Carly's 3rd Birthday

Holy Cow! I can't believe my girl is 3. There has been a lot more sass that comes with that age. Surprise surprise. She is creeping into that imaginary stage which has exponentially increased since getting her birthday toys (like her play kitchen & a new doll house). It's been pretty great. Tonight she ran to her kitchen, opened & closed her oven, said "Woohoo! I did it! I made popcorn and cupcakes!" Then she shared some with Morgan and I. Carly's favorite color is pink. She loves to wear jammies. Every night when she notices it's getting dark she says, "It's dark outside. I wear jammies?" She likes to express emotions & feelings. She always let's me know when she's tired, "Mommy? I feeling really tired." She tells me when she's feeling scared, sad, or happy. She loves to read books. Our friend told us about Fancy Nancy and I have been loving reading these books to Carly. She likes to "read" the books back to her stuffed animals or Benson's plastic hippopotamus. A recent favorite was "Polar Bear Polar Bear What do You Hear?" Carly has been doing ok with potty training. She always poops in the toilet, but only goes potty by chance that she's sitting on the toilet (only a few times). In the past 3 months, Carly has only pooped once in her diaper. So now to going potty on the toilet...

Favorite things:
Veggies & Ranch, oatmeal, bran flakes, bean with bacon soup, refried beans.
Her soft pink blankey.
Little toys (small books, tiny little action figure toys).
Singing (ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Once there was a snowman).
Finding Nemo (Every fish we see now is Nemo).
Frozen (especially Olaf which means she loves every snowman).

 Uncle Sam is ready to cheer her on!

 Apparently what she's doing is more important than cupcakes....

 She likes to eat the frosting, then the cupcake. Her new frozen plate (Frozen dish set) from Grandma Barb - she loves it!

 Little Mermaid costume. Don't want to brag too much, but I got a steal of a deal. Walgreens marked their halloween stuff 90% off, so I paid $2.69. Not the mismatched costume mess you find at Walmart. How's that for an awkward smile?

 3 year checkup. "It poke. It ouchie.... but it's getting better." No shots, just a toe (or finger) poke to check blood count. PS Those hot pink shoes are from Grandma Deanna and have apparently replaced her silver sparkly shoes (she doesn't even think of wearing them since getting these new "birthday shoes".) Note to self: fruit snacks during toe poke - smart idea! I asked her if she wanted the poke to be on her finger or toe, then let her pick which foot she wanted. It went really well. I was also glad I had a cookie for her :)

 Here's the Olaf I made for the "Pin the nose on Olaf game".

 She is loving her new Ariel backpack!

 Of course she had to wear her tiara when she played with play dough today :)

 Posing with friends & of course Olaf. It was a fun birthday! Thanks to everyone who came to the party :)

Benson's First Birthday

It's crazy to think that exactly 1 year ago today, early in the morning, I was turning from one side to the other in bed when I thought I felt a pop. I wasn't sure, but I decided I'd better find out so I got up and determined within 5-10 min that my water had broken. Less than an hour later, Benson was born (just after my midwife arrived - thank goodness!). Morgan was already at work and got home just in time to cut the cord. He was shocked to walk in the front door and find a new baby in our home already! We've had many frustrating moments, but we have had so many fantastic moments. I can't imagine life without that sweet, busy boy in my life.

The good:
He is 1 year today! He loves peanut butter sandwiches, oatmeal, bananas (and basically any fruit), yogurt, sweet potatoes, and any carbs. He's been walking since 10 months old so now he's upgrading to a "baby run" that cracks me up. He loves to steal things from Carly and as soon as she notices, he makes a dash to get away (generally under the kitchen table or into a corner lol). He especially loves to steal her soft stuffed animals & her juice cup. He is into growling and all kinds of noises. He's a climber and wants to climb up on the couch whenever we're sitting there, but he doesn't want to sit still. Go figure. He likes balls and whenever he sees Daddy's basketball, he wants to walk around with it (even though it's the same size as him). He can hold himself on the monkey bars for a good 30 seconds (he can outlast Carly).

The bad:
He cannot lay still for a diaper change. He is trying to roll over and get away the instant you get him on his back. It makes for interesting diaper changes & is often scary if he's poopy. He also doesn't like to stay still to get dressed or undressed. In his culture, diaper changes and getting dressed must be some sort of torture. It'll get better someday, right? :D He is one messy guy. He likes to squish food in his hands & fingers and throw food on the floor (however, now I'm thinking it's because he's hoping it'll stay there so he can snack on it later). It sure is interesting having a boy and seeing the big differences between him and Carly.

 This was the only pic I could snap before he ripped the mustache off :( I wish it wasn't so blurry.

 Those soft little hands :) Despite the fact he was eating those little rocks....

That sweet little face has my heart. Love him to pieces. 

Seattle Wedding

Morgan's cousin got married last week. It was so fun to be able to go and visit with family! Carly got to see the temple and now she keeps talking about it :) 

 My handsome man.

 Carly loves to kiss Baby Boy's hands. Our attempt to sneak in a family photo while waiting for the Bride & Groom to come out. 

 Bride & Groom

 Carly's new BFF :) She was sweet to watch our kids during the wedding. 

The life-size stand in for Taylor while she's serving a mission for the church.

 Ok these two pics are a little random because they're not from the Seattle trip. But they are really cute :)

 In between the wedding and the reception, we visited Snoqualmie Falls. It was gorgeous!

 We may have been a tad bit overdressed... everyone else was wearing workout clothes :)

 Carly tried to pet every puppy she saw along the way.

The last time we were at the Seattle Temple for a wedding, Great Grandma Joyce & Grandpa Stan took a picture with Carly. I guess that was the start of a new tradition and this time, Benson gets to be in it!

 The reception was right by a lake. It was beautiful.

 If it were up to Benson he would be eating the dirt and rocks. He is all boy.

Carly found a duck to chase and soon after got in the lake. We probably should have taken our swimsuits.

This girl cracks me up. For the past month, every time she wears a dress to church or wherever, she puts on a skirt underneath. We'll get to church and realize she put a skirt on, so she's wearing a skirt & a dress. She did the same thing for the wedding. I pulled it up to keep her a little more modest instead of just being in the lake with just a diaper on lol. I don't know, maybe it could be a new trend :)

Kid updates

Some more of Carly's "smile" for the camera. I would say it's a work in progress, but I really haven't seen any progress. It seems to be digressing lol. 

 Having a girl is so fun. I have been loving Carly's long hair. I love to put a bow in and put it up in a bun. 

 Benson loves to "drive" the car. Actually he's just thrilled anytime we've been driving and he finally is free from his carseat. Can't wait for him to be forward-facing. 

 Did a session at the Seattle temple finally! Oh the things you look forward to about your baby getting older :)

 One of Benson's favorite books. He loves looking at himself in the mirror. He also loves seeing pics of smiling babies. (From Grandma Barb) Don't tell Carly it's her book. She has trouble sharing as it is.

 Going down the slide with Daddy.

 Carly is getting so big! It's so weird to see her on a "big swing".

 This boy loves to hang upside down.

 Pool time with the kids.

 I love these two.

Daddy doing pushups and this is how Carly helps him. Apparently she thought she needed her shirt off too... 

 Our bonus room is no longer baby proof (as of a month or two ago). This guy learned to climb over the ottoman. We need to find another solution...

 This guy loves to try putting the whole binky in his mouth. 

Carly update: We are working on potty training. Actually it's probably termed "pre-potty training". I really haven't put her in panties or training pants lately. I have made a sticker chart though and give her treats for going to the bathroom on the potty. She doesn't seem too interested, but she's catching on more and more as time goes on. She is a great helper and has started showing interest in "helping" in the kitchen. She loves to read and is getting better with counting, shapes & ABC's. We're starting "homeschool pre-school" this week and I plan to work on one letter of the alphabet each week with her. Grateful for pinterest and all the ideas I have found online. Carly has recently started going down the covered/tunnel slides. She still loves playing in the sandbox and has recently enjoyed walking across the "tight rope"  at the playground. When Benson wakes up and she hears him, she'll run to his room, climb into the crib and jump on his bed and talk to him. It's really cute. 

Benson update: This boy has been walking for a month now and getting more and more independent. Sundays are hard - to keep him contained and be able to listen to the lessons, but it's really fun to see him walking around. His favorite things at the playground: the swing and the monkey bars. He loves to hold onto the monkey bars and just hang there. He can hold himself there for about a minute. That's my strong boy! He also likes to sit on the animals that rock around. Benson likes to pick on Carly a bit, by pulling her hair any chance he gets and trying to bite her. Typical baby beating up on his toddler sister :) Benson has been saying "Mama" for a few months now, but that's all he has said so far. I'm ok with that. It took Carly so long to say Mama that I am a very happy Mommy right now.

Both kids do really well in the double jogger when I have to take them running with me. Carly always insists on running, so I let her run at the end of my run - about 100 meters to the playground. She makes sure she has her watch or she asks for mine (since apparently a watch is required to go running). They keep me busy. It's a really fun stage of life.