Saturday, February 28, 2015

Baby Shower Love

A couple of my cute, and super talented friends in my old neighborhood threw me and my friend Emily a joint baby shower last week.  With this being my 3rd boy I definitely wasn't expecting a shower but they are the sweetest and threw one anyway! Emily isn't finding out what gender she is having so diapers and supplies were a good gift of choice for both of us haha.  It was the cutest shower and I just have to share it all!

Steffanie- Emily- Me- Dana
Our lovely baby shower hosts!
(Someone tell me to take my shoes off next time... Haha)





Could you die at how cute these sugar cookies are?!
Steffanie made them!







My sweet niece, Harlow.


Same face. Haha.




Thanks to my friend Sara for taking these pictures for us!

Friday, February 27, 2015

2 Little Rascals

Life is pretty busy with my little guys and I don’t write down nearly enough of the funny or cute things that they do.  It’s going to get even crazier around here in about a month, so I figured I’d take some time to write about my cute boys and the stages that they’re in right now.

Hayes- 2 Months Shy of 4 Years Old


Hayes is a smart, loving, sweet, imaginative and tender little 3 year old.  I don’t realize how big he is getting until I look back at pictures taken only months ago and see how much older he already looks. I feel like I will always have a special bond with Hayes, as he was the first to teach me a mother’s love.  He is still a momma’s boy and I’m 100% okay with that.  I have to mention how sweet, but sensitive he is.  He would not hurt a fly, much less another person.  As most boys are, he has some aggressive little friends and we tell him he needs to stick up for himself when playing, but it is just not in him to hit or be aggressive.  Bless is little heart, he just can’t do it.  He loves to be social but is often shy when first meeting people and will tell me, “I’m just a little shy for them.” Or he will tell me something he wants me to say for him to a new friend or visitor.  :)

Hayes is so quick to forgive me when I’ve been too hard on him and always has a hug or snuggle for me when I’m feeling overwhelmed.  He is constantly telling me, he “loves me as a princess” or some other cute compliment he can think of.  In his prayers the other night he said, “Grateful I could love mommy as a princess and grateful I could love daddy as a dude.” Haha!  Not really sure where that one came from? Really, he is just so sweet and eager to please his parents.

Hayes has tons of energy and loves to be active. He is often showing us his ninja moves or some tricks he came up with and can’t get enough of wrestling with dad.  He has gotten a little too good at iPad and Wii games this winter and I can’t wait for the warm so we can get outside and play!  He goes to preschool this year and has gotten shining remarks from his teacher.  At a parent teacher conference his teacher mentioned how kind Hayes is and is a friend to everyone.  Also, that she was impressed by his ability to stay on task, his maturity and what a good example he has been to the class.  I’m still cracking up that we had a parent/teacher conference for preschool but I was totally proud of that little guy. 

Hayes can be timid to try new things and especially has this weird fear of the water.  He loves the pool if he’s got floaties and Joe or I by his side but will literally have an anxiety attack if you get more than 3 feet away from him. He just recently became okay with the idea of taking showers because he usually can’t even handle water on his head.  He told me the other day that he can’t get baptized because he doesn’t want dad to dunk his face in the water….  Let’s hope he grows out of his water phobia by 8 years old!

Of course he has got a stubborn side, which requires patience everyday.  I have to count to 3 to get him to do things multiple times a day.  Whyyy…. I am pretty sure I will never have the amount of patience that is required for a mother of small children to have. He and Cohen have started “fighting” now and then while playing and I can tell we are in for a lot of teaching and “calming the storm” in the near future. 

Hayes has quite the imagination and I’m often required to take part in his imaginative play.  You never really get to be your own character when you play with Hayes though. He knows exactly what he wants you to do and say and you are not allowed to go off script… I was laying in bed complaining to Joe the other night about how I hated the farm game Hayes wanted to play for like an hour that day.  “His horse was so naughty and I had to be the farmer that had to keep bringing him back to the farm… and I didn’t want to, and I just hated his horse Joe...” I might be losing it a little… I need to get out. Haha.

We love our little guy to the moon and back and can’t imagine life without him.  He has got the funniest questions and most innocent but hilarious things to say. His stories are the greatest and usually involve some kind of super hero and/or bad guy. I’ve got to take more time to write things down! I’ll include some recent Hayes quotes that we have gotten quite a kick out of.  

“Mom, why do peanuts live in M&M’s?”

I was asking Hayes to be reverent during sacrament meeting and told him they were bringing us the bread soon. His response, “Okay… but did they put butter on it?”

Hayes, “Dad, did you know my head is made of rocks?” Joe, “It’s made of rocks?” Hayes, “Wellll.... rocks or bones… Which one is it?”

Laying by the pool with his Cars floaties on… “Ahhh. This is the perfect life.”

“But, if we go back home then we won’t have these brown guys to make us a smoothies….” (Cancun trip- Guess we need to teach him to be more politically correct. Haha)

A few of his frequent expressions are, “Hmm. Weird.” or “I suppose I could do that.” or “Oh, that’s interesting.”

When he is mad at me, “Mom, I don’t love you as a princess anymore.”

One example of the great stories we get from Hayes…

“Once upon a time, I climbed a tree in our backyard and that’s where I found a teeeeny tiny unicorn.  Then I saw Nephi and he asked if he could have it… but… I kept it.  But, then it died.  An army killed it.”

“Wasn’t that a great story, Mom?”



Cohen- 14 ½ months


Ohh Coey Baby, I just love you. Also, you wear me out.  You can be so chill some times and so needy at others.  If I go into labor early it will definitely be because I carry you around all day.  We can’t really get enough of you though. You are the cutest little guy!

Cohen just recently started walking.  I mean like really walking and rarely crawling any more.  It has got to be the cutest walk I have ever seen.  He walks with both hands straight out, a wide stance, and very little bend at the knee.  Seriously, the best.  He can say, “Hayes” and “Yes.” He tries at other words but they’re just not quite there yet.  He is very good at communicating what he wants, however.  He still uses his signs “more” and “all done” all the time, as well as shakes his head yes or no to tell us things.  If you ask him if he wants some milk or to go outside, he will shake his head yes vigorously, raise his eyebrows and says, “yes, yes.” It’s pretty cute. 

He is the best sleeper! I’m praying our next baby will be the same! He goes to bed about 8 p.m. and wakes up around 7:30 a.m.  Then he will take a 2-2 1/2 hour nap in the afternoon.   He is so easy to put down and usually doesn’t even make a peep when he wakes up.  If it weren’t for our video monitor we wouldn’t know he was awake half of the time.  He just chills in his crib for who knows how long until we realize he is up. 

He can be the most chill, sweet little guy.  It seems like especially at Gram’s house he can just keep himself entertained for long periods of time.  He does love to follow big brother around and copy whatever he is doing.  It’s crazy how much he looks up to Hayes already.  I’ll go get him after naptime and he’ll point to the door and say, “Hayes! Hayes!”  I love how much he loves him. Hayes kind of just ignores him a lot of the time haha.  But, Cohen gets sooo stoked when Hayes will play with him.  He is a giggly little guy.  He is a crack up to play with and will have you smiling 100% of the time.  He likes wrestling time with dad and Hayes and shrieks of joy when they’re all “shooting” each other or “fighting” with swords.  I love his kisses more than anything! He has got the pucker down and every once in awhile we can get him to blow a kiss. So cute.

Cohen is still a shorty but a solid little chunk! At his 12-month wellness visit he was like in the 4% for height and 41% for weight. The boy can down the food like it’s nobody’s business.  It takes him like an hour to eat at every meal. He just keeps going.

It’s fun to see Cohen’s personality more and more and we are loving every stage of watching him grow.




Saturday, February 21, 2015

Love Day

I'm not sure why, but I tend to get pretty into holidays.  Maybe it's because I'm bored and it gives me something to channel my creativity into.. Maybe it's because it usually means treats will be involved? Could be a number reasons really... Anyway, this 3rd trimester has been good to me thus far and I'm finally feeling back to my normal, don't want/need to go back to bed by 10 a.m. self.  Sooo.. that means my little adventures and projects and crafts are back in full swing! My poor boys are going to have to live with this cutesy, cheesy mom for the rest of their lives.  I thought I'd share some of the crafts and activities we did leading up to Valentines Day and then some of our Valentines Day fun. 

Homemade Valentine Bow & Arrow


The boys contributed to the project by going on a walk and finding sticks with me! 
We maybe used 1/10 of the great sticks that were found :)


A Homemade Backdrop


I made a total mess taping up a bunch of newspaper so we could do a little Valentine "photo shoot."
Hayes and I have a tradition of sending Valentine's to his grandparents and I thought some pictures of these cuties would make the perfect Valentine!
I know they're not professional but.. it's the thought that counts right?! 
Cohen had the best day of his life ripping the newspaper off the walls when we were done..


Valentine Cards


We spent one morning making some simple Valentine cards to send our fab pictures in.
Hayes drew some really great stick figure people and a few "race cars"..
We added a couple of stamps, stickers and string and.. Voila! Our Valentine's cards were born and sent in the mail.

Fruit Loop Hearts


We didn't get enough Valentine goodness in yet so we embarked on one more sweet Valentine craft.
Pipe cleaners- Fruit Loops- String- Scissors
Pretty self explanatory, right? 
Cute Hayes was all business!
Start to finish, this maybe took 10 minutes. Which is about as long as Hayes will stay interested anyway!
Cohen, however, kept snacking on those Fruit Loops long after. :) Love that kid.
Who wouldn't want a giant Fruit Loop heart around their neck?!


Valentine's Day



We woke up on "Valentine's Day Eve" and just had to make heart shaped sugar cookies! It's tradition!
Hayes and I decorated them later that day while Cohen napped.
There's sure to be good conversation while hanging out with a 3 year-old. 


Joe brought me home a pretty bouquet of flowers and we went on our Valentine's date Friday night.
Sorry, this photo is a little awkward.... I have a habit of covering up my prego belly :/

The boys woke up to movie night baskets and a Valentine themed breakfast.
Hayes could barely wait for the day to be over so we could have our movie night haha.
I've found it doesn't take much extra to make these things feel special and it makes all the difference for little ones!
My little Valentines!
Later we delivered some yummy Valentines to friends and family!
Isn't he cute?!
I have to add that Joe surprised me with the double stroller I'd been eyeing! So excited! Also, a cute Lulu Lemon work out outfit. Although, it won't look so cute on for at least a few months :/ haha.

I love Valentines Day! And I really love all of my Valentines! Can you believe I will have 4 cute boys to love on next Valentines Day?!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Cancun 2015

A few months ago, I suggested to Joe that we should do a little family get away before the baby comes.  My thoughts were more like Park City or maybe St. George for the weekend but Joe got the idea of the beach in his head and started planning a much bigger "get away" than I had in mind.  Haha I'm not complaining though!  We found direct flights to Cancun and decided it'd be the perfect vacation with the boys. We barely booked it in time so that I could still fly at 31 weeks pregnant.  My doctor strongly advised against going anywhere after I was 32 weeks. We had Hayes so excited for weeks and he kept calling it our "family party trip,"  which I think was a pretty accurate name for it :) We spent much of our time at the resort, playing at the beach and swimming in the pool.  The boys were in heaven and completely worn out every day from all the fun in the sun.  It makes everything worth it when the kids are happy.  I'm so glad we got to go make some fun memories as a family.

Beach Fun


The first afternoon we got there, we headed straight to the beach.
It was a little overcast out but still so warm and wonderful!

There was hardly anyone at the resort for the first 2 days.
Kinda nice!
All set for some digging and sand castle making.

Hayes just ran in and out with the waves all day.
He loved it! It was pretty cute.
Nothing like a nap on the beach!

Cohen and I chilled in the shade and played with our sand toys a lot.
Hayes chasing birds.
Cohen was pretty iffy about the whole ocean thing, but he loved the sand!

The beach is a good place for some father-son bonding time.

Exploring


Turtle Farm
Joe and Hayes did a lot of exploring while Cohen and I would take afternoon naps :)
Off to find some lunch.

Golfing with Dad


Hayes has a blast every time Joe takes him golfing.
Workin' on that swing!

Interactive Aquarium


Cohen was all for touching everything at the interactive aquarium!
Hayes on the other hand was a little more timid about it...



We had so much fun together and were not ready to come home! Hayes kept telling us, "Ahh.. This is the perfect life!" Usually while laying by the pool and drinking smoothies.  Haha.  Good thing reality/ day-to-day life with these cuties isn't so bad either.  Below is a little video of our fun in Cancun!