February and 36 weeks!

Hey don't judge me... once a month is my goal and it's a good goal :)

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and boy did I get spoiled by the husband. I mean, check out these flowers! And yes, that is a credit care for love with no credit limit and no expiration date. :)

Adam surprised me and took me to the Flying Saddle last night for a special Valentine's Dinner. He made reservations and even called a baby sitter! We had a lot of fun just relaxing and chatting during our four-course meal. It was so nice just to get out of the house. Lately, we have been doing things we normally don't do, "before the baby comes."

Well, if he keeps spoiling me like this, this baby may NEVER be born LOL.

Speaking of Baby, she is going to be here before we know it. Today marks 36 weeks for us so another 4 to go and she will (hopefully) be here. This pregnancy has been so different than my first; I have been much sicker/more tired, have had CONSTANT heartburn, and aches from about month 4. I have also had the swelling so many people talk about that I never experienced with Taylor. I don't know if these symptoms are exacerbated because I am chasing a toddler or maybe I don't remember them being this bad with Taylor because I am blessed with a mom's memory now,... but I don't think that is the case.

This baby just FEELS different than Taylor. I might be crazy, but she seems to have a calmer, more laid back personality. She moves and wiggles, but it's all pretty slow and gentle... not like the crazy crack movements Taylor had that had my stomach bouncing all over the place. We are so excited to meet this gentle little girl. :) Her sister CAN NOT WAIT until she is born. She constantly "talks" to baby, which usually means she asks my stomach questions and waits for me to answer in a very high, unlike my normal voice voice as I pretend to be " Baby." She tells Baby that when she gets bigger she can go sledding with Taylor/watch Spongebob with Taylor/play with her dolls/go on rides/sleep on the trampoline/make treats/play with playdough/take a bath, etc. There is NO END to all the fun things Taylor is ready to show this baby girl. She looks for sympathy (Baby, my mom is SO MEAN) and tells her good morning and good night. She is so funny. I am excited for her to be a big sister and I get the feeling she will be a lot of "help."

The next few weeks should go quickly for us, however, and I'm excited about that. We have the Youngest Youngs coming up to party with us this weekend, an early anniversary trip planned for Adam and I,  and a few other things that will make the next month fly by. And we still have lots to do to get ready... like we realized the other night we should probably get some diapers and wipes :) You know, the important stuff. :)

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Taylor Turns Three!!

I can't believe how fast Taylor is growing up! I swear I have cleaned out her closet 4 times in the last 6 months (the most recent purging is still sitting in the rocking chair waiting to be boxed up) because it seems like everything is too short every time we put something on her!

We had a little party with a couple of friends for her on Saturday. They went sledding down the mound of snow in our front yard (.... for like 5 minutes before they were done...) then they came in, had hot chocolate, played with some toys, decorated cupcakes, opened presents and then their moms picked them up. It was pretty much perfect.

Then Adam and Taylor and I went and "painted" the snow, using colored water and squirt botttles and she thought that was pretty cool. Grandma and Grandpa Bench came up Saturday night and Taylor was surprised and excited to show them everything from her blanket to her toys to her bathtub. We went to dinner and had a good time. Sunday after church Grandma and Taylor got to decorate cookies and then she opened her presents.

Monday morning (her birthday) Grandma and Grandpa had to leave to go home but we had a good weekend with them. When she woke up we asked her how old she was and she thought about it and said... "Hmm... I think 5. And I am all grown up now cause I ate my vegetables and had a good rest last night and now I can drive the car."

Mom and Dad picked Taylor up for lunch at Burger King on Monday, and she thought that was pretty cool. Then the Halls came over for birthday dinner and dessert. She got lots of phone calls and gifts from everyone and I'm pretty sure she had an awesome birthday. Her dad made her a doll house for her Cinderella Barbie she wanted and mom made some furniture for her doll house. It needs more furniture in a MAJOR way, but we will get there :)

Overall, our little Taylor is a good girl and we love her lots. She is spunky and fun and is SO excited to be a big sister she can't stand it. I asked her some questions and these are the answers I got:

What is your favorite food: Ramen noodles
What is your favorite color: Pink
What is your favorite song: ABC's
What is your favorite thing to do in the summer: Jump on the trampoline
What is your favorite thing to do in the winter: I don't like the winter it is here too long time, huh?
How old are you: 5 (really 3)
What does Dad do for work: He works at his work
What does Mom do for work: Works by dad at her work
What do you want to be when you grow up: A big sister!

Thanks for being my buddy, Taylor girl! We love you lots, you little runt!

January

  Aaah January!

Lots of exciting things coming up this year and I know it's bound to be a great one! Baby Girl #2 will be here in March and its hard to tell if mom or Taylor is more excited! Adam graduates from school this May! He is holding a 3.85 gpa and we are SO PROUD OF HIM! We already have lots of fun things planned for this year and can't wait to see where it takes us. Life is good.

Summer Sundays :)

Wearing the dress Jed and Adrianne brought her from Hawaii!

Love this girl.

Catering helper

Catering Helper

 The best part of mom and dads catering job is licking the beater :)

Pics

Last weekend we went to a family reunion. We were thrilled to see family and Taylor was thrilled with the sandbox :)

Finally got an app to blog/post pics from my iPad... We will see if I can figure it out!!

And here Are some from our camping trip the weekend before last.

LOVE MY FAMILY!!

Camping

We have been lucky enough to go camping the last two weekends.

 The first weekend, Taylor and Adam spent the night and I went home. I was going to Idaho Falls to meet up with some friends and left early Saturday morning.

This past weekend Adam was in Casper but Taylor and I went up and dad met us up there around 8:00. We spent the night, went on a little walk the next morning, had lunch and packed up. It had been raining off and on and we decided we had better get out of there before it got too muddy.

I love to camp. I love being away from it all and sitting by the fire for hours. I love how excited Taylor and Aspen get when they have free reign to run and dig and get dirty.

As I was sitting by the fire Saturday I felt overwhelmed with gratitude to my Heavenly Father for all of my blessings. I have a husband who loves me and takes great care of our family. I have a little girl that thinks I am the whole world. We have a dog, a house, a beat up Chevy and an old trailer that we pull around and park in the woods because we think it's cool. We aren't fancy and we aren't rich, but I love that our truck has dents, our trailer has a leak, and that my toddler thinks it's cool to take off her pants ANYWHERE... aka the sand box at the park. Really?!

There are things I wish were different, things I wish I could change, but overall I think I got a steal of a deal when they were handing out lives. :)

Our Comings and Goings

We have had a busy last few weeks full of travelling, family and fun!

At the end of April, Adam and I went to St. George to spend the weekend for our anniversary. We had the worst hotel experience ever, which is already one of my favorite memories. We went shopping at the outlets, hiking at Zion Natl Park, and went and toured several historical sites in the area.

Adam spoiled me on the night of our anniversary and made reservations at The Painted Pony... it was pricey but really fun! I got bacon wrapped duck with apples and celery... soooooo gooooooood! We had so much fun.

The next weekend, we headed back down to Utah for Abbey's baby blessing. Aaron and Ally blessed her at their home. We had a great time seeing family.

Two days later, Taylor and I were headed down to Utah once again... this time to catch a plane to Kansas! We got to spend a week with my family for Kole's graduation. Taylor, Jed and Adrianne and I all flew out together and had lots of fun. Taylor liked the airplane and only had a minor meltdown when the airline people took her carseat. We had fun going to the zoo, having a hotdog roast, and just hanging out with the family. Taylor loved being spoiled by her grandparents.

We finally made it home and said hello and goodbye to Adam before he and Jed headed out for their annual backpacking trip. He left Friday afternoon and was supposed to be home late Tuesday night... but surprised us by coming home a day early. He came home Monday afternoon and surprised both Taylor and I... and he MADE TAYLOR'S DAY by bringing her a TRAMPOLINE!!! "Oh my GOSH! Thank you so much Dad I am so excited!!!" He made her whole year.

Now we are all home and settled into our routine again for a few days.
It's nice to visit but so nice to be home!!!

Our Little "Painter"

After cleaning the house all day today, we decided

a). we needed to go on a long drive to find potential camping spots; and then
b). that we needed to stain the bench and arbor in the back yard.

So we headed home and Adam pulled out the stain and a paintbrush and headed to the back yard. I went downstairs to change laundry when a few minutes later I heard frantic thumping down the stairs and Taylor yelling "Mom I need a TOOTHBRUSH!"

I finally figured out what she really was looking for was a paintbrush to help Dad stain outside. So we stripped her down to her underwear and put her to work. She was a pretty big helper...

and the neighbors laughed as they saw her streaking across the back yard to get into the tub.

Wow...

What a day.

Better late than never...

Easter!

 Every year, Adam’s work has an Easter egg hunt for the workers and resident families of the Care Center. The floor is so covered with real boiled eggs that it is almost impossible to walk without stepping on an egg or candy. They send the littlest kids down one hallway and the older kids down another so no one gets trampled. The little kids go around and get eggs and candy from the residents, too. It is fun for everyone.

We took Taylor this year and she had a blast picking up eggs and meeting the Easter Bunny. We went to the free matinee (HOP) and then played at the park. The next morning she went on an egg hunt in the living room and was thrilled to see she has her own gloves, shovel and rake for the garden this year. Grandma and Grandpa Bench came up a little later and “found” some Easter candy outside that the Bunny left for Taylor. She had fun running around in the grass finding all of the candy. Then we went on a walk to the park and played for a while before heading home.

We had a nice day… and got waaaaaay too much candy.

"I can do it MYSELF!"

Meet Taylor "I can do it MYSELF" Bench!

She takes her clothes off at will. She tries to flush whole toilet paper rolls down the toilet. She can do everything by HERSELF, thank you very much. But she is also entering such a fun stage. She recognizes and can sing most of the words to her favorite songs: Spongebob Squarepants, I Love to See the Temple; Hakuna Matata, I am a Child of God, 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed. She is so funny and so dang smart. She says her own prayers. She prays every night for her food, the bathrooms on the airplanes... (she is excited about our trip to KS) and for her grandma and grandpa and nana and grandpa. Everything else is sketchy.

Here are some common phrases lately around our house.

"I got it." (When Mom says, "don't do such and such... you got it?)

"Mom, I can hold MY OWN hand, so I don't get lost."

"But Mom... what I gonna do?!" (insert hysterical tears)

"Do you HEAR me?"

"Mom... I SO PROUD of you for going potty! Now you get CANDY!"

"That's AMAZING/BEAUTIFUL/SO NEAT!"

"You made a mess. Now you got to stand in the corner. RIGHT NOW."

"GOOD MORNING MOM! I can get up now?"

"Where did the sun go? Just behind the cloud? It will be right back?"

"COME ON ASPEN YOU CAN DO IT!"

"It's getting LATE!"

"I want a shower by MYSELF! GO AWAY MOM!"

You crazy girl. Good thing we love you .

The Butter Girl

This little girl loves BUTTER.

It doesn't matter what we are eating, she will ask to have butter on it, then salt and pepper, then ketchup. The other day she went down to go to the bathroom... and didn't come back for a long time. When I went down to check on her... this is what I found:

She had pushed the chair from the table up to the counter, got a cube of butter, ate half of it, and then started to "draw my name" with butter all over the counter. She was pretty proud of herself. What a crazy kid.