Happy Father's Day!

Now that Josh has seen the video, I can share what the kids and I made for him for Father's Day. (The question that has a blank is suppose to say "What makes Daddy laugh". The password is Daddy.

Want to see what the kids answered last year? Your wish is my command! Here is the video the kids and I put together for Josh last year. I can't believe how much Reid has changed (especially in the hair and teeth department) in just a year. You'll notice that Ava reused a few answers from 2010 in this year's video. Next year I'll have to remember not to show her the previous year's videos anywhere near Father's Day! The password is Daddy.



Happy late Father's Day to all of the fathers in our lives. The kids have been so blessed with a great Dad and wonderful grandfathers. We love having you all in our lives.

Make yourself comfortable

Looked over while I was preparing dinner to see this. Couldn't help myself from taking a picture. He's one cute kid.

It's getting warmer

Slowly, but surely the weather has been on a warm up. It was just a little breezy this particular day so the kids decided to wear their jackets. But otherwise it was beautiful outside. We were finally able to pull out Reid's birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa.


Both kids loved being outside and getting to play with water.


Since Reid is constantly being told not to drink the bathtub water, he was pretty excited when he was allowed to drink the water from his water table. The simple things in life :)


Poor Ava. I guess this is just life with a little brother.


Hopefully we can have more fun in the sun very soon!

Off to the zoo we go

For this lucky little girl's 4th birthday we decided to venture over for our first visit to the Hogle Zoo.


Once there we had our very own tour guide. Top 3 attractions on Ava's list: kangaroos, carousel, and playground. So off we went on our adventure.


Reid, we really need to work on your "cheese" face. This just isn't going to do.


Of course we had to see how Ava measured up to the apes.


Once inside the kids couldn't believe how big the gorilla actual was.


Reid couldn't keep his eyes off of the big fellow.


After seeing a few more animals we made a mandatory stop at the carousel. Per our tour guides request.


Reid wasn't so sure about this pit stop. The moment the ride ended he immediately wanted to get off. Hope this isn't a sign of how our big trip to Disneyland is going to go!


Ava loved it so much that she had to ride it twice.


Sadly, both times we walked by the kangaroo pen the kangaroo was lying on the grass taking a nap. But we did get to see monkeys, camels, elephants and giraffes. And here is a mountain lion. How would you like to meet one of these in the mountains?

The weather warmed up, sort of

Here are the gifts that went along with the helmets. Contrary to what the picture shows, Reid actually got the bike while Ava got the scooter.


Thankfully Reid has a sister who is willing to take turns, even with her new scooter. It took Reid a millisecond to figure out how to scoot around. He loves it. Too bad it isn't his :)


Here's Ava enjoying some time on Reid's new balance bike. It's a little harder to ride because it doesn't actually have any pedals or training wheels. The kids are just suppose to use their legs. It really isn't that hard to use, but just not as easy as the scooter. But I think once Reid sees Ava riding around on it more, he'll give it a second chance.


Here's Ava finally getting a chance to ride her own scooter. It took her a few days and she has already learned how to use the back break and how to turn. With a little more practice she'll be able to go on scooter rides with her daddy. She cannot wait!

A whole day of birthday fun

The Saturday between the kids birthday we decided to hold a joint family birthday party. At first I felt like we were robbing the kids of their own special day. Especially since we were planning on doing cake and presents at the party. But I had a nice little conversation with Ava, and after giving her options of opening gifts on her birthday or on Sat with Nana and Grandpa, she decided it would be more fun to open gifts with everyone on Sat. Whew. That little talk released all the guilt I was having. We did make sure to make their actual birthday special as well with special meals, a special balloon boutique just for them, and a fun activity. But all the pictures below are from our Sat. celebration.

Both kiddos got to wear their special birthday shirts on Sat.


Reid could hardly sit still long enough for me to take a picture. He was just so excited for the day.


Thankfully, the eldest child is a little more accommodating to her mom's picture taking addiction. Thanks Ava!


I think the shirts turned out super cute. Ava loved hers so much she wore it on Sat., to preschool on the day before her birthday, and then on her actual birthday.


That morning we thought it would be fun to take both birthday kids to Kangaroo Zoo for some jumping fun. Especially since the weather outside wasn't cooperating with our day of fun. We must of forget to send it an invitation. Ava had a blast right off the bat.


This girl has no fear. She climbed up the tallest slide with no hint of hesitation. And get this, once at the top she would proceed to do a somersault off the landing directly down the slide.


This girl is crazy!


But when asked what her favorite part of the Kangaroo Zoo was, of course her reply was getting to go down the slides with Reidy.


Reid on the other hand did not experience love at first sight. Actually it wasn't love until after we had been at the jumping place for over an hour and we were just about to leave. Which is very confusing because he jumps off and on everything at home. Josh thinks he was just overwhelmed by all the other kids jumping around him.


Reid would not willingly go up the stairs with me. And since Josh was over the weight limit, ugh, I was forced to carry the kid up the stairs, remember I'm pregnant, and I'd like to point out the stairs are pretty much straight up. Tiring. But once we got up there and went down he had a blast. I just wished he remembered how much fun he had going down every time I tried to have him climb the stairs by himself.


By the end, Reid got a little more comfortable and was climbing up the stairs on his own.


Don't worry, I was following right behind him.


By the end Reid and Ava were both really enjoying themselves.


After the fun morning at Kangaroo Zoo we came back home for lunch, Reid's nap, and then Nana and Papa came over for some birthday fun. Here are the kids putting on their new helmets.


Ava loved her helmet so much that she wore it while opening the rest of her presents. Now the kids didn't just get helmets for the fun of it, they also got something to ride on too. But we were having so much fun watching them ride around that I didn't get any actual pictures with them on their new toys.


Even though Reid and Ava were celebrating their birthdays together, I still wanted to make each one their very own birthday cake. Reid loves anything that has wheels and moves so I made him a Cars cake.



As for Ava, she got her very own Rapunzel cake. After blowing out her candles the first thing she did was pull the tower right off the cake so she could play with her new Rapunzel doll.


We had a wonderful time getting to celebrate the kid's special day with family. Both kids were completely worn out by the end of the day and passed out immediately when put to bed. And yes, Reid does not have him pants on.

Took the night off

Easter dinner; check.
Reid's birthday; check.
Family birthday party; check.
Ava's birthday; check.

Whew. This certainly has been one crazy week and a half. Will post pictures of all the above mentioned activities soon, but not tonight. I took the night off...from everything. So don't stop by the house unexpectedly because it is a mess :)

Today is the day!

After multiple birthday celebrations, today is finally Ava's 4th birthday! With a family party on Saturday, getting sung to in Primary on Sunday, and a preschool party yesterday, it's just been a little confusing for the cuite pie what day her birthday actual is. Today is it birthday girl! Instead of doing the normal birthday collage, which you can check out last year's collage here, I decided to do a brief recap of this past year. Which I can't believe how much more independent, smart, helpful, and capable this little girl has become in just a year.

Here's Ava all excited to go to preschool and celebrate her birthday. She decided to bring Ring Pops as her birthday treat for her preschool class. Lucky class! Her favorite part of the day was getting sung to in music class and passing out all of her treats to her friends.


I cannot believe just how much Ava has grown in only 4 years. Here are the proud (and very tired) parents with Ava when she was only a few days old.


Awwww. She was such the sweetest baby.


Now lets get to this past year. A lot has happened during Ava's 3rd year. Mostly it had to deal with moving twice within 5 moths. So sorry honey! It was pretty hard for her having to leave her friends and the only place she's ever known. It hasn't been an easy thing for this little girl, but she's doing her best trying to adjust. Everything just takes time, and I know in a few months she'll love this place just as much as she loved CA.


Here are a few things you might of, or may not know about Ava. She LOVES fruit. For her birthday dinner she has requested macaroni, grapes and strawberries. She can't wait until the summer when she can eat watermelon and cherries again.


She loves dressing up and everything to do with princesses. She loves it so much that she's even gotten Reid to agree to dress up with her (in princess attire mind you). Below Ava is pretending to be one of her favorite princesses, Rapunzel.


She started preschool this year. She can't get enough of learning. Just yesterday she told me all the months of the year (in order) without any help. She can often be found in the afternoon flipping through book after book. She really loves learning how to write and especially writing notes to people.


She also started dance and gymnastics this year. It has been so fun getting to attend her dance classes and watch her improve from week to week. She has learned how to do somersaults, almost needs no help on the balance beam, and really enjoys learning all the ballet steps.


Her fear of animals has taken a 180 and turned into a big, enormous love for animals (dogs excluded). When she's not playing with princesses, she's playing and taking care of her stuffed animals.


Not only has Ava grown bigger this past year, her sweet tooth has grown as well. She just can't get enough of the sweet treats. She has decided that Easter is her favorite holiday because she gets a lot of candy.


Her favorite thing to do is play with her brother. She loves helping him and showing him how to do new things. She was a little disappointed when she found out she wasn't going to be getting a sister this time around. But by the end of the day she realized just how much she loved having Reidy around and now can't wait for her new little brother to arrive.


Since Reid has gotten a little bit older, it has been fun watching their relationship development even more. Here are the two siblings having a little conversation. So cute! Ava is such a great help with Reid. I really do appreicate all she does. She is such an important part of our family.


We love you, we love you, we love you Ava bug! Happy 4th birthday!