February

If anything has saved our sanity this winter it has been snow for the boys to play in.  Just about everyday Bronson has asked to play outside.  It's a great bonus that he has learned to put on his snow clothes himself.  He loves the snow and loves being outside, Levi does too but he surely hasn't been out as much as Bronson.  Bronson insisted I let him out one day so he could shovel the driveway by himself.  I told him to wait till daddy got home but he wouldn't have it.  He could do it by himself.  

We took the boys to Syracuse High for some night sledding, they had a blast.  Blakey and I watched from the car.  Sledding is fun, I'm glad we've had a good winter to make some memories in the snow.

It's especially nice when your boys can go sledding right out your back door.  I was really bummed that we had to build up our patio but after this winter the little ramp out the back has won my vote.  Bronson was so cute helping Levi with his sled. The hill was a bit too slippery for Levi I think, but the perfect playground for some training stunt devils.

 Blake started eating cereal this month and is now on to veggies and fruit.  He wasn't so sure at first but now I think he's getting the hang of it.  He is also rolling all the way over.  I can't say he sleeps through the night, he's been going to bed about 7 or 7:30 but he's getting better.  Usually he'll go about 7 sometimes 8 hours for his first stretch.  But the doctor tells me he no longer needs night feedings :)  I'm not sure when I'll be tough enough to let him cry it out, just a binki and holding him hasn't seemed to do anything so of course I feed him so I can get back to sleep.  I can't remember, it seems like my kids would sleep about 12 hours, but I don't think when they were 6 months, more like 15 months.  So 8 hours is okay isn't it?????  I hate to hear him cry, I'm afraid he's a bit spoiled, but he can fall asleep on his own (most days)

pictures you could squeeze - Blake weighs 18 lbs 

 Levi just celebrated his 4th birthday.  Those 4 years went by fast, they were hard and great, but went too fast (as all time does I guess)  He is so funny and a bit of a stinker but we still love him.  He is more likely to be a good boy when he doesn't have friends or his brother he has to out do.  Levi is always one to let you know if you have "a great idea"  he loves playing games, on the computer and board and other games as well, taking baths in our tub which he thinks is his tub, trying on everyones shoes ???? I need to take some pictures of him he does it pretty frequently.  He is also loving school and getting pretty smart.  He doesn't like to tell me what he's learned after school so I just have to wait when I find him playing and he'll start singing songs they've learned or saying the pledge of allegiance.  I am his sunbeam teacher which is getting tricky.  I think he wouldn't act up the way he does if I wasn't in there.  Anywho if you are ever in need a good laugh come spend 10 minutes with Levi and that will do the trick.  He can always make me smile.
                          
 We gave Levi a nerf gun, some walkie talkies, a few more wood train tracks, and church clothes.  He also got some fun games, and a leap frog writting tablet, underwear :) and a little candy airplane fan toy that he rarely lets go of.  He was pretty excited about all his fun things.  Once it was February and we started talking about his birthday I showed him where it was on the calendar.  He would then tell everyone it was his birthday, "at the bottom."

Princess Tessa - she always makes me feel underdressed, Cami keeps her dolled up so cute.

It sure is nice to have family close by.  

What a cute little pair

Here is our room with the the bed Jared made.  Luckily the scent of lacker has worn off.  I'm starting to
like the lightness of the wood as well, he did a great job!

 I've had fun finally putting together a nursery for my baby. I was ready for something different than what we did with Bronson and Levi, so I sold our changing table and Bronson's crib (gotta love ksl classifieds)  I just wanted something fun and sunny (I must be ready for spring) with a little bit of adventure.  I still haven't put anything on the walls but hopefully I can get that figured out soon.  I really like it so far.

 this paint is Kwal - secret porcelain - I LOVE IT! -it's the best shade of blue ever!

When I needed to do some nesting while I was pregnant I made this quilt (with help from my mom as usual)  I fell in love with the fabric, I'm glad I can use it in his room.  Is it just me or are pinwheels the cutest quilt blocks? - I don't mean mine, but I think it's a very fun pattern.

 These were taken just today, he is becoming quite the little bouncer in his jumperooo.  What a cutie!

Getting Lost

I had heard talk of this great pbs drama for a little while but never really paid too much attention.  Well as of the past couple of weeks it has my full attention.  I've become a bit addicted to the Downton Abby series.  I'm glad to be watching them on dvd, it would have been miserable to wait to watch each one by one.  Anyway Jared and I have had fun watching this.  I like it because it's such an interesting time and a story that hasn't been told before, or at least I haven't seen before.  It's nice too because it's not an adaptation from a book so you don't feel like your getting gipped.  It really is good, We are only midway through season two, I know I'm going to be sad when we reach the end of season 3 and have to wait for season 4.  Anyway if you are looking for a nice escape with your sweetheart after the kids are in bed I would highly recommend this.  The cheapest I know it's available for is at Sam's club.  I'm ready to buy my own set, but so far have just been borrowing family members copies.  Anyway we sure have enjoyed getting lost each night in this drama.

I've also been feeling a little home sick - West Point sick that is.  I am really missing my friends.  I know people here are nice but starting over is not really a fun task.  I know I can't have in 3 months what it took me 8 years to have in West Point but it does really open my eyes to how great I had it before.  I had the greatest friends ever all within 30 seconds of my house.  Now it feels like I don't really fit in.  I will just say I'm glad to be serving in Primary and not Young Women's.  Honestly I don't ever want to serve in Young Women's again, I'd be happy being a sunbeam teacher the rest of my life.  

a new nursery

                     To keep my mind off of puke, diarrhea, laundry, - and having no groceries. (we are gonna have to have a make-up Valentines, ours was a big flop)

Anyway the cutest person in the house has the most boring room in the house so here is my latest project inspiration.  If we can get through these bugs hopefully we will  have a cute nursery in a couple of weeks.

January - snowed in!

 Well our Christmas and anniversary colds got the better of us and poor Blakey got RSV.  It was so sad, the cold from another dimension is the only way I know how to describe it.  He was so congested, but unless he was crying or coughing you wouldn't know that he was sick.  He took it much better than me I'm sure, I'm a big baby.  He did get pretty wheezy and pale a couple of times but luckily we never had to go to the hospital, just a few nebulizer treatments.  Sadly we passed the germ to little cousin Tyler and he got sick too :(

This is a typical scene of me on the computer, being attacked by little people.  It's fun to connect with friends on the computer for sure but it's also nice to forget about it and take a break from technology once in a while.  Well I'm very sick of winter. January has been a long month full of coughs and vomit all over the new carpet, bluh.  So I'm glad it's behind us but we have loved all of the snow, day after day after another snowstorm day.  So crazy.  Even when it was so freezing Bronson and Levi wanted to be outside helping Jared shovel or sledding down the little hill in the back.  Winter is bearable as long as there is snow to play in.  

 Blake is growing so fast.  He is a sweetheart and still loves to snuggle with me which I love.  We still have a little work to do in the sleeping at night department but he is getting much better at naps.  With Bronson and Levi so big I'm really appreciating the sweetness of a baby around.  I love him to pieces.  He can talk and scream, giggle and blow bubbles, kick his legs, loves taking baths. He'll get so excited his whole body just curls up in a ball when you hold him.  He's got a great noise of inhaling when he's excited too so it makes a funny sound.  I think that might be from his mom :).  He hasn't been in for his well check yet with all of the bugs we've had hopefully this coming week we will make it in.

 This was at the beginning of the month he got a horrible rash under his neck.  It's usually a little red but this was awful, I'm not sure if it was a reaction to some of his clothes or just because his head sits on his chest.  Luckily aquaphor seemed to take care of it in a couple of days.  It has come back a couple of times but not as bad.  Then the next day his skin will just peel like a sunburn and it will be gone.  It's weird, and this first time was very painful for him.  He was screaming like crazy when I was trying to wash it, not his normal giggles when I clean under his neck. :(

 Here is the new kitchen.  I have too many cupboards full of things that don't belong in the kitchen but it sure is nice to have storage, especially since we don't have a ton of closet space.  White cabinets are so pretty but very delicate I'm finding, they show everything (don't know why I didn't think of that)  My guess is that homes in magazines that have white cabinets are occupied by single 60 year old ladies.  I still love them they will just take a little extra work to keep looking good.

 The unfinished basement has been great.  I don't think we will be in a hurry to finish it until the boys are old enough not to destroy it.

 Blake is so happy after baths (but if you are going to take your baby's picture after a bath don't use a green towel or they may look a bit like kermit the frog)  Blake also learned to roll over this month.  It seemed like Bronson and Levi would just tip over from their tummies to their back but Blake actually rolls.

Bronson is very fascinated with shaving lately - since Jared doesn't do it too often :) - he loves to watch when he gets the chance.

I also turned 20-10 this month.   Ever since I was little I always remember feeling a little different on my birthday like it was a special day, even if nothing exciting really happened that day it just seemed a little different.  This year - nothing.  It seemed just like every other day  . . . it was Sunday but still . . . kind of sad how birthdays aren't so fun when you get older.  It's hard to turn 30 on one hand on the other I'm very grateful for 30 years of a wonderful life.  I have been blessed much more, much much more than I deserve.  Jared did take me on a fun birthday date - after some subtle or not so subtle hinting :) to see Matt Townsend and Peter Brienholt.  It helped us want to make it a priority to make time for each other and not let other things suck the life out of us.  We had a great night together, it was well worth it.

We did get a cute kitchen table, now I just need to finish some benches to match.   Bronson picked out some pretty tulips for me that I really loved.  The lesson I've learned recently is that a beautiful appearance is merely a reflection of how you feel inside.  Too bad it took till I was 30 to really understand this.  Anyway I'm looking forward to looking at myself a little differently this year and hopefully I can feel beautiful inside.  Life really is great, I'm just a slow learner, as usual!  But I do love the here a little and there a little approach that our Heavenly Father uses with us.  A very wise parent indeed.

Bronson and his new buddy Rushton who lives next door. I could hardly get him to pause for a picture, he was too busy working and digging in the snow.  Rushton on the other hand smiled at me the whole time.  Funny.  Simba up to her neck in the snow . . . Watching her bound through the snow in very fun.   Our house always gets tracks very quickly.

Happy Winter!