Happy Holidays!

December is just getting started and we've already had so much fun!  We got to go down to Salt Lake and see the amazing lights on Temple Square.  Every time we go, I'm always so impressed by the work that goes into making it look gorgeous.  We also adopted our Elf on the Shelf, Avalanche.  He's in for one crazy December at our house!  The kids have had so much fun with him already, they are both so excited to find him every day.  We hope your December is as magical as ours!!

Eighteen Months

We can't believe this sweet little chica is already 18 months old!!!  She is loving every minute of it!  She is a teaser girl wandering around trying to surprise everyone with a "BOO!"  She loves blankies and babies (real or play).  She is our dancing queen and she has some really great moves.  Shaye is quite the reader, she is always wanting to look at books.  She says anything you want her to except her own name, she refuses to say "Shaye."  She refers to herself as "baby."  I have to wonder if it's a conscious effort on her part to remind us that she is the baby and if she conseeds and refers to herself as "Shaye" she is no longer our "baby."  She wears size 3 diapers, size 4 shoes, is in the 33% for height, and the 3% for weight.  She is quite the climber, I think she's realized she can see more of her world from up high, so that's where she intends to be.  We can't help but love on this baby girl, she cracks us up, and melts our hearts with her sweet baby ways.

Happy Halloween!!!

Disneyland

 We had the best time in California!  We hit the beach the first day and it was so pretty and so perfect that if we could have done that everyday, I think we all would have been perfectly happy with that.  As it was, we had 5 day park hopper passes to Disneyland and California Adventure, and that didn't disappoint either! 

Justus wasn't quite sure about the whole ocean thing at first, but it took him about a second to figure out he was going to love it.  Shaye (our water baby) on the other hand surprised us and hated it!  This picture is her first and last feel of the ocean water.

 Justus and Shaye both loved every second of Disneyland!  They couldn't get enough!  Shaye was constantly pointing around, "ride! ride! ride!"  She was so into going on every ride, but the carousel was her favorite. 

Justus would say, "Let's do that again!" after every ride and he couldn't pick a favorite ride he would just keep telling us they were all his favorite.  He hit the 40" mark so he got to go on most rides, and he did so good on all of them.  This picture is of him on the Tower of Terror, his first "big" ride.  He freaked a bit, but then, so did I!  He asked to go on it again, though and he did, more than once!  Justus has been asking when we get to go back since we left, so we're thinking he had a pretty good time.  And Shaye, she's got an obsession with Minnie.  She has 3 stuffed ones that she keeps by her side at all times.  Funny kiddos! We had so much fun, we're counting the day till we get to go back again, too!

Our New Toy

We took the kids on a few four wheeler rides this year before decided that we should probably spring for a side-by-side.  I was a bit leery of how fun it would really be, but we've all had a blast!  We know Justus is up for a ride any time, any place, but we weren't sure how Shaye would handle riding this year.  Luck for all of us, she loves it as much as the rest of us! :)

Bear Lake

We spent part of our Labor Day weekend just chillin' at Bear Lake.  We haven't spent much time over there the past few years so we decided to check it out.  We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to be there!  The kids had so much fun in the water and digging in the sand... I guess we'll have to make an effort to get over there more often!

Top of Utah

Dustin and Brian did such an awesome job running the Top of Utah Half Marathon this past weekend!  The kids had a great time cheering on their dad, who did AMAZING, by the way!!!  So proud of you guys for getting it done!

Happy July!!!

Hope your summer holidays have been as fun as ours have!!!!

Our Little One Year Old

Shaye is such a crazy, silly girl!  We have loved every minute of the last year with our sweet girl.  Her personality comes out more everyday; this girl loves to tease!  She is so good to say "thank you."  She loves animals and wants to know what sounds they make, really I think she just likes to make Mom act crazy by getting her to do animal impersonations.  She is a lover of all things stuffed or round... or anything her brother is currently playing with :)  Two days before her first birthday, her top front teeth popped through, bringing her grand total to four.  She is binki free.  Shaye has never been one for snuggles but she's learning that they're not quite so bad as she thought, especially when she's tired.  She's learned to point out facial features and some body parts (like sweet piggie toes and baby legs).  She loves to be outside, in fact, she thinks that where she should live.  She wears size 3 shoes and diapers.  She weighs 18lbs (6%), and is 28.75 in long (34%).  She might be a little thing, but she's got a lot of sass and personality to make up for it.  We love you girl!
  

Justus Lee Turns Three

An interview with 3 year old Justus:

Who is your best friend?  Tate
What is your favorite thing to do?  Play games (on the Wii)
What is your favorite color?  Red
What is your favorite food?  Grilled tuna
What do you like to do with your family?  Give them squishers and kissers
What is your favorite toy?  Captain America Shield (he earned the money and bought it himself)
What do you want to be when you grow-up?  A brother
What makes you happy?  When I'm with my family (I didn't even have to pay him for that answer ;))
What makes you sad?  When I get hurt
What is your favorite movie?  The old Superman (these are the first Superman cartoons from the 1940's)
What is your favorite book?  A Great Day for Up
What do you like to learn about?  Climbing up trees
What was the best part of your birthday?  Blowing out candles
Where do you like to go?   The playground
Who is your teacher?  Sister Boswell and Karlie (his awesome nursery leaders)
What is your favorite treat?  Kit Kats and chocolate chip cookies
What do you think about when you fall asleep?  Reading books and singing songs (nap time routine)
If you could meet someone famous who would it be?  Superman
What was your favorite birthday present?  My bike
Who is your favorite superhero?  Superman

We love this guy so much!  He's Mr. Social... he chats up anyone he can get to stop and talk.  He loves superheros and is always ready to save anyone in distress, even if it is just his little sister.

My Princess and Her Cake

A little bling, a little sass, and you've described both Shaye and her cake.  It turned out to be the perfect cake for our princess on her first birthday!  A huge thanks to Natalie and Adrienne who made my vision possible!

One Year Ago Today...

... this precious angel came into our family.  She is such a light and brings so much happiness and laughter into our home.  I'm having a hard time believing she's one, it feels like we just brought her home from the hospital.  At the same time, it feels like she's always been with us.  She was meant to be with our family and she enriches our lives by just being here.  I can't imagine a life without my sweet girl.  It's funny that you don't even know you need something until you have it; don't realize something was missing until it comes into your life.  That's my children.  They consume me in a way I truly didn't know was possible, but it's amazing, and wonderful, and absolutely miraculous.

11 Months Old

Shaye has started showing off her dance moves. Really, she can't help herself, she hears a beat and she's gotta move. She loves hanging upside down. She thinks she wants to throw a fit, I stand her on her head and she has to laugh, it is that great. I can't complain, in fact, I think its pretty funny, gotta love having a tantrum tamer! She learned a few new words, "up," "hi," and "grandma." Dustin is still anxiously waiting to hear her say "daddy!" We have decided that she actually can, but she loves to tease her dad and she knows she's driving him crazy having to wait. :) She took her first solo steps this month! Her balance is getting better and she can stand for longer periods of time without holding on as she takes more and more steps... we thought she was trouble before, lookout world!

Happy Easter

We had a great Easter weekend! We hit some Easter egg hunts, rolled eggs down College Hill, got in yolk fights, watched Hop, had two treasure hunts, and ate lots of candy! How grateful we are for our Savior and his mission in this life. If it weren't for His sacrifice, we wouldn't have the opportunity to spend eternity with our precious families... and that just wouldn't do.

Baby's Turn

Can't believe we are already counting down to Shaye's first birthday! This girl has grown up so fast! We are pretty excited to get our party on again, though!

Little Man Turns Three!!!

The final balloon has been popped, the day has finally arrived, and Justus is busting at the seams with excitement! This boy has been such a delight from the moment he arrived; we can never get enough of his crazy ways. We are so grateful to have been entrusted with this precious child. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BOY!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Shaye Turns 10 Months Old!

Shaye finally settle the argument over who's baby she is... her first word was "Bubba," which is what we call Justus. What a proud big brother! I don't feel too bad, though. Her next word was "Momma." She's been able to wave goodbye, but now she says "bye, bye!" with it and it's so dang cute. That makes three words this month, and now Dustin is just hoping "Dada" makes the first five :) She has mastered climbing up the stairs, but we've got to work on going down... not sure if it's her or her mom that's not ready to have her do it alone. Until this month, she has refused to even try to hold her own bottle, but she finally conceded. She has to one hand it though, she's way too cool to hold it with two.

"This Month is Such A Special One..."

That's right!!! Justus turns 3 this month and he is super excited! We decided to start a new tradition at our house... the birthday countdown! He gets to pop one balloon every day and he is loving it so far. Bonus, it's really perfect to help him learn days and time. We can't believe it's going to be 3- just wondering where the time goes?!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

9 Months Old

Can you just see the betrayal on her face on the top picture??? "Mom, how could you possibly even think of setting me down?!?!" I couldn't get those tears to stop so I had to do a reshoot, which didn't go much better the result is the 2nd picture where she's in between sobs. Funny girl, but can't say I blame her too much, it was below freezing both times! This month Shaye found the "D" on the gear shift when she figured out how to crawl forward... and then up... everything! Crawling and being my baby is no longer an option, she has to find the nearest thing she can climb up to and stand. Then when she wants to move on, she squeals to get my attention- she needs my fingers to hold onto so she can walk to wherever it is she thinks she wants to be. Silly girl! She had a tooth finally pop though! She moved up to size 3 diapers, still in size 2 shoes, and loves Justus's "puppies (his snuggle toys)." We all fight over who's baby she is, although I'm positive she's all mine! I just can't get enough of those so sweet toes, tiny fingers, and those oh so irresistible kisser cheeks... what a doll!

Christmas Pics

So I realized that I never posted pictures of our first Christmas with Shaye! I have to say, it was a ball! They both had so much fun and got spoiled beyond measure! They must have been extra good... that or they are too cute not to smother in craziness ;)

My 8 Month Old Girl

Shaye had such a great time this past month... Aggie basketball games, her first Christmas, her first New Year's, and naturally that means, party! party! party! Shaye has mastered the art of crawling, backwards that is. One of these days she's going to surprise herself and move forward. Sitting, laying, or being held, she is constantly kicking... future soccer player! She's become our little chatter box, sounds familiar doesn't it???? Like say her big brother for instance, and he's still that way :) Which I love because I love the hearing how his little mind is thinking. Shaye went back to nearly sleeping through the night... doesn't want to eat, but she's up a few times crying for her binkie. I'm great with that, quick solution and we're both back to sleep. Still no teeth, but nothing beats that beautiful smile, and she loves to show it off!