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.
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!
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!
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!
I let Lila help me change our monthly calendar. She is the one who noticed that I went almost the whole month without getting it changed. So she went to work. She asked me how to spell November, and then drew an appropriate picture for the month. Then I helped her figure out how to write all the numbers. She struggles a lot with writing 2's, but I think she did a great job. And she even decorated a square at the bottom. She called it her Lila square. I pointed out that she wrote her name backwards. She was surprised. I find it funny that she writes both forward and backwards and it seems normal to her. Isn't she the best?
Unfortunately, nick has been a little grumpy today. I want to just hold and squeeze and love on my brithday boy. He is sure an amazing little baby and I love him so so much! Here are some things about my son on his first birthday:
Quickly learning to turn up his nose at baby food. Still just a crawler, but he's super fast. Knows what he wants. Can play by himself and be happy. Does a sort of hum often when he's crawling around. Makes noises through his nose. I think his first word is mama, but i need to hear it a few more times to be sure. Has red knees and the tops of his feet are constantly black. Loves having a string that keeps his binky with him always. Likes to throw things. Loves bananas, pasta, and meat. Doesn't like to drink out if any sort of container. This worries mommy who is trying to wean. Loves bathtubs and pools but doesn't like splash pads or the ocean. Got daddy's skin- tans instead of burns. Wants to be involved in things going on around him. Good sleeper most of the time. Already obsessed with the iPad, even though he doesn't actually do anything on it. Has kept his vibrant blue eyes. Completely obsessed with mommy. Doesn't like his car seat. Started objecting to diaper changes. screams when we change his clothes. Frequently tries to pick or scratch off the mole on mom's collar bone. Smiles and claps when anyone says "yay!" Likes giving high fives. Doesn't sit and cuddle but will rest his head on your shoulder for a moment and it's so sweet. Still just has two teeth. Screams like a banshee. Lets us know if he has run out of food by said scream.
Lila turned 4 1/2 years old yesterday. Here are some things about her:
Takes ballet. Loves preschool. Loves to sing and makes up her own songs. Still wears a pull up to bed. Zones out when watching shows. Constantly asks to watch shows. Watches most of the Disney channel shows. Favorites include Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Henry Hugglemonster, Miles from Tomorrowland, and Sophia the first. Explains things very thoroughly. Loves her Sunbeam class. Best friends include Kayla, Cammy, and her cousins. Still gets shy around people, but brave in trying new things. Likes to swim. Like to swing. Just figured out how to get herself higher on the swing by pumping her legs. Adores her grandmas. Has a sweet tooth. Says her nightly prayers by herself. Loves being a big sister. Loves being outside. Favorite foods include cheesy pasta, dad's pasta, chicken tikka masala, and sloppy joes. Sings the primary songs like a champ. Helps the family remember family home evening and family scripture study and prayers. Is an absolute angel in our home.
The countdown begins until the big oh-one. Another year flies by. This one has been amazing with this little lad in it. Here are some things about him:
loves climbing stairs. has experimented with going back down but hasn't yet been successful. loves getting in to mischief. loves to see his big sister, hates being touched by her in any way. picky about his food. is a screamer. adores his mommy. loves having a leash for his binky so it's always around. is at a stage that makes it impossible for mommy to get anything done. loves chewing on rubbery things. pushes the tray off his high chair. good sleeper. wakes up between 6:00 and 7:00. hates it when mom leaves the room. still has two teeth. has the cutest giggle. gives mommy the sweetest hug when she gets him in the morning. loves to pinch. absolutely loves baths. hates getting dressed. likes to giggle and crawl away as one of his parents chases him. plays catch with daddy.
We had a great family vacation to Aspen Grove last week. It is one of those things I want to blog about but it was so fun and there is so much to tell that I will probably never actually undertake such a big task. So, in case I don't get to it, you can at least have this little tidbit. This is what happened when we were walking back to our cabin after dinner for the last time. She was crushed that we had to go home.
Sorry, I wrote this post yesterday and forgot to publish it. Here it is!
I am a day late with this post but it doesn't mean I am not insanely in love with my little boy. Here are some things about him:
absolutely loves water. will crawl to the bathroom from anywhere in the house if he knows Lila is in the tub. loves going up stairs. eats mostly baby food, but loves when he gets bites from Mama's plate. giggles a lot. not very fond of being in the basement. loves his sister, but doesn't love being squished by her. has adorable ears. has beautiful blue eyes. is following a perfect growth curve. has light, thin hair but it's actually kind of long. crawling everywhere. has almost completely given up sliding around on his tummy. did go through a transition period of some crawling, some sliding. great climber. likes riding in the stroller or the bike trailer. hates his carseat again. obsessed with mommy. likes to headbutt the floor when he's mad. likes to backwards headbutt his high chair when he is ready to get out. grabs mom's hair and headbutts her in the forehead to show he loves her. headbutts mom's chest when he's sad. is at the stage where we constantly chase him around and have pillows and blockades all over the house. (i.e. is constantly getting in to trouble). got a little confused when dad shaved his beard again. wakes up to eat between 5:00 and 6:30 most mornings. only sometimes goes back to bed. If dad is in bed when Nick finishes eating and he doesn't want to go back to bed, he immediately giggles and tries to wake up daddy. makes cute sounds. tries to copy things we do. for instance, grabs his baby sponge comb thing and tries to comb his hair after mommy does it. loves to play and roughhouse. growing so fast and becoming such a fun little man.
Here he is loving his bath while I type this post
This is how I usually have to shower. We do it in the early morning when Lila is still sleeping.
Lila has really loved preschool this year. She has done great and really started to learn a lot! Her teacher, Miss Pamela has been wonderful. We have felt safe sending Lila to her home, the price was very reasonable, Lila came home with great art projects, and she loved every minute! We thought it was great enough to keep Lila going in the summer.
We enjoyed a fun little ceremony for finishing up preschool. Lila did great! Only one kid in her class spent the entire time on his daddy's lap, refusing to participate. I had worried that Lila would be that kid, but instead she did amazing!
The kids did some of their fun finger plays and songs for us.
Lila picked the cat out of the bag! Haha. Then we all got to sing Old MacDonald had a cat.
Every so often, one of the kids got to do a talent. Unfortunately, Lila didn't enjoy the talent of one of her friends.
When it was her turn, she stood up and got going immediately. I bet most people had no clue she was even doing her talent. You might not even catch it at first.
I am not 100% sure, but I think I know why she chose this talent. Way back around her 4th birthday, we took her in to get a well-child check like good parents do. We did a little child development questionnaire before her visit. It asked questions like whether or not she can speak in complete sentences, if she socializes with other kids, and whether or not she can stand on one foot. Well, she passed virtually every question. Except that she couldn't stand on one foot. She has been practicing ever since. We talked about the talent show a good month before it took place. The first thing she wanted to do was dance. But the next time I asked, she said she wanted to stand on one foot. For the rest of the month, she didn't change her mind. And she totally could have done a great job even without Miss Pamela's help!
At the end, Miss Pamela introduced each kid by showing off a book they made about themselves. It was so fun to hear all the cute things Lila said about herself. It was all totally spot on.
Our attempt at a family picture
I don't know how we managed to not get any picture with the grandparents, but they came. It was wonderful. Grandma Faber took time out to come, Grandma Itri happened to be in town and made it, and Grandma Lila and Grandpa Great were feeling good enough to make the trip. She was well loved! We are so proud of you, Lila!
One of my favorite days of the year is when I get my toenails expertly painted courtesy of my work! I also get cookies and soda, and a bag full of goodies. For my toes, I can pick any design I want. Any pattern or picture I can find, I can request it. And now that Lila is a little older, she gets to come too! She came last year and was really scared. But this time she was champion! Sorry the first picture is a little blurry and glarey.
