Simple Pleasures

1/25/13
My girls are huge suckers for water. Unfortunately, I don't often feel like a fun enough mom to deal with the aftermath of water play.  After looking at these pictures I have come to the realization that the little bit of watery mess is more than worth the joy that warm, bubbly water brings!

I know this is a terrible picture but it is one of my favorites because it shows how excited she gets about bubbles!

Morning Time

She LOVES bananas! (1/25/13)

I want to record some of our daily routines for my girls when to look back on when they are older.
Our mornings are (generally) very low key. The girls wake up around 8:00 most days. I know that we are super lucky here, as lots of families start their days much earlier than us! Miss E will then do one of a few things. Some days she wakes up and Little Sister is still sleeping, so E will play in her room for a bit or come down and ask for breakfast. Sometimes Sis is awake so the two play happily, E giving Sis toys or telling her stories. Other days are less serene. E occasionally wakes up in a foul mood, screaming from her bed for breakfast (heaven help her and me those days!!!) She is not supposed to yell from her bed, for obvious reasons, so I will either let her yell it out (if the baby is awake already) or I will go up and she is reprimanded for making us all crazy.

She is not happy when meal time ends. (1/25/13)

The next step in our day is breakfast. Our girls don't branch out a whole lot with breakfast. Tiny eats a bowl of oatmeal with yogurt mixed in basically every day, along with (since we are always trying to fatten her up) whole milk with Carnation Instant Breakfast mixed in. E has a slightly bigger variety. She often asks for bread with jam, cereal, or oatmeal. She also drinks the chocolate milk, although hers is not usually whole milk! The girls also love any kind of fruit they can get with breakfast. Sometimes I get a fun mom whim and make a good breakfast of waffles, eggs, etc, but those days are few and far between.
As soon as they are done eating I try to get the dishes unloaded from the dishwasher and the breakfast dishes done. I also have to sweep at this time. All of that is basically impossible once Tiny is out of her high chair. She is a "helper."

Watching TV so mom can get some work done (11/1/12)

From there the girls get dressed, play, and get their hair done. Since Steve works every other week and works nights, we have to keep somewhat quiet in the mornings. This is a challenge on some days more than others...these are the days the TV is a good entertainer while I get ready as fast as I can. Please don't judge if you come over before noon and I am still in my pjs with crazy hair!

The day after Halloween-a good look at how we feel about mornings around here. A little coo coo! (11/1/12)

This is the basic outline of our morning as it stands right now. We are really looking forward to warmer weather so we can head outside before noon!

Visiting the Y

January 21, 2013

After dropping Steve's parents off at the MTC Steve and I wanted to take the girls to BYU. We knew Miss E would love the bookstore and we really wanted to show them around campus. Unfortunately we forgot that it was Martin Luther King day so the bookstore was closed. It also happened to be well below freezing so it was much too uncomfortable to take a leisurely stroll outside. Instead, we decided to do what we do best...EAT. Luckily the Creamery was open so we got some yummy burgers, fries, and ice cream.
On our way home we stopped at the outlets at Traverse Mountain in Lehi. Again, it was way too cold to be outside, so we quickly ran in to a few stores that had things we needed and then ran back to the car, faces freezing! It was a fun day but it left us wanting to go back on a day when it is a bit warmer.

Missionary Grandparents

January 21, 2013

Steve's parents have been talking about going on a mission for the LDS church for the last year or so. Last summer they let us know that they were making official plans to go. In the fall they received their call to Baumholder Germany. While we are sad to say goodbye to them for the next 18 months, we are so excited to hear of their adventures!

On January 21 we had the opportunity to take them to the Missionary Training Center in Provo. I had only ever quickly been into the main entrance of the MTC so it was fun to spend a few minutes in there and then to drop them off at their building.

 Grandpa and Grandma (Jean and Gerald) checking in

 The girls had a great time being very wiggly and running around the entry

 Classic missionary picture by the map, they are headed to Germany!

 Grandpa listening to the instructions while grandma was probably kissing the baby

 Good bye hugs

 Our last look. You can't see it here, but Grandma was a little bit misty eyed (as was I!). Luckily we were able to spend one more weekend with them before they flew out.

We are so proud of them!

Yucky Sickies!

January 2, 2013

Our new year started out a bit rough. After traveling to Boise to visit family, Tiny started to feel a bit under the weather. Our second day home, she was coughing terribly and lethargic with a bit of a fever. All day long I waited and watched her all day debating if I should take her in to the doctor. Finally we decided to take her in to the after hours clinic around 5 pm. Sure enough, she was diagnosed with RSV and was sounding worse and worse with every cough. Steve and I took her up to the hospital's RSV clinic to have her nose sucked clean and her breathing treated. (Cue fabulous neighbors that watched E while we were gone this whole evening!) This illness lasted about a week, and the day after she started feeling better, she came down with a stomach bug that lasted another week. It was miserable! To add to the fun, literally the day after Tiny began to recover from her stomach bug, Miss E came down with the same bug, which thankfully only lasted a couple of days.
It was a rough couple of weeks that left us wanting for warmer weather!!! We are doing great now and are feeling so grateful for the few days of clear sunny skies we have seen recently.

Back From Blogging Sabbatical???

So, blogging has totally fallen by the wayside in my life, but I really love looking back on our lives in pictures so we shall see...

E-ism

At Target wanting me to get her a treat, "Please, gorgeous girl!" I am in trouble!