Fun with friends.

I am not sure why I never posted this! Back in November we had a play date with Jagger (one of Ella's best friends). These kids love to play dress up! Don't you just love Jagger's "super man" face. :)

My Valentines.

 Aren’t my valentines cute? I love these kids. I decided to make them a valentine this year, I think it turned out cute and they loved it. We just spent the day hanging out, making valentines, and playing with a friend. Fun day. Hope you all had a fun Valentines!

Ella had a lunch "play" date with a friend!

 And now for a little about my Valentines. I love this boy. He is so sweet, yet so fiery! He loves his mommy and daddy, Ella, Riff and Jagger (Ella's friend). He tells us so each day. I love his little eyes. They are so sweet and so naughty at times. I love that he is almost completely potty trained at night now as well. Good news, except that now I have to wake up to take him. :) I love that he is all of a sudden interested in doing preschool any chance he gets. He can count to 10 and pretty well knows his ABC's. I love that he sunggles with me. Oh my little Buzz (we have to call him that now you know), I love you. :)

He is shooting me with his lazer. :)

 And now for my Ella. I love this teenager trapped in a kids body. She is so sweet and easy going. I love that she is such a girl. She loves anything pink or purple. I love that she has a love for dance as much as I do! She LOVES to read. She can read pretty much any picture book now and does it any chance she gets. I am sure I will be purchasing chapter books any time now. I love that she loves school. She really wanted to learn about the solar system last week so that's what we did. I love doing this co-op preschool with her. I get to see the excitement when she learns something new. I love that she is always taking care of someone. Even me when she thinks I need it. She is so darn grown up this girl! I just hope her saying, "But I will always be your little baby!" stays true. I love her.

And now for my first Valentine. :) I'm not a really mushy person so I will cut right to the chase. I love him because he loves me. Even after me "cancelling" valentines day this year he came home with some flowers for me. He brings me diet coke or milky ways from his work pantry. Okay so the way to my heart is food, but whatever. I love that he doesn't care if the house is super clean when he gets home. I love watching him with the kids. They can't wait for him to get home and he always plays with them when he walks through the door. He is such a great dad and husband. There are lots of other reasons I love him, but we could be here all day. Lets just say, I love him and am happy he chose me. :)

A

Fun with Grammy

So just after the new year (yes I am still backed up here!), my mom came up for a visit! We had a fun week and the kids were in heaven. We spent a lot of time around the house, but did venture out a few times. We ate at an AMAZING little diner with excellent shakes. I can't wait to go back. We checked out Powell's books finally. The kids managed to come home with a handful of books thanks to their Grammy. :) We also headed out to the Tillamook factory and spent an obscene amount of money on cheese, checked out the coast, went to OMSI (a science museum), and did some playing in the snow. It snowed a bit each and every day. Not enough to play in (except for during church, bummer!) but enough to get the kids excited. Thanks for coming Grammy, we had a blast!

Meet Riffle.

Riffle, Riff for short, is the newest member of our family. Yes, she is named after tap steps. :) This little puppy is the cutest, sweetest, most annoying thing. Yeah, I can't make up my mind about her. Our friends were offered a litter of beagle mixes free, and they asked us if we wanted one. Our kids have been wanting a dog lately so we made a quick decision to give it a try (as we would be getting the dog the next day). Well, we still aren't sure about this decision. She is sweet and snuggly in the evenings. and barks and whines for hours after she wakes up. She is Jekyll and Hyde. She nips and pee's on the carpet at times. On the other hand, we later found out that she was only 6 weeks when we got her (was supposed to be 8 weeks which is recommended...they lied).She is doing surprisingly well with housebreaking for being so young. She never poops in the house, only pee's small amounts at times. She is sleeping in a crate ALL night without whining. Now if we can get her to stop nipping (especially the kids) and teach Carter and her to exist in the same world we will be okay. He thinks she's his toy. She thinks he's her toy. See the problem? We will see how the next little while goes. I do feel a bit like i would be adopting and giving back if we got rid of her. That being said, if her and Carter can't get along we will have to get rid of her. Here's to hoping she behaves herself so she can join our little family. P.S. I had NO idea how much a tiny puppy is like a newborn baby. Or worse. You are thrown right into night bathroom trips, potty training, walking. It's like newborn and toddler in one! Why didn't someone warn me? Oh yeah, we didn't give people time. Anyhow, enjoy some cute photos of this cute, naughty little puppy. :) 

She falls asleep in the weirdest positions. 

Asleep like this. Yes, really. Lately it is on my lap on her back, legs in the air. I will get a picture of that soon. She's adorable when she's sleeping at night. 

2011 Recap

What did we do this year? Lets start from the beginning.

My little Carter:
*Turned two in August
*Is potty trained! (Even most nights, go Carter!)
*Stopped napping (sad, sad day)
*Is obsessed with anything Cars or Toy Story
*Loves his daddy and mommy (okay so he mostly loves me in the middle of the night. STILL!)
*Loves his sister and has mastered tormenting her.
*Knows how to push mommy's buttons in a big way.
*Loves anything sports. He's especially fond of football (even yells at the tv like he knows what's happening)
*Wears his hat 24/7. Seriously, he sleeps in it!
*Loves to clean anything (bonus!)
*Is so snuggly. Especially in the mornings. I can't get enough of him. :)

My Ella girl:
*Turned four in September (and is "patiently" awaiting her fifth birthday, it's going to be a long year).
*Has been reading for most of the year. She's up to 7-8 letter words now and has several books she reads alone!
*Is doing a co-op style pre-school with kids from the ward and loving every minute.
*Taking dance class and progressing each and every week.
*Had her first dance recital and did quite well at it!
*Loves her brother and helping take care of him or any other kid for that matter.
*Is the best four year old baker I know. She loves to cook and bake any time she can. She's quite good I might add.
*Is a teenager trapped in a four year old body. Oh the sass she can have at times.
*Is so helpful with Carter and things around the house (although not as neat and tidy as her brother).
*Asks complex questions about everything. The kid is a thinker.
*Loves everyone. She is just so friendly!

*************

Me:
*Started the year off with months of physical therapy. My back is finally healed with some minor nightly pain.
*Had my wisdom teeth out in May and had a numb lip/chin for 3 months following (it did get feeling back luckily)
*Started a tap class to get my back ready for other dance styles. Not the most advanced class ever but it's fun to get back to it.
*Did a bit of selling on craigslist (okay a little more than a bit)
*Clipped hundreds of coupons.

*************

Brady:
*Started a new job with a software company and is loving it.
*Did some kiteboarding.
*And some skiing.
*And some biking (to work that is)
*Smoked some meat... and almonds. Man were those good!
*Turned the big 3-0!

All in all I would say we have had a pretty good year. The kids are sure getting big and I am just trying to soak up what could be my last year with both of them home. I love these kiddos. Even though they drive me batty at times. :)

Finishing off 2011

The week after Christmas my dad was still here. We spent some time doing a few fun things around the city and just playing at home. Ella was sick over new years so we just hung at home. She made it until nearly midnight, despite her sick nature. All in all, it was a good holiday. The kids LOVED having him here. Carter keeps asking when he is coming home from work to play football. Haha. Here are a few pictures from the week.

Notice the backpack? He wouldn't leave the house without it. :)

Under the Portlandia sign.

We went to see the huge tree in Portland.

When you stand on this spot it makes it sound like you are speaking into a microphone. Only to you though, it is pretty weird stuff!

Love the city at Christmas time.

Practicing her ballet. :)

Of course he had to try too. Haha.

 We went to a historical street in Portland that is decked out for Christmas. It was short, sweet, and fun for the kids to see.

It was complete with a carriage ride (well sort of). 

My kids thought it was fun to put these in front of her faces and have Papa shoot them with a nerf gun. Weird kids I tell you.

Decorating her own place setting. Seemed much cooler than it was, but she had a fun time!

Yes, we are attempting our own pizookie. I think it was a pretty good first try!

Playing games with Papa. 

I told Carter we had to leave to take Papa to the airport. His reply was, "But I want keep him!" He sure loves his Papa!

And she is quite the fan herself. :)

 Hope you all had a wonderful holiday. We are back to normal life. My mom comes for a visit next week so we are looking forward to that!