Fall Activity - Alpine Loop/Cascade Springs

We decided to go drive the Alpine Loop this year to see all the pretty fall leaves changing colors.  The Alpine loop is so gorgeous this time of year with their bright yellow leaves that literally look like they're glowing.  We enjoyed the drive while Jaron slept and the girls watched their 'show' on the DVD player in our van...yes Mickey Mouse club.  It was a win - win - win situation.

We took a little jaunt off the main road and headed down to Cascade Springs.  I had never been there before but it was so fun.  Just a short little walk around the springs and the perfect length and amount of time for 2 - 2 year olds to burn off some energy.

We ended our night with dinner from Barbacoa in Alpine...kids eat free, love that!

This is what happens when you try to get your girls to come stand by you for a picture, they run the opposite direction and leave you by yourself...

Fall Activity - Flying Kites

For our next Fall activity we decided to go to the park and fly some kites.  We are not professional kite flyers by any means, so most of the time you'll see the kite on the ground.  The girls were pretty excited to watch the kite and even more excited to chase after it and hold it while dad reeled in the string.  Pretty soon they just wanted to go on the swings...ok fine.

Fall Activity - Dinner Outside

With the weather cooling off we've been spending a lot of time outside, trying to get our fill of the outdoors before it turns freezing.  

The other night we had such nice weather we decided to eat outside.  We don't do this very often, 1 - cuz it's kind of a pain and 2 - our backyard faces west so it's so hot in our backyard in the evening.  The girls were pretty excited to eat outside and thought it was pretty fun to sit at their little table by themselves and eat dinner, although they didn't eat much cuz they were so distracted.  But it was a fun fall activity that we enjoyed.  Even Jaron joined us.

Do you check on your children before you go to bed?

So when the girls first started sleeping through the night it was about the time I went back to work.  They were 4 1/2 months old.  I would get home around 5:30 from work and they would go to bed about 8.  So before I went to bed I would sneak in and get a little peak at them.  It was just an excuse to see them one more time because I missed them so much and had gone from spending so much time with them to only a few hours a day.  It broke my heart to put them to bed every night when I had only been home a couple hours.

Well this has led to me still checking on them every single night. I sneak in, look at them, make sure they are covered up, etc. and then leave.  Every so often they look so cute I take a picture of them.  Shane shines a bright light from his phone and I take a picture.  They don't even flinch.

I could watch them sleep for a long time.  I love watching them sleep.  But the question is, is this normal?  Do you check on your children every night?  At some point I'm going to have to stop because I don't think when they are teenagers they are going to appreciate me sneaking into their rooms, shining a bright light in their face and especially not taking their picture.  But at what age do I need to stop?

Ok, this has just been on my mind lately, but just for your enjoyment here are a couple pictures I've taken of them lately.

Siena loves to sleep with blankets over her head, much to my dismay.  I always remove them, I can't justify walking out of the room with a blanket over her head.

Aria loves to hold on to her stuff...her doll, her books, etc.

And Jaron, well he likes to be swaddled, or so his mom tells him.

The Girls at 2 years

Siena -
27 lbs - 60%
35 inches - 80% (she has finally slowed down and isn't at the top of the charts in height.)

Aria - 
25 lbs - 35%
33.5 inches - 45% (I don't think they got a good measurement on her height cuz she was freaking out and wouldn't stand still.  I think she is a little bit taller then that but might not be too far off.)

Here are some things that I want to remember about them when they turned 2.

Siena has gotten more clingy to me then she has been just about ever.  I think it's ever since Jaron was born but also know she's getting a bunch of molars in so it might be a combination.  She has started crying when we leave her for nursery, which she never did before.

At 2 years Siena only has 10 teeth.  Still lots more to come which is why I can still blame everything on her teething.  Aria has, oh wait I can't count how many teeth she has because she refuses to open her mouth for me. I can barely get a toothbrush in there to brush them.  I know of 12 for sure.

They still love their little brother and are constantly asking where he is and are so excited if he's awake when they get up from their naps.  This picture was taken when I was trying to take Jaron's 2 month pictures and they just couldn't be left out and insisted on laying down next to him.

Are obsessed with Mickey Mouse club house and are constantly asking for a 'show.'  They love to jump on the couch and dance to the Hot Dog song.  I try to show them other 'shows' but they always insist on Mickey.  Every once in a while I can get away with Baby Signing time but it's maybe once a week if that.

Still sign a lot but now they say the word they are signing as well.  My favorite one is crying.  They sign the little tears while saying 'crying' in this high pitched tone.  And they sign it a lot.  Anytime Jaron makes a sound, any time Toodles on Mickey Mouse club is sad in a certain episode or if their sister is crying.  It's pretty funny.

They are finally speaking and saying a lot.  I love to hear all the new words they learn and it's fun to try and figure out what they are saying sometimes.  They are speaking in short sentences.  Their favorite is 'Sit Down' They say it to me, to each other, to themselves, and to their dolls.  It's no wonder it's their favorite since I feel like I've said that to them a million times already.  They say their names 'Nena' and 'Ara' and it's so cute to hear them ask for the other one.

Anytime they get slightly hurt they come running over to me to kiss it better.  As soon as I kiss it, they say All Better and run off to continue playing.

Aria is by far more obsessed with her doll right now.  She sleeps with it most the time and is constantly asking where it is if she doesn't have it in her arms. In fact she woke up crying the other night at 4am and when I went in there she was crying for her doll.  I debated whether to give in and go get it but in order to get back to sleep I went and got it and luckily she did go back to sleep.  She dresses it, feeds her, burps her. Siena will play with hers a lot as well but isn't as attached to it as Aria is.

Aria has always been a pickier eater and it seemed to be getting worse.  To the point where she just eats a couple bites and then says she's all done.  So we started not giving her a cup of milk until she has eaten a certain amount of bites.  At first it was a huge fit and screaming especially when she would see Siena getting her milk.  Then she didn't seem to care and wouldn't even ask for Milk at all and still wouldn't eat.  And then all of the sudden she has decided to eat and she is eating more in amount and variety.  I'm so happy. We still have our days of refusing but overall it's so much better.

I downloaded some primary songs and also a kids songs album that they love to listen to during meals.  It's fun to teach them actions to little songs like itsy bitsy spider and Popcorn and see them get so excited.  We also just learned ring around the rosy this week and they think it's the greatest game ever invented.

We are in full on time out mode in our house these days. Aria is so offended and has her feelings hurt when I put her in time out.  Siena on the other hand loves to go to time out most of them time.  If I threaten her with time out she smiles and thinks it's a great idea and then as I'm leading her to the other room she's waving and saying bye to everyone and blowing kisses.  It's pretty funny but so maddening while it's happening.  The good news is even though she is happy about it when she comes out she always stops what put her in time out to begin with.

They love being outside.  I don't know what we're going to do this winter.  I already have snow suits and boots for them though so hopefully they like the snow this winter.  They love the backyard but they also love to be in our front yard and run circles up the driveway, down the grass over and over again.  They also like to make little rock piles on the sidewalk from our neighbors rocks.  They're always so disappointed when I make them take them all back.

They are either bestest of friends or the worst of enemies and it seems to vary each day.  One day they'll be getting along and playing so well and the next they can't even be near each other without one whining or yelling.  And it's that way the whole day.  So the good days are so fun and the bad days are soo long.  They love to hug each other good night and often hold hands as they walk down the stairs in our house.

Jaron's Blessing

This last weekend we had Jaron's blessing.  We did it at our house since Shane's mom was in town and it was general conference weekend.  We decided to do it between the afternoon session on Saturday and before Priesthood.  Always trying to get a cute family picture...this was as good as it got.

The blessing was really nice and Shane blessed him with some very nice words and counsel.  I hope to get some notes some people took so I can write down some of the things so I won't try to do it here and get it all confused.

Jaron looked as cute as ever in his little white outfit.  The Relief Society in our ward gave us this cute blanket with his name and birth date embroidered on it.

After the blessing we had a big dinner.  I made a Mexican food buffet, complete with dressing from Cafe Rio.  We had yummy rice and even fresh, hot cooked tortillas.  I've been eating left overs for a few days and it's still good.  Everyone was super nice to help out bring things and help set up and clean up.

In all I counted 42 people that were here for Jaron's big day.  No wonder he passed out in exhaustion afterwards.

Jaron, we love you so much and are so so happy you are part of our family.  You sisters love you so much and your dad and I love watching you grow and learn and can't wait to see the great person you will turn into.  Always remember we love you!

My girls are 2!

Of course my girls have their birthday 3 days after mine so as soon as I was done with my birthday weekend, it was time to focus on the girls.  We kept it pretty low key this year.  I knew I wouldn't be up to doing anything big, nor do I think the girls need huge birthdays every year.

The night before their birthday we had a family party at the park.  We just got pizzas and I made some cupcakes.  The girls loved this since they LOVE the park and they love pizza.  The theme of their birthday was Mickey/Minnie Mouse since they are obsessed with Mickey Mouse club house show.  So I put some Mickey cupcake toppers on their cupcakes and to this day they are still being carried around the house ALL. DAY. LONG.  In buckets, in purses, in pockets, etc.  Our family all gave us really cute gifts and toys that they have been playing with ever since.

Jennifer, who shares the same birthday came over on their actual birthday and gave them their own Minnie dolls.  They are so cute.

We gave them some Mickey Mouse chairs to watch their favorite show in, Minnie Mouse dress up dresses and Minnie Mouse pajamas...see I told you it was all about Mickey/Minnie, and some more food for their play kitchen.  That night we went to dinner and then to Jungle Jims to ride some rides.  Siena was not very adventurous and in fact didn't really like the rides very much at all.  Their favorite was the carousel which is funny cuz last time that is the one that scared them the most.

This last picture sums up their obsession...watching Mickey Mouse club, in their Mickey Mouse chairs holding their Minnie Mouse dolls!  So it was a great birthday and now they're officially 2.  Update on what they're up to is coming as well.

Jaron - 2 Months

Jaron turned 2 months.  He really has changed this month to me.  His face is filling out and he's getting longer I can tell.  My little newborn is now a baby.  He hasn't had his 2 month appt. yet or the dreaded first shots, so I'll have to update his stats later.

A few things about Jaron this month.

• At about 5 1/2 weeks, he started stretching his sleep out a lot.  He went from about 4 hours to 7-8 hours in one night.  Every few nights he only goes 5-6 hours but most nights he's sleeping from 11ish to 6-7ish.  I'm trying to move his nighttime to a little earlier but I'm not pushing it at this point, it will come.
• He is a horrible napper.  Not sure if I said that last month but he is.  He just cat naps and will take 1 maybe 2 good naps a day.  He's awake a lot more then I think he should be or that I remember the girls being. 
• He gets hiccups a lot.  Usually in the middle of his nap (see above)  He's gotten a little better about that this week but not much.
• Jaron smiles and coos a lot.  I love it.  You can see him all intent on my face and then he starts cooing and smiling.
• We got his first laugh the day after he turned 2 months.  It was cute and fun that both Shane and I were sitting right there when it happened.
• The other morning he had slept about 7 1/2 hours and hadn't eaten in about 9 hours and instead of crying I woke up to him cooing in his crib.  It was so cute I almost left him but I knew the girls would be waking up anyways and I wanted to get him fed so I walked into his room and when he saw me he just smiled this huge grin.  It was sooo cute.
• He's eating 4 ounces every 3 1/2 hours and just this week we've moved him to 5 ounces that he is finishing most the time.  Time to get out the bigger bottles, crazy.

Here's a picture of him when he was supposed to be napping...uh yeah doesn't look one bit tired to me.

So that's our little guy this month.  The girls are still obsessed with him and still like to help feed him, put in the binkies, bathe him, hold him and kiss him.  They've gotten better about not smothering him so I can actually leave him in the room with them for 30 seconds.

Cancer Free 5 years

I went to my 6 month check up with my Oncologist this last week.  It means I've been Cancer free for 5 years.  5 Years in the cancer world is a big deal.  It means the chances of my cancer coming back at this point is a fraction of a percentage.  I thought I was going to have to get a final CT scan but Dr. Harker thought every thing looked so good that there was no point.  I wasn't going to argue with him, scans are never fun and cause a lot of what ifs to creep into my mind (although a few years back I did like the scans only because it gave me peace of mind that there wasn't anything there.)

I don't have to go back now for a year!!!  The bad news of this visit is Dr. Harker told me he is retiring next year so this would be my last appointment with him.  I am happy for him but I felt a little sad.  He has been so amazing to me and especially my mom most recently with her treatments.  So I'll go see another Oncologist next year and once a year for up to 10 years (5 more years.)  As he left he gave me a big hug and I felt a little emotional.  Who knew 5 1/2 years ago that I would be sad to say good-bye to my Oncologist.

I posted this on Instagram that day:  "The changes that 5 years brings.  So blessed and happy to be cancer free for 5 years."  That really sums it up.  I never thought that 5 1/2 years after being diagnosed that I would be married, healthy and have 3 beautiful children.  I really am so blessed.

40 is the new 20....right?

I'm behind...3 kids, leaves no time for the computer.  This post has taken me a long time and I have so many more to go.  Maybe I can get one done a night this week...we'll see.

So I turned 40.  I'm kind of in denial that I'm 40, cuz I don't feel 40.  But it's true, I'm 40.  I had a great birthday so bear with me here as I recount my 40th birthday.

My sister Christy and her daughter Avery came to town for the weekend.  So Friday morning I went over to my parents and had my favorite hashbrowns and eggs for breakfast courtesy of my dad.  I was presented with a pre-birthday gift.  This shirt...

Lucky me I got to wear it to dinner that night with my whole family.  We went to Brick Oven with the adults, and a couple of cute newborns.  It was a fun dinner and fun to get together and not have to feed and watch the girls.  My sister in law babysat the girls and had a great night.

The morning of my birthday was busy, we were in a hurry to get up to Logan for my niece Kayla's baptism and Landon's blessing.  Kayla and I share a birthday so it was fun to see her on her birthday and she got to be baptized on her actual birthday as well.  It was a fun morning.  After the baptism and blessing we went to the park for lunch which was a lot of fun.

Shane and I didn't stay that long because he had arranged a day and night out for just us without kids.  I left all 3 kids (yes even Jaron who wasn't quite 6 weeks) with my family.  It was a whole family effort but mostly I put my mom in charge of the girls and Christy was in charge of Jaron.  They had a great time and the girls played with Avery and Abbey all night and the next morning.  They even played 'school' with them.  Jaron slept in Christy's room and gratefully that week he started stretching out his sleep so he ended up sleeping from a little after midnight until 8am.  Thank you Christy and mom and everyone else that helped. It made my night so much easier that I didn't have to worry about them.

So for my birthday Shane got me a nice new camera that I've been wanting for a long time.  My camera is so old and my phone doesn't cut it at times.  It's been fun practicing on it and taking new pictures.  Don't expect anything great but hopefully the quality gets a little better.

Shane also surprised me with 6th row tickets to the BYU vs. Texas game.  I was so surprised, I had mentioned that I wanted to go to a BYU game but figured we couldn't go cuz the Texas game was pretty much sold out and was a big game since Texas was ranked 15th.  It was such a crazy night.  The game got rain delayed for a crazy amount of rain and we sat in the car for 2 hours.  Then I was just hoping the game would be close even if we didn't win.  Well it was such a good game and we won!!!  The crowd was so loud and into the game and made it so fun especially on the 6th row.  It was been years since I've been to a BYU Football game. After the game we had reservations at the Homestead in Midway.  Their beds were super comfy and checkout wasn't until noon...an added bonus.  So it was nice to sleep in and relax.

That next week Brigitte made me lunch and my favorite Rolo cookies and so the celebrations continued well into the next week, which is just the way I like it.

So turning 40 wasn't so bad after all.  In fact, it was pretty fun and everyone really made it a special and fun weekend for me.