Monday, August 16, 2010

the happenings... july :)



Thought I would post some pics from the last couple of months.
Mmm.... shopping cart.

We've been talking about heroes this summer, including fire fighters!!
My friend Abrea recently started a home daycare, and on her son's birthday the fire department came to her house to teach the kids about fire safety. We were ecstatic when they pulled up in their fire truck!


The fire marshal hooked up the hoses and let the kids spray water all over the yard!!
Joshua and Fitzgerald - best buddies!
And Claire... the princess firefighter :)

Wyatt wore this hat for about 5 seconds... a little blurry, but this is the only pic I could get!

With the addition of our sweet little Wyatt, our house is getting...well, a little crowded.
Josh had to move into a cardboard box in the back yard.

Just kidding! It's not that bad... well, it's pretty tight!
We have a very small house, but we love it!
So, we decided to do as they do in Japan and build up!


The kids got bunkbeds!!!
We moved them into the guest room, and Wyatt is now in the crib in the nursery.
Claire gets the bottom bunk, and Joshua the top. We decided on a twin over full, so that when we have guests over, we will still have a guest room with a full bed for our guests to sleep on. The kids will just temporarily relocate. We're also hoping that if anyone falls off of the top bunk they will land on the bottom! So far Claire stays on the bottom unless mom or dad are there with her, so we haven't had any problems... yet!

I'm working on decorating the room. I'll post more pics when it's done :)
A sweet couple in our ward just got married and baptized, and the entire ward pitched in to help throw a beautiful wedding for them. I helped out with the flower arrangements...

and decorated the getaway car!!!




Jason spray painted the pop cans white for me :)
He is a great husband!

This is the front of the car.
Turned out pretty cute :)


And here is a picture Josh took with my phone... I was in the other room and heard Josh laughing. I went in to see what he was laughing at and found Wyatt standing up in his chair!! EEK! He is getting pretty daring!
He likes to climb into his rocking chair.... usually standing!

Here's a pic of Joshua at about 2 months old in this same rocking chair:

Sorry if these pics are not up to standard... they were all taken with our phones, aside from that last one of Joshua.

Have a great night everyone!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Many happenings...

Happy Father's Day to my sweet husband, Jason!!!

I love you sweetheart.
You are an amazing husband and Father.
I couldn't ask for a better man to help me raise up these sweet little souls!


So.... it's been a long time! And I have a lot to talk about I guess.
Here's a brief summary, with pictures :)

We spent Easter with my family up in the Great White North...

The dress Claire wore for Easter is the first article of baby clothing I ever bought... I bought it before Jason and I were even married! It finally fits her :)


Good times.

Then we headed out west for Jason's sister Lindsey's wedding in Rexburg Idaho.

We actually flew into Salt Lake and drove to Idaho, then a few days later drove to Washington for the Othello reception. It was lots of driving and lots of fun!

Just look at this beautiful, happy couple!


Mr. and Mrs. Beutler! Aren't they gorgeous??
Lena and I...

Wyatt isn't in these pictures... it was very cold and he was covered up most of the time, and not very happy.

All of the siblings (plus Nate):
Jason, Kevin, Nate and Lindsey, Whitney, Nathan
The girls' dresses were beautiful.
We stayed up late to finish making their pretty flower hair pieces.
The kids LOVED playing with their Nana, Grandpa, aunts and uncles, and all of their cousins!

...but those pictures will have to wait for another post!!! :)

After the wedding I spent 6 weeks doing shows.... I was in the musical "Oklahoma", and then 2 weekends of dance recitals for 2 different studios. It was crazy, and I'm glad it's over. But it was also fun having the opportunity to perform on pointe in the ballet "An American in Paris"... (my tutu was actually red for the performance). I also performed a tap solo.

Josh was in one of the recitals, and was the only boy in his class, so he got to be Mickey Mouse among a bunch of Minnies. Very cute!

In the dance they would take turns jumping on the "M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E..." and he was supposed to jump up on that last "E", but he would jump up and yell "C!"
He insisted they were saying "C", and if you listen it kind of sounds like that because they slur the S and E together... "M-O-U-essSeeeeeeeeee" :)

Claire is pretty much potty trained, with the exception of an occasional "accident". Arrg.
Still, this is how we did it:

She had #1 down, but was having problems training for #2, so we made this Princess Poo Poo Chart, and it worked!

Kind of like a game board.... moves one space each time, and when she lands on a princess, she got to have that princess toy.... Claire is REALLY into princesses and ballerinas right now.
OH and the question mark at the end of the poo poo chart??
I wasn't entirely sure what that was going to be either.... I just drew too many squares.
We ended up giving her a package of tinkerbell underwear that has been waiting in the closet for her to be "proficient" in the art.


Memorial Day!!! Claire was not being very lady-like for this picture!



We tried to get them to salute.... I think they actually did better last year!




His eyes used to be blue.... :)


This is my lovely Mother!
I'm so glad my Mom could come and play with us so much this month.
She also helped watch Josh and Claire while Jason, Wyatt and I went out west for Grandma Gilbert's funeral.
It was very sad, but also a beautiful ceremony celebrating her amazing life and the legacy of her lovely family.



Wyatt now has 2 teeth on the bottom. He got them both at the same time, just like his big brother! You can't really see them in this picture, but just know they are there, waiting to bite anything in their path!



Wyatt was permitted to stay up past his bedtime and watch the series finale of Lost with us.
He showed his support the best way he could, and even drooled on the remote!


Here are a few pictures from our walk at one of our favorite parks.


Jason saved a turtle that had been caught on a fish hook!
Claire's attempt at a pull-up... couldn't do one to save her life I'm afraid.
Must have inherited that from me... sorry Claire! :)

And now, in no particular order, some random happenings....

Claire is modeling the beautiful handmade sweater from Aunt Lori!
We LOVE it.

My kids LOVE to play dress up... we are gaining a pretty nice collection of random dress-up clothing and accessories.

Claire refuses to wear anything but a dress... and it has to be one that twirls too. She is very particular!
We put her to bed one night in her pj's, just like every other night, and when I went in to check on the kids I found the dresser drawers open and the floor covered in all of her clothes.
She was in bed with a skirt on over her pj's.
She has slept in a dress on top of her pj's every night since!


Wyatt is wearing his "helmet" in this picture.... a leather hat trimmed in lambs wool... helped protect his noggin on our hardwood floors!
He didn't like it and would pull it off. He doesn't really need it anymore, which is good because it's too hot now anyways!
Wyatt is a movin' and a shakin'!
He started crawling when he turned 6 months! By far the quickest of our 3.
A month later he started pulling himself up to stand and walk along stuff, holding on.
It was weird that he didn't start sitting on his own until after he learned to crawl, stand, and walk along furniture.
He can now bend down and pick something up with one hand, then stand back up. And the last couple of days he has stood momentarily on his own for a few seconds after letting go!
He signs milk and says "MMMMM" when he's hungry, and waves "hi" and "bye", will say "hi", but it sounds more like "HA", and says "all done" and signs it, but it's more like "Aww DUH". He also says "mama" and jabbers incoherently the rest of the time.

Slow down!!! You're getting too big little Wyatt!

Josh is great at building lego creations.
He now says that he wants to design and build trains and race cars, instead of drive them.
Sorry Uncle Keith.... :)


Claire loves to play in the rain!

And.....
This beautiful butterfly had an injured leg, and consequently landed and stayed in Claire's hand for quite some time! It was pretty awesome.
It flew away shortly after this.


Josh went to a birthday party where all the kids had to come in fairy or elf costumes.... He was Terrence from "tinkerbell and the lost treasure.." My mom and I came up with this costume pretty much that day.... it's supposed to be an acorn hat and maple leaves for the vest.
Josh thought it was pretty sweet.

I love this little knock-kneed boy :)

And here is a preview for next time... fun on the farm!!!

Stay tuned!!!