My baby boy is no longer a baby

He's a full blown toddler. When did this happen? I don't know if it had something to do with attending our ultrasound today and realizing how big our little guy is getting, or maybe it is the pregnancy hormones, but I have to watch myself or I'll become a blubbering fool thinking about how much I just love this kid. He is my little sidekick and I wouldn't want it any other way. He sure keeps things lively around these parts and we love his energy and love for life. When that doesn't include tearing up the house or breaking expensive things :) We love you very much Reidy and hope you have a great 2nd birthday!


Here's a walk down Reidy's 2 years of life.


Did you notice? Reid was able to grow some more hair this past year! Now we are just working on getting all of those teeth in bud. Happy birthday Reid!

Our first Easter in our house

Here are the kids right before we headed out to church on Easter morning.


The reason for the kiddies raising their hands was because I asked who wanted to go on an Easter egg hunt after church. Both kids couldn't wait. So after we got home from church, and of course the kids ate all of their lunch (gotta use a good bribe whenever you can), we headed to the backyard for our little hunt.


Here is Ava going for the egg hidden in the trees. Ava was very sweet during the egg hunt, not because she was eating all of the candy, but she made sure to leave enough eggs for Reid to get on his own. She filled up her basket and declared, "I have enough eggs. The rest are for Reidy to get."


Reid still remembered the egg hunt from the week before and needed no coaching in the egg gathering department.


Hmmm. I don't think that egg quite made it into his basket. He also remembered that the eggs have candy inside.


The kids excitedly emptying out their eggs to see what candy they got.


Later that afternoon Ava helped me decorate and set the table for our Easter dinner. She even helped make these "bird's nests" for everyone's plate setting. She's becoming quite the big helper around these parts.


She's also quite the good sneak when it comes to all things sweet. Here she is secretly nibbling on some chocolate dipped pretzels while we waited for Nana and Grandpa to come over.


We had a really nice Easter. I just wish the weather was warmer. Did you notice Ava had to put tights on after church for our egg hunt? But hey, at least it didn't rain on Sunday. And we did enjoy getting to celebrate Easter with family.

Sorry Molasses

Looks like Ava and I are going to be outnumbered because we are having another BOY!

Cast your vote

Only 2 days left until we have our 20 week ultra sound. What do you think? Is Ava going to get her wish of finally having a sister or will Reid be saved from playing princesses and dress-up everyday and get a brother? Let your voice be heard and cast your vote in the poll to the right.

Shoe Suggestions

Going to Disneyland in 3 weeks. Any recommendations for a good pair of shoes (that won't look dorky with shorts) for a 5 month pregnant lady to tromp around the happiest place on earth?

Master Easter egg pickers in the house

This past weekend our ward put together an Easter Egg Hunt over at a nearby park.


Don't worry, before the big hunt Ava and I taught Reid what the basket was really for. Seriously, before the big event I threw some plastic eggs on the floor and Ava showed Reid what to do.


Both kids had a blast. Josh stayed with Ava while I took Reid over to the younger age group. Sadly, I thought I was videoing Reid on my phone. Come to find out I did not get a single video of him picking up his Easter eggs. I almost started crying. Thankfully we still have another egg hunt this weekend or I think I would of had a complete meltdown. You should of seen him though, he was easily the best egg picker upper in his group. The pre-hunt practice paid off!

Ava also had a great time and couldn't wait to sit down on the grass and start opening all her eggs.


Did you notice that Ava's in a t-shirt with no jacket! The weather was gorgeous. Sunny, warm, and not windy. Crossing my fingers that this upcoming weekend is just as nice. We'll see though, since it's going to rain all week. So I better cross my toes too to be safe :)

1 bedroom, 0 bath, free rent

Ava's birdhouse is officially open for occupancy.


Almost everyday she has to check and see if any birds have set up shop. If she sees any birds, either in our yard or flying by, she will yell at them that the birdhouse is right over there! Any bird would be very lucky to call that their home :)


Here are a few funny conversations that we've had with Ava this past week. The first one happened after we had been working out in our yard this past weekend. Ava had earned 2 dollars for picking weeds with me and was happily counting her change and putting into her glittery, purple piggy bank. I look over and ask,

Me: What are you saving your money for?
Ava: A big car.
Me: A big car for what?
Ava: A big car for my kids.
Me: Huh. For your dolls?
Ava: When I'm a Mom my kids will need a big car.

That is going to be a pretty sweet ride if she's already saving for it now! By the way, that night Ava decided to spend a buck at the store to buy a package of Starbursts. So it might take her awhile to save enough money to reach her goal. Especially if she's spending half of what she earns.

The second conversation happened during dinner. Josh and I were discussing what would happen if we could see into the future. I finally said,

Me: Well, if you could see into the future then you wouldn't have any trials. And the only way we can grow is threw our trials. (oh yeah, I know, I'm smart...totally just kidding)
Ava: You do have childs! I'm a child and Reidy is a child.

Ha! We had to explain to her the difference between a trial and a child. And that she was in no way a trial :)

Lastly, this has nothing to do with Ava, but aren't these flowers gorgeous. Especially since they were picked from our yard. I have really enjoyed watching all the daffodils pop up all over the yard, especially since we've been having such a cold and wet April. It gives me hope that spring is on its way, even though at times I might doubt it. Also, I just noticed that the previous owners also planted tulips everywhere. So I can't wait till those start to bloom. Love having fresh flowers in the house. Especially when I don't have to go to the store and by them.

Pants are overrated

The scene everyday in our house...including the boots. Anyone else have a kids who finds pants to be a complete bother? Thankfully he only goes pant-less at home.


Reid is talking more and more. He's repeating almost everything we say. Reid has officially been added to our family prayer rotation. He's pretty good at trying to repeat something that you whisper in his ear during the prayer. Today during Reid's prayer I whispered, "Bless Cole's leg to get better." Reid then says, "Owie!" (FYI - My nephew Cole broke his leg on Sunday and Reid knew that was a big owie)

Here's Reid proudly showing me that I forgot to leave his binky in his crib after his nap. Doesn't he realize if he points it out that it will get taken away!


That's better. Just curious, when did you decide to take away the binky for good? Right now Reid only has it during his nap and bedtime. I think we got rid of Ava's a little after she was 2. But then she quickly resorted to sucking on her fingers or chewing on her nails. Which totally gets on my nerves! Reid really looks forward to getting his binky at bedtime, so I'm worried if we take it away he'll resort to the finger sucking.

When I'm a Mom

Ava: When I'm a Mom, I will always like this song. (referring to the Chipmunk version of Beyonce's Single Ladies song)

Down on the farm

For some reason whenever the weather warms up I have the urge to take the kids to go see animals. Might have something to do with the fact that I feel a little bit guilty that we don't have any animals of our own. Which isn't going to change anytime soon. So today I decided to switch things up and not go to the farm at Thanksgiving Point (shocking), but another one called Wheeler Farm. It's a little more farm like and the scenery is beautiful. That is the kind of snow I like. Far far away on the mountaintops with weather in the valley in the high 50's.


I had every intention of leaving the stroller behind in the car and letting Reid walk freely around the farm. I even brought my backpack instead of my purse to make sure that my hands were free. But the moment Reid saw the horses (mind you across the street, behind a fence, minding their own business) he completely froze in his tracks. It's pretty hard trying to hold a kids hand to walk when he won't remove them from covering his eyes. Carrying him around the entire farm did not sound like my cup of tea, so off we went back to the car and Reid was happily placed into the stroller. Well, he was still nervous, but a little happier.


We walked around and saw all the normal peeps at the farm. Ava loved the horses, but was pretty disappointed that she couldn't ride any of them. But every few seconds she would ask when we would get to go feed the ducks. So here we are at one of our many side trips to feed the ducks. Both kids liked the ducks, but the geese, not so much.


Here she is watching the duck gobble up her bread that she threw in.


Here is Ava sharing a piece of her bread with Reid so he could feed the ducks. Reid had other intentions and feed himself.


After eating a slice or two of bread, Reid finally got into feeding the ducks too. Here he is watching the ducks gobble up his piece.


No matter how much Reid enjoyed the ducks, there was no way that anything could even come remotely close to this (see the picture below this one for more clarification).


Yep, it was a tractor. What, did you think it might of been an actual animal? Luckily for this vehicle loving kid, this farm was not short of farm vehicles. He could of stared at them all morning. Mud and tractors. Boy heaven.


With the weather being so nice I was hoping to get a chance to go pull more weeds this afternoon, but sadly a thunderstorm is rolling in as I type. Maybe tomorrow. But it was nice being able to go outside for a little outing, even if it was just for the morning.

I've been waiting for a day like this since November

I've been waiting for a day like yesterday for a very very very long time. When a sunny, semi warm, non windy day happens, you have to drop everything you were planning on doing and just enjoy the outdoors. Of course the kiddos and I went on a walk, but best of all Ava and I went out after lunch and gardened. Heaven. Who knew, but Ava is quite the good little weed puller. She enjoyed it just as much as I did and did not want to come inside. But when I offered making her a snow cone, she quickly changed her mind. Mmmm...snow cones. Best Mother's Day present ever. We also managed to fit in painting Ava's bird house (love the dollar section at Target). Ava can't wait to for it to dry and hang it up in the backyard.


It was the perfect way to start the week.


In other news, the boys in my family are adorable. Reid went into the playroom and brought out a hat for Josh and him to wear. He was more than willing to sit down next to his dad (of course by the fireplace, his favorite spot to sit) and have a photo opt. First he's got to make sure that Dad is smiling.


Okay, now he can look at the camera. Love them both!

Baby names for "our baby"

Baby names Ava has suggested. Clue for a boy (from the movie Tron) and Molasses for a girl. She loves those names so much that she has claimed dibs on them for her future children. Shoot! By the way, I think it is so adorable that she calls the baby "our baby". This baby better be ready because he/she will have two mothers in the house :)

Cousin Time

Cute cute cute! Can you believe how much older these kiddos have gotten? It was so much fun getting to have Cole visit us for the weekend.


These boys sure kept us busy. While Ava was away at Preschool, both boys spent most of the time yelling "Jump!" and then proceeding to jump off of the fireplace hearth. Reid did most of the jumping while Cole decided it was just more fun to say the word jumping while staying put.


The weather was beautiful while they were here (which makes it hard to look outside and see snow again). We spent a good portion of our time outdoors. We went to the park, went on a picnic for lunch, and played out in the backyard. Reid was the only child of the group that required a daily bath. I'm thinking it might be worth it to install a shower in the backyard.

One of the days during their visit we loaded up the crew and took them to the farm. Now I know it isn't quite up to par with what they have up in Idaho, at an actual farm, but it sure is fun for us city folk. The boys loved checking out the baby chicks. Good thing my kids can't read yet, because right on the glass there was a sign that said "FREE". Thankfully none of the cute chicks made it home with us :)


I have discovered that there are 3 animals that Reid is not afraid of at the farm. 1} baby chicks 2} ducks and 3} rabbits.


It might look like Reid is enjoying the sheep, but the moment any of the animals made any slight movement, he was out of there. Cole on the other hand was not afraid of any of the animals.


Ava was of course in animal heaven. She wouldn't even stop petting the horse for a picture.


No trip to the farm would be complete without a pony ride. Notice how she always picks the same horse to ride. I know they rotate the horses everyday, but Ava's favorite is always there. Do you notice Cole in the background?


This kid is going to know how to ride a horse way before he knows how to ride a bike!


Reid tried convincing me that he wanted to ride a horse too. His most used sentence nowadays is "Me too!" So I played along and let him stand in line with Ava and Cole. But once one of the horses let out a big snort, that kid split and didn't look back. But one thing he does enjoy is getting to ride on the carriage ride.


My sister and I had plenty of sisterly time. Especially due to the guys being so willing to watch the boys for us in the afternoon...during their naps :) They might have gotten in a nap of their own and gotten to play some Halo. But we really did appreciate being able to get away without the kiddos to do a little shopping.

One thing we did was put together a diaper cake for Jared's sister who just had a baby. She lives across the freeway from us. She loved it of course!


I love love love that we live so close now that we can get together for the weekend. I sure hope that we'll be able to fit in a few more visits before the baby comes this Sept. Ava and Reid have both been asking to go see the horses and chickens up in Idaho.

Not a good month for electronics

A new TV has been purchased and mounted. Yay! Laptop keyboard is now not functioning. Boo! Just waiting for the next electronic to bite the dust. Do electronic deaths come in threes too?