Surprise

Spring sure brought us a surprise, but it wasn't popcorn. Just when we thought it would be warming up outside, we had our second snow day of the year. The kids were so excited to go outside and play in it, however, I wasn't really looking forward to being out in the cold wet snow, but I bundled us all up and we headed out. We tried the backyard this time to keep Graysen from trying to run out in the street all the time.

The kids had a blast making a snow man, well I mostly did all the work, but McKenna attempted to help while Graysen just stood by eating snow.

McKenna loved to eat the snow too though; I just hope they only picked the white snow to eat.

When the snowman was done Kenna named him Bob and loved him so much that she even licked his face.

Kenna made a snow angel

while Graysen made a snow person of himself.

They had so much fun but were all wet and frozen by the time we were done. Yay for a snow day even if it was supposed to be the first day of spring. This is what I call making lemonade out of lemons :)

Calender

So I decided to make scrapbook calendars for my parents and in-laws for Christmas and I thought I would just put them up here in case anyone wants to try it sometime. It took a long time to do, but it was really fun and it is something that they can always keep. I just wanted to blog it for future reference,so it is more for me than anything but here it is.

18 months

So my baby boy is 18 months holy cow! I absolutely love this age and I really don't want him to grow up, but I think I say that all the time so I guess I will just keep loving whatever stage he is in right...? He had his check-up and is 30 inches and weighs 23lbs. He used to be in the 75% or higher on everything but now he is only an average Joe :)
He is into everything, but he is such a good little boy and listens really well. If I tell him no he usually obeys and he usually does what I ask him to. Like McKenna he is quite the helper as well. He always helps me fold the laundry, well his rendition which is more like throwing them on the floor, but it is the thought that counts right? He loves helping me put the clean dishes away and put stuff away. Usually all I have to do is start singing the clean up song and he will put away the toys or whatever it is that needs to be picked up. I love my little helper.
He is talking so well that is feels like he is so grown up now and I miss my little baby. He likes to think he is really big too.

It is so fun to hear him talk though and I can't help but laugh at the way he says certain things. My favorite things he says are "wawa"(water), "hold you" and "help you" when he wants to be held or helped, and "i do," and "i got this," and "mine," "want some" and "don't." I could go on and on. I love his little voice though and it is fun that he can communicate so well with us now.
Unfortunately he also has gotten into the independent stage and wont really let me or anyone do things for him much which is good in some ways but also really messy in others. He tries to do everything sister does but thankfully I can reason with him and he understands.
He really is into playing with balls and rocks and cars and pretty much anything that he is not supposed to be playing with. He really loves playing kitties with Kenna. They will get on the ground and start meowing and crawling around. It is quite entertaining. He also loves to listen to music and to dance. Whenever he hears music he starts to spin around or bounce and move his arms. It is hilarious. His favorite thing is being outside though. He could stay out there forever so I can't wait for it to get warmer.

He sleeps really well still which is awesome! I love that he still has a nap and it is so easy to put him down. He is such an easy going guy and I am so thankful for that.
Anyway, I love my boy and am looking forward to all the fun adventures that will come our way.

Out of this World

So we had a really fun outing with grandma and grandpa Allen when we went up to visit them. There is a pizza place called "out of this world" and it is really cheap and the kids love playing there.
McKenna loved playing with the scooters and the cash register. She was playing with some kids and grandpa was there and she fixed some things and told him he needed to pay for it and grandpa said "i don't have any money" and Kenna said "well you have a credit card." He gave her his credit card and she slid it through and then said "ok I what is your last name?" I thought that was so cute and funny that she totally knows about credit cards.

She also loved climbing to the top of the big play structure and then coming down the big slide. Graysen liked it too although getting him up there was quite a challenge not only because he kept trying to go back down, but also cause I had to squeeze through tiny spaces and climb over lots of stuff. It was fun though.

Graysen liked playing in the little house and with the little kid toys too. He like just running around and looking at everything and trying to do all the things the big kids did.

They really liked the bouncy slides too. I think they could have stayed there all day.

It was really fun and I love seeing the kids have lots of fun and enjoying life. It was a nice day and we were glad we got to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Firestation

We went on a field trip today for Mckenna's preschool to the fire station. McKenna was really excited and wanted to be the first to see everything. She actually stood still and listened to the fireman give his shpeal and was interested in what they were talking about. Graysen was enjoying it as well. He wanted to get down and touch everything, especially the fire truck. He kept saying "oh wow" it was really cute.
They had a fun time with all the kids and learned more about fire safety so now I think I know what our next FHE will be centered around :)
It is always so great to see the things that will entertain the kids. They are always so fascinated with anything new.
Graysen and Kenna got to climb into the fire truck which they thought was pretty cool. It was fun for them to see inside and to get to act like firemen. Graysen thought he was such a big boy for being able to be with all the big kids. I love my kiddos.

We of course got a big group picture with all of the kids that went. They actually were really good and stayed in front of the truck so we could get a picture. It was a fun activity and I think McKenna learned a lot. It is really good that they show kids what firemen look like with all their gear on so that they aren't scared of them if there was a fire. Anyway, it was very educational and fun for the kids.

let it snow

Ever since we moved back to Oregon from Utah I told myself that I wouldn't miss the snow but I would be happy if it snow for a couple of days so we could go out and play. Low and behold I got my wish :)
McKenna was so excited that it snowed, and her and Graysen would just sit and look out the window and watch the snow fall and stick to the ground covering it in a blanket of white. It is very beautiful and peaceful to look at.

We decided we would go out and build a snow man before the rains came and washed it all away. we got all bundled up from head to toe and headed out into the white wonderland.
This was Graysen's first time in the snow, and he was having a blast, although he seemed to be more interested in trying to play in the slushy puddles and wandering to the edge of the sidewalk than playing in the actual snow.

Kenna got right to work and grabbed a little garden shovel and started trying to make a snow man. We rolled up the snow and built ourselves a lovely snow man. McKenna decided to name him Bob after one of her favorite books "a Snowman named Just Bob." She was very proud of herself and had so much fun playing in the snow.

we couldn't stay out too long because are nose and hands and toes were getting frozen so we headed back in. We ended our fun time in the snow with a nice warm cup of Hot chocolate and lots of blankets and curled up and watched a movie together. It was very fun and I hope that my kids will add this to one of their favorite memories cause it is one of mine.
It started to rain really bad after we came inside and by the time evening came Bob was slowly melting. Kenna was so sad and kept saying "I don't want Bob to be gone, I want him to stay here." It was sad but I told her he would come back when it snowed again, so she will be looking out the window searching for the faintest glimpse of snow that will signify Bob's return.

Christmas 2011

It is sad to say that we got the flu on Christmas day. We got to enjoy some festivities and opening of presents but then it was all down hill from there.
We got to Travis parents house on Wednesday and spent the week with them. We had lots of fun and the kids loved going to Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Friday we went to the park which started the lovely string of events. Graysen got sick in the car on the way back and lost it, so grandma said she would stay home with him while we went with grandpa and Aunty Mel to John's Incredible pizza. It was actually really fun and McKenna had a blast! She got to play lots of games and go on some fun rides and we got to eat good food and as much of it as we wanted. We wish Grandma and Graysen could have been with us though, and Uncle Tyler.
Saturday we had fun hanging out but Graysen still wasn't feeling too hot so we didn't do much. Grandma and Kenna and Graysen made some cookies to leave on Santa's plate, so that was really fun and the kids loved it of course. The cookies were really yummy too. We went out to Stanford's for a nice dinner. The food was really good and it was nice to be with the family. We had a nice evening except for having to clean up after poor mister Graysen lost it a few more times. Poor thing was not feeling well at all.
Kenna put out cookies for Santa and an apple for ther reindeer and left Santa a very nice letter saying "thanks for bringing me and Graysen presents. We made you some cookies, we hope you like them." She was so excited.
Since church was at 9:30 in the morning, we decided to wait to open presents until after church which was pure torture for McKenna. She woke up so excited and just wanted to open presents so bad. She was so patient and didn't touch the presents until later. Unfortunately Grandma got sick too so she stayed home in bed and I stayed home with Graysen so I could take care of him.
After church Kenna came home and was ready to open presents, but we still had to have breakfast and all that good jazz.
Finally after breakfast and everyone was ready, we got to open presents. Kenna was so funny this year. She would just zip through all the presents wanting to open one right after the other. She must have had a lot of built up excitement or something.
She was very happy about her presents and I wish Graysen was feeling better because he didn't really want to open any presents and wasn't too into anything except the first thing we opened for him.
We got a lot of really nice things and I am so glad that we were able to have such a nice Christmas. Right after we opened presents McKenna said "mom I think I am going to throw up like Graysen did" and sure enough she lost it on the floor. Grandma and Graysen were out, Kenna was out, Aunty Mel was out, and then low and behold I get it that night as well. It was not a fun experience. Travis was so good though and took care of the kids and me. He was a real trooper. The next day we felt a little better but Kenna was still having a hard time keeping anything down.
We finally took her to the ER the next day because she was so dehydrated. She felt so much better after that.
I hate it when I get sick, but the worse is when the kids are sick. It makes me so sad. Traivs dad got sick the next day too, so Travis was the only fortunate one to escape the full on sickness. He was our super hero for a couple of days and we are so grateful.
I can't believe Christmas has come and gone. It comes quicker every year. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father gave us such a special gift on Christmas, his son Jesus Christ and that we are able to worship him and celebrate him. I hope that I can always have the spirit of Christmas with me throughout the year and I am grateful for the church who teaches us to have Christ at the center of everything we do and not just remember him at Christmas time.