Break the Ice" as well as a doctor bag.  Those new toys and other presents have gotten us through a long week at home.  Ethan and Sydney have found lots of 'creative' ways to play Don't Break the Ice and think this game is amazing.

We've been sleeping a lot.  Ethan and Sydney napped and woke up after a few hours and then Ethan fell asleep again on the couch.  I brought Syd back to her room and we did her favorite puzzle of Winnie the Pooh and she did some tricks for me--summersaults, and jumping really high--while we waited for Ethan to wake up.  She was growing bored when he finally opened his eyes.

Belly photos begin

Not sure what happened, but  this little lady has made her appearance on my body in the last few days.  It's amazing how fast it 'pops'!  We found out Jan 11th that we're having a little girl and I am 23 weeks tomorrow.

They're three!

I cannot believe that our babies are three years old today.  I wish they were feeling better to celebrate, but they didn't seem too bothered. We decided to open presents in the morning and have their favorite breakfast before Doug went to work as he didn't have clients scheduled until 11 am!  That was a treat.  

We played with our new presents most of the day and did a lot of dancing and singing with out new instruments.  I turned on Micky Mouse Clubhouse (their favorite now that we have cable) while I feverishly made pizza for dinner.  I have never made pizza before, so it was quite the undertaking.  I glanced over to the living room to find Ethan playing a drum 'set' of sorts.  He'd taken a few instruments and laid them out and loved the different sounds they made.  It was so fun to watch him.  He could dance and play music all day long!

My parents stopped by to bring gifts and we were so happy to have visitors.  I pulled out their fruit pizza I'd made for dessert.  It was difficult to come up with a dessert for them.  Ethan loves sweets while Sydney could care less about them.  I knew she loved fruit and thought this would be a hit--not really.

Sidenote: Since she was a baby, Sydney puts her hands to her ears as if to cover them when she is feeling scared, anxious, or even eats spicy foods.  I first noticed it when I fed her solids before she could talk well.  She would bring her hands to her ears if the food was too hot or too spicy.  Well, she still does it--a lot.  If a movie is scary, like when Miss Hannigan comes in during Annie, her hands go to her ears and she asks me to fast forward that part.

Sydney was a bit afraid of the fire on her birthday candles.  She blew short spurts of air over and over with her hands by her ears.  She's our sensitive Syd.

Before bed, we read scriptures while Ethan colored in his new Aquadoodle pad.  I took a short video I will try to post later.  Sydney loves one particular scripture story so much that she can practically recite the entire two-page story to us.  Ethan will help as well, but Sydney is particularly passionate.

Happy Birthday to my 3-year-old babies.  You've changed my life forever, and I couldn't be more in love with you.

Sickies

I first felt sick Sunday but Monday through Wednesday were awful!  I am pretty sure I had a sinus infection that I fought with some home remedies because opening my eyes was painful!  I sent a photo to Doug at work of Sydney and I cuddling on the couch.  It's amazing that I made it through three long days at home being so sick.

Tuesday Ethan and Sydney begged me to read this book.  I had to laugh because it is a history of University of Utah football.  It is very long with some fun photos and memorabilia.  I was shocked when they sat on my lap as I read several full pages of text.  Whenever they see anything football-related one of them will shout "go Utes!" without fail.

I was desperate Tuesday to keep them entertained as they were SO bored not going anywhere for the 3rd day in a row (and the 4th of Sydney).  I pulled out some finger paints I had purchased a few weeks ago but dreaded the mess of it.  They did great and had so much fun!  The mess was minimal which was awesome for me.

Boo

We have gotten a 5-6 weeks of being illness free in our house so apparently we were overdue.  Friday Sydney had a low-grade fever, head hurting, no appetite, and was pretty lethargic.  

By Saturday night, we were suspicious of Ethan getting it and we were up quite a few times at night with both of them.  Ethan's fever is much higher but with the same other symptoms.  Doug went to church and we cuddled and watched a movie before nap time.  I felt like a 3-headed monster.

Here's to hoping they're better by Wednesday for their birthday...

We love visitors

My good friend, Tiffany, and her boys Quentin and Bentley came to visit us for a few hours today and we had so much fun with them.  I grabbed a quick shot of them watching a movie together.  So fun.

Elyssa's basketball game

We went to Doug's niece's basketball game tonight and Ethan and Sydney had a great time, mostly on the bleachers.  It was fun to see her play and say hi to Kyle and Tamra.

Christmas again

Grandma Marchant came by for dinner and brought our Christmas presents because she was out of town for the holiday.  We were so excited to see her and E&S loved their presents.  We missed grandma with white hair.

Sleepover!

I have been debating ever letting Ethan and Sydney have sleepovers, until now.  We'll just do this when we're older.  Our entire family sleeps over so our kids can play!  I think they'll love this idea when they're teenagers, don't you think?

We planned a game night with our friends.  We ate dinner, got the kids in bed and played.  The only downside was that Doug and I didn't sleep much...other than that it was a great time.  Saturday morning, the kids got to play together for a few hours (it helped that they were up by 6 am!) before we left.  

On the way home, we stopped by the mall for a few things and Sydney begged to ride in the fish.  I have always thought these things were a waste of money, until today.  We used it as motivation for them to get through the shopping experience that took MUCH longer than anticipated (store closing sales = Doug getting work pants for $8) and it was past lunch time.  This fish was right by the exit, so we stopped on the way out and magically, it started going without putting in any money.  Nice.  They loved it.

The results are in

We had an ultrasound today.  Ethan and Sydney skipped their nap and joined us to find out if we were having a boy or girl.  The first picture we saw (immediately!) was spread legs revealing that...

It's a girl!

The ultrasound tech made mention of how active she is, and I couldn't agree more!  I have been kept awake as of 16 weeks with strong kicks.  I am barely showing to everyone else, but I think that's only because it's winter and I am wearing layers.  We are thrilled that she appears healthy and strong. They are doing one follow-up ultrasound on her hear in a few more weeks, but they said it's pretty routine that they see a 'bright spot' on the heart and that they believe it's just that they have better ultrasound equipment than they used to and can pick up greater detail.  My doctor said I was the third woman today that had one bright spot in the heart.  Hoping that it's just normal.  We'll see in a month.

Ethan and Sydney were excited, but didn't show it as much as the ultrasound became long as the tech measured every part of her body.  She is 14 oz already and I have gained 16 lbs (hoping that's because I was suited up in winter clothes and had just had lunch--yikes!)

This is a dealership?

This morning, I went to the acupuncturist and dropped the kids off at Doug's office just blocks from my appointment.  I go every month during pregnancy and it makes a huge difference.  Ethan and Sydney were treated well for the hour I was gone and had a great time.  I saw Doug's office for the first time and couldn't believe how many children's games he had in his office!  I guess I know E&S will have activities to do at dad's work from now on.  He had several board games to boot!  Child psychologist is kind of nice!

Afterward, I dropped Doug at his other office 20 minutes away and went on to the dealership to have  second set of keys made for our new van.  I was nervous how to keep them entertained for the 45-minute appointment.  Wow, I was in for a treat!  There was a pirate ship in the lobby. Yes, a PIRATE SHIP!  There was a small arcade with free games (geared for older kids), free popcorn, a video-game area to play PlayStation, and of course, a few televisions to watch.  It was a good thing--we were there for about 90 minutes waiting.  They did really well and Ethan made friends with other kids (shocker).  It was pretty fun.  I may just go 'car shopping' during these winter months and let them play...

What we're in to

Doug showed Sydney how to wrap up her animal. Stuffed animals are treated like babies in our house--diapers changed, going on the toilet with potty treat included, as well as feeding them--literally (learned that the hard way).  The old wrapping used to be the animal in the middle of a blanket and then the blanket was wadded up around them in a ball to suffocate the animal.  They are wrapped up in blankets for bed while they're sung to with the sound machine giving white noise.  I am told to be quiet because "the elephant is sleeping" or something like that.  They are in to me wrapping them up as well and cuddling them like a baby.

Ethan and Sydney are into mischief.  They have colored on the backs of our chairs, and the kicker--our luv sac!  Not a proud mom moment of time outs and a bit of screaming.  I am trying to control their mischief by doing activities like play dough (Thanks Christine and Devin for the Christmas present).  They love it.

We are REALLY into music.  I had Ethan listen to my iPod with headphones on and he was in heaven!  He grabbed his guitar and finds any object that will work to make it work like a violin.  And yes, this is his favorite dancing dress of all time.  He is very upset when it needs to be washed.

They are very in to doing my hair.  It's quite painful.  Tongs are involved (plastic at least) from the kitchen which Sydney describes as cutting my hair with them.  This involves pinching and pulling my hair.  Good thing she's not good with scissors yet.  I have started to be very conscientious of where I hide scissors in our house.  Yikes!

Ethan sports a different skirt or dress often with a bow in his hair.  Here he is with our blender plunger and playing his violin.

The 'baby' (animal) diaper changes were cute for the first day or two but now they drive me nuts!  We have about 18 stuffed animals that require regular changes with more than one wipe.  The wipes, diapers, and animals are left all over the house along with the blankets to wrap the animals in.  Every nap and night time I am folding and putting away about one dozen blankets.  Ugh.  Cute.

Lastly, we're really in to photo-taking.  This is the most reasonable shot I could find.  I am deleting dozens of photos of the ceiling and couch.  Such creative little minds.