I'm in Charge

Cowgirl Jada

This little rascal turned 3. I can't believe that she is 3 already and is going to start preschool in about 1 month. Although she will continually remind you that she is a "big girl", she is anything but big. For her three year check up she topped the scale at a whopping 25 lbs. We see it as a good sign that she is now moved up into the 3% for her weight!!!

As we have been talking about her birthday coming up she had only 2 requests: a pink heart birthday and a mommy grey seal present. Easy enough...if it could only stay that easy for years to come!!!

She was so excited to wake up to hearts and more hearts. Of course the first present of the day was a stuffed "mommy grey seal." I don't know where this little girl comes up with these crazy requests, but her requests are hard to resist. I was putting a movie on for the girls after breakfast. Of course Mia was trying to negotiate to get the movie she wanted and I had to tell them that since it was Jada's birthday that she was "in charge". That was my first big mistake of the day. For the rest of the day Jada kept telling everyone that she was IN CHARGE.

She loved her pink heart cake. I loved an easy request.

When we gave her some options of what she wanted to do that night for her birthday she choose to go to the farm and ride horses. The little farm at Thanksgiving Point is perfect. She got to go on a tractor ride, ride the horses 4 times, feed the goats, pet a baby horse and a baby cow and brush the llama. A perfect birthday outing for this little animal lover.

She loved brushing the Llama

We thought the most exciting present we had for her was coming that night. We had researched and found the best little balance bike. My parents came over that night after we got home to give her the bike. Since she will only ride this bike for maybe a year, we decided to get a blue one so we could hand it down to little brother. Well, that was about the worst idea I've had this year. She took one look at this bike and hasn't really looked back since. We keep trying to persuade her to ride it, but she won't. The other day she told me to take it back to the store. Great, maybe next year. Since she was IN CHARGE she would command people through out the day to sing Happy Birthday to her. It was a fun day and I can't believe she is 3. Where did the time go???

Birthdays are Tiring

We love Sprinter

Only in Utah do we have season called "Sprinter". On the news the other day when the weather man was talking about this weather that is what he called it. I thought it was great. I know most people have major spring fever and are ready for summer, but I am loving this weather. We get the best of both worlds. We can play at the park in the sun in the morning and head up the canyon and ski in the afternoon. Every day that we have woken up to rain I have cheered! It won't be long before we are sweating in the heat so I will take advantage of this changing weather as long as I can. We will take it as long as it continues and for now we will keep pulling from the front and the back of the closet!

Puddle Jumping in the wonderful April rain

Our final ski day of the season. Wish the resorts stayed open a little longer!

Watching the runners in the SLC Maraton. Living right on the route has its advantages. The girls loved cheering and encouraging the runners on.

Enjoying the wonderful spring weather.

Swimming in St. George

Blessing Day

We finally got around to blessing Miles. It was a great day although we woke up to a huge spring snow storm. Although we were missing a few important family members, it was nice to have almost everyone there. It was a great day and Miles was very cooperative. He looked like a sharp young man all dressed in white!

Now, I thought finding blessing outfits for the girls was hard, but finding one for a boy was an even harder task. Because I did not want to put my boy in an all white tuxedo, we opted for a less conventional option. It worked and the best part is that he will actually be able to wear this one again!!

Overall, it was a great day and an amazing opportunity!

Our 3 Musketeers

All sMILES

12 weeks ago time could not go fast enough. I had a body that was sore, a baby that wouldn't sleep, kids who couldn't behave and I was stuck in my house. Now, 12 weeks later I can not figure out where the time went. Miles is now 12 weeks, he is sleeping (finally), he is smiling, he is laughing and he is growing super fast. We are loving him so much and I can not believe he is almost 3 months.

Mornings at our house are a little slow. We snuggle with our blankies watch shows and drink milk. Miles fits in perfectly. The only problem is that there isn't room for me in that bed anymore.

Miles loves his new cousin Korver. They are exactly two months apart and Korver will surely pass him up in size in no time. They are closer in age than any of the cousins, so they are going to love growing up together.

4 Weeks Today

Life with a new born, 2 year old and 5 year old. Feed baby, change diaper, feed two year old, wipe bum, unclog toilet, clean up spilled juice, feed baby, change diaper, get two year old out of the sink, clean up puddles of water off the floor, break up a fight, make lunch, clean up macaroni off the floor, put two year old down for nap, put two year old back down, put two year old down again, feed baby, change diaper, try to take a nap--ya right, try to find lost barbie, go get two year old up from nap and find poo on the floor, clean up poo off the floor, feed baby, change diaper, baby poops and pees on my bed, wash sheets..........and so it goes!!!
I can't believe this guy is already 4 weeks. I think I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel...at least today. My sanity changes on a daily basis. Somedays it is good and somedays...not so good. Everyone keeps asking 3 is hard and my answer is just that having a new born is what is hard. I guess because the girls were just super easy babies and good sleepers this one has been the hardest adjustment. Now that he is finally going back to sleep after he eats in the night, I am feeling a little better. Now I just need to figure out how to get him to take naps during the day! At the end of the day, it is all worth it. We love this little guy so much and already can't imagine life with out him.

Miles is Mr. Serious

I am lucky to have two great helpers. I can totally trust Mia to watch him while I get stuff done. (Like clean up poo off the floor.)

I love a sleeping baby!! He is already spoiled and will only sleep on a feather pillow.


We love a good storm. Thanks Dad for helping us build a snowman!!

Our Walk for Miles

Well, once again I am a little late in posting, but better late than never. Well as most of you have heard, sweet Miles was born on January 8th. After 4 short hours of labor and 2 pushes he was born at 3:23 in the afternoon. He weighed 7 lbs and 2 oz and was 20 inches long. Everything went well and we are happy to finally have him here.

His first two nights home he didn't sleep one wink and I was ready to go back to being pregnant again. We have finally figured out how to get a little sleep, so we are ready to keep him. He has been a really good baby so far and we think he is pretty dang cute.

The girls love him and just can't figure out why they can't carry him around. Mia would hold him all day if she could. Jada of course has had some memorable comments. The first thing she said when she saw him was, "That baby looks like a cricket." Yes, a cricket. I couldn't figure out where in the world she came up with that, but then my mom remembered a movie the girls had watched at her house. Can you see the resemblence? After Jada watched his first bath at the hospital she couldn't stop saying, "That baby has a stick on his bum." I'm not sure whether she was referring to the clamp on the cord or whether she was referring to his different anatomy.

Life is good and we are lucky to have such great family, friends and neighbors who have taken such good care of all of us. I forgot how much work a new born is and I could not have survived this far with out all the help and support from Chip. He is the best and these kids are lucky to have such a great Dad.

Lesser of Two Evils

I had to ask myself for a long time--What would be worse: potty training a stubborn, crazy toddler at 8 months pregnant, or trying to do it with a newborn. I was going to tackle this terrible job 2 months ago, but of course things just kept coming up. This last week I finally had a week where I didn't have to be anywhere, so I decided to go with the first option and give it a try. Mia was fairly easy to potty train, so I figured that if I applied the same method this time it would work out just perfect. WRONG!! What I didn't take into account, was that Jada has about 100 times more energy than Mia, that she is a little bit more stubborn, and that chasing her naked body around our house would be a little harder than it was to chase Mia around our small apartment. I didn't ask myself once during the process "Why in the heck am I doing this?" I asked myself that about every 5 minutes. It turns out that a child has to actually hold still to even try to go potty and if a 2 year old decides they want to hold it, they can hold it for at least 12 hours. It didn't matter how many juice boxes I gave her or how much soda I offered her--she would just hold it. Needless to say--last week was the longest week of my life and there where quite a few tears shed on both sides, but it is over. This week we have moved on to using the potty every hour and trying to see how many public restrooms we can see. I thought we were making great progress until we dropped her off at a friends' house last night and she took advantage of finding a nice quiet corner where she could do her business--in her pants. Soooo, we still have some work to do on the #2s, but we are getting there.

I have officially decided that potty training is by far the worst and hardest job of parenting yet. Since I am terribly lacking in the patience category, it is/was a real struggle for me. I know we have a long way to go still, but things are looking better. Hopefully by the time this baby gets here we can have it somewhat mastered!!!! (ya right!!!)

Finishing Summer with a BANG!!!

Bullet Points

• We had our ultrasound and found out we are having a BOY!!


• We went on some fun adventures


• Mia learned how to waterski


• School started (bitter sweet)

Well, I don't really have a good excuse for not posting anything this summer, except that I am lazy and I would rather sit on the couch than sit at my computer. I wish I could say that I was off on grand adventures and enjoying every moment of the summer with my kids, but that is not exactly true. It was really nice when I had my laptap and I could sit on the couch and waste time on the computer, but my laptap has seen better days and Chip is usually on his. Anyway, now that summer is over, it is time for a routine again. This means school is starting, I am going back to the gym, I am going to clean my house, I am going to try to be a nice mom, I am going to try and wash the clothes, fold them, and put them away in the same day, and I might shower before noon. I know these are pretty lofty goals and might not be achievable, but at least it is something to strive for.

Despite our many days spent in our pajamas, hiding out inside, and avoiding the heat we had a fun summer. While I spent the summer getting out of shape, Chip spent most of his days on his bike. He finished off the summer with two century rides that would have killed me in the first 10 miles. I am proud of him and glad he is committed to his health!

Yes, we are having a boy this time around. I know I never formally announced that I was even pregnant, but oh well. I am a slacker blogger and will probably never get around to adding a growing baby ticker on my blog, so don't be disappointed. When the ultrasound tech showed us the picture and said, "There it is, what do you think?" I could not believe it. I had mentally prepared myself for another girl for so long, I was in shock. I made him recheck about 5 times and kept asking him if he was sure. He finally just said, "Unless that thing falls off, this baby is coming out a boy." Mia is so excited to have a baby brother and I don't think I have ever seen a bigger smile on Chip's face. I still have 4 more long months of frequent trips to the bathroom, a sore back, and wearing support hose, but it will all be worth it when we get to hold that little guy!!

Our last hurrah for the summer was a fun trip with some friends to Island Park, Idaho. (Thanks Olsens!) We spent a few days hanging out by the lake and exploring West Yellowstone. Mia was brave enough to try waterskiing and thanks to an awesome driver and the best training ski she LOVED it. She kept wanting to go again and again. Jada spent about 3 hours straight throwing rocks in the the lake and then finally passed out in my arms. (of course I had already tried to get her to take a nap in the pack and play, but after she climbed out 17 times I gave up)
























Now school is back in session and although that means Chip had to go back too, we are loving life. There is a reason why kids enter school/preschool at the age of 4. Mia and I have not been able to give each other what we needed lately (to put it nicely), so school 4 mornings a week has been a life saver for all of us. She loves school and is already telling me which kids are nice and which boys are mean. The bitter part of school is that Chip is gone 2 nights a week now, but the end is in sight, finally! December will not come soon enough!!!!

First Kiss

Well, Mia had her first kiss the other day. Oh know! After school the other day Mia had a play group with Grace and Wyatt. Poor Wyatt is the odd man out, and apparantly got stuck playing the prince for both Mia and Grace. That night at dinner, Chip was asking Mia how her day was and she was telling him how she got to play at Grace's house.

Chip: What did you guys do?

Mia: We played Sleeping Beauty.

Chip: Did Wyatt like playing that game?

Mia: Ya, he was the prince, and he even kissed me. (Somewhat shy and embarrassed.)

Chip: (Rather surprised) He did?!?! On your cheek.

Mia: (Still shy, but proud!) No, right here (pointing to her lips)!!!

Me: Well, did he kiss Grace too?

Mia: No, just me.

Wyatt is a pretty tough kid and doesn't like to show a whole lot of lovey emotion, so I have no idea how she convinced him to do that. When we broke this news to Wyatt's parents, they asked him about it. He just blew it off and told his Dad it was only because they were pretending and then called his dad a name. Boys and girls are so different it is amazing. We often wonder if we should be worried about these two because they really love each other. I guess we should just let them take advantage of their friendship for as long as it lasts, because it won't be long before they both think the other one has "coodies"!

As for Jada...she washed her own mouth out with soap today. Mia and I were downstairs putting some toys away before bed and I could here Jada upstairs coughing. I went upstairs and she met me at the top of the stairs with a disgusted look on her face. I asked her if she ate something and she just said "tasty". That is what she says whenever she tastes something really gross (like when I wash her hands with Purell and then she trys to suck on them.) As soon as I went to pick her up I could smell the peach hand soap from the bathroom on her breath. I asked her if she ate soap and she said yes. I guess she learned her lesson!!!

Jada Had a Birthday!

Well, Jada is finally two. Her birthday was actually a month ago, but I am obviously a slacker blogger and am just now getting around to posting an update! We had a great party with family and Jada loved her lady bug cake. We definitely did not need any more toys in this house, but Jada's birthday could not go unnoticed. Her favorite toys were her toy fire engine and her pink tea set. I guess with a two year old we can now expect more and more words, more tantrums, more defiance and a lot more fun.
Jada is already following in her sister's footsteps. She already loves the color pink, loves and can name all the princessess, and is talking up a storm. Between these two girls there is never a silent or a dull moment.

Happy Birthday Jada!!!

Why We Love Summer!

Lazy Days of Summer

The Swimming Pool

Backyard BBQ's


Fun Holidays with Friends and Family

The Annual Family Trip to Sun Valley
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Lot's of Fun with Cousins