Nick is Two

Nick turned two and I wasn't around to see it. In fact, I completely forgot about it. Some parent I am, huh? I was too busy frolicking around the shores of Hawaii and didn't even say happy birthday when we FaceTimed with him. Yup. I guess all that sun brainwashed me. Nevertheless, I love him deeply and am so glad to call him mine! Here are some things about him:

loves riding his new scooter. likes most foods. loves sweets. teases his sister. loves her to death. worries when people get hurt and asks "ok? ok?". we think he would like nursery if it wasn't at nap time. likes to copy mom and Lila. this has resulted in painted toenails, wearing headbands, and sporting Lila's pink panties. speaking of panties, he hasn't used a diaper since the 4th of July. pees and poops on the potty like a champ. we are still trying to get him to say undies instead of panties. had a hard time with pooping on the potty at first but now he loves it. also sleeps in undies and doesn't wet the bed. we are so stinking proud of this accomplishment. loves being outside. has a nicely growing vocabulary. loves brushing his teeth. still takes a binky during naps and at night. tries to sneak it out of his crib during the day when I'm not looking. has recently developed an attachment to a certain blanket. has a little girlfriend named Lynlie who always tries to hug him when she sees him, but he pushes her and screams. then a minute later he hugs her back. they like to cause mischief together. sometimes people ask if they are twins. they started potty training together too. overall, he is the sweetest, cutest little boy but he is finally developing his terrible twos and pushing boundaries. wish us luck!

I lost my phone and am missing several pictures. :'( but here are some recent ones I have of my sweet boy.

 Nick watching uncle Brian get a haircut. I included it just because I have so few pictures.

Bed head.

He loves my shoes

Beach trip in June

Family sillies

with both the heels and the headband

Lila Turns 5

Today was a fun day celebrating 5 years of motherhood for me. Of course, it was actually celebrating that precious little thing that made me a mom, but I think every once in a while I can take a bit of credit since I grew her and brought her into this world.

She had a special Valentine's Day party at her school, and instead of all the kids bringing valentines for everyone, they each brought one gift and did a gift swap. Since it was Lila's birthday, she got to go first and got just the thing she wanted. She ate cheesy pasta for lunch (her fav), went on a date with daddy to the movies, had dinner at the "rice restaurant" (The India Palace), opened tons of great presents, and had doughnuts for dessert. She was delighted all day and I couldn't be more pleased to have spent the last five years with this girl. Here are some things about her:

kind. loves to pray. shy. bossy. favorite colors pink and blue. learning to play with her little brother. favorite hairstyle is a bun. takes ballet. Kayla Ho is still her best friend. can read simple books. likes to draw and paint. gets nervous around kids she doesn't play with much. favorite day of the week is Sunday. loves to clean the bathroom. likes to wear mom's socks as gloves. lately tries to wear her sandals even though there is snow on the ground. still likes getting hand-me-down clothes. much more fashion conscious- but her clothes have to conform to her own idea of fashion, not anyone else's. loves to play dress up with her friends. can clean her room properly by herself. can be a sneak and a cheat. learning how to be grateful for what she has even if it isn't exactly what she wants. enjoys doing nice things for other people. often tries to give her toys away to her friends as presents when they come to play. chooses a different color for each nail when we paint her fingers and toes. brave enough to walk into preschool by herself. loves school. calls out her parents when they make mistakes. honestly tries to understand life lessons and apply them in the future. loves singing primary songs. would sing them at church too if Kayla wasn't so distracting. has a truly good heart, but sometimes has a hard time resisting temptations. loves her family more than anything.

Lila got a lot of books for her birthday. I am so excited for her budding skill and I love it when she wants me to read to her. Yay for reading!

I babysat a kindergartener for my friend today, so he came with us when we picked up Lila from preschool, then we took him to school. He decided to photobomb our selfie.

A sweet gift from my neighbor and friend, complete with some balloons!

Temple Square

This is becoming a fun tradition

Ward Christmas Party

I (and my presidency) was in charge of the ward Christmas party this year. I wanted to get a lot of pictures of my work, but that just didn't happen with all the other stuff going on. So here are a few.

We made it themed around the kids since we are the primary. The primary kids made most of the hanging snowflakes, and the activity day girls did the centerpieces. We also did a short kids program for everyone that shockingly turned out ok. And we had a ballet dance performance by both of the kids classes that a ward member teaches for free at the church every week. Overall, I was pleased with the results, but naturally felt like there were some things I would do different next time. But I also hope and pray and beg to never, ever have to do it again.

here is a link to a video of the program. I hope it works for you! We had the music for it custom made. That is what you get when you have a ward member who works at the LDS Motion Picture studio and knows people!

and here is a little video of the kids singing.

Halloween

I have very cute kids. In 2015 I made my first handmade Halloween costume ever. Todd got mad at me because he thought Lila looked like a member of the KKK. I tried to fix the costume a bit by tucking down the point on Lila's hood. I personally thought Lila was an adorable ghost, and the costume was a great success. She was insistent on a ghost costume that covered her face, and when Halloween came around and she actually didn't want to wear it much (surprise, surprise), she still looked like a ghost. So I think it was a win.

Also, Nick is a stinking cute frog and Nikenzie is awesome for doing some trick-or-treating with us. Plus, Todd made sure to not work that day so he could come as well. I think it was a great day for everyone!