FUN AT THE PARK!!!

This afternoon we went to the park to play!

One of Kyle's favorite things to do at the park thees days is to climb up the slide. He says he is climbing the mountain!

Kenzie climbs up the jungle gym now too!

She made it all the way to the top without any help at all!!!

Kyle is such a sweet boy! All of a sudden he stopped playing for a minute, walked over to where I was standing, and gave me a kiss!

This is Aaron's friend Steve from our ward. Kyle had lots of fun playing with his new friend!!! He had Kyle laughing hysterically!!!

Kenzie loved going down the slide!

They also had lots of fun when Kyle decided that he wanted to push Kenzie in the swing. Unfortunately for him he kept getting too close to the swing and getting knocked down. He's a tough guy though, and he kept getting right back up!

Then Daddy helped Kyle climb on the ladder between the rock walls. Kyle was a little scared, but he was a brave boy!

Meanwhile, Kenzie tried to climb up a slide.

Apparently Kyle has gotten braver than we thought because the next thing we knew, he was climbing the ladder all by himself!

Then to our disbelief, and horror, he jumped off of the very top!

Once he landed on the ground, he sat there for a second and then remembered, "Oh yeah, I am supposed to cry now" So thats what he did.

We checked him over, and he seamed to be just fine, and we knew that he was when he ran right back off to go start playing again.

Here are Aaron and Steve just hanging out.

Unfortunately, Steve's wife wasn't feeling well, so she wasn't able to come to the park with us. So, while the guys hung around and mostly talked about video games, I took the kids over to play with the little rocking toys.

We had lots of fun at the park, and the kids DID NOT want to leave, but it was getting cold, and he hadn't eaten dinner yet, so he had to go. We will go back again very soon though!!!

BRUSH, BRUSH, BRUSH

Our kids think that brushing their teeth is the funnest thing in the world!

They were in desperate need of new tooth brushes, so this past week we got them some new ones. They are so cute! They are Crayola crayons, Kyles is blue, and Kenzie's is pink. They are my favorite little kid toothbrushes that we have gotten them so far because they have little suction cups on the bottom, so they will just stand up on the counter all by themselves!

Well, Kyle went into the bathroom after brushing his teeth, and I told him that I would be right there to help him clean his toothbrush as soon as I got Kenzie out of her highchair.

When I got in there, he had already decided to clean it by himself......... in the toilet.

I guess we will be buying another new toothbrush now. (sigh)

HOW WE SPENT OUR VALENTINES DAY!

We had a fun Valentines Day!

Here are some pictures of the kids that I took while they were looking at their Valentines presents.

Kyle got a stuffed dog with a heart in it's mouth, and a chocolate frog with a gummy bug inside, and Mackenzie got a red teddy bear, and a chocolate apple with a gummy worm inside. They loved them!

After Kyle finished his candy this is the conversation that we had (more than once)

Kyle: Mom can I have some more presents?

Me: I'm sorry Kyle but thats all the presents for today.

Kyle: Oh Come on Mom!

A little while later, Aaron came home from work and he had a teddy bear, a big chocolate heart, and two chocolate roses for me! It was so sweet.

My mom and sister then came to pick me us so that I could go and get a gift for Aaron. They came to out door with a small bag of cheeto's and Veggietales fruit snacks for each of the kids! They loved them! They also brought a box of Whoppers for Aaron and I to share!

We then headed off to CVS Pharmacy where I picked out a stuffed animal and a heart shaped box of chocolates for my sweet husband!

I do have to admit one thing though. For the past several months I have been doing really well as far as not eating too many sweets goes. Well today I ruined all of that. I have had A TON OF SUGAR (mainly chocolate) and I still want more! It will all be okay again soon enough though. I am allowed one day to splurge right?

WE LOVE DUCK TAPE!

Mackenzie has recently decided that it is fun to take her diaper off. It is only mildly annoying, I mean, I have gone through this stage with Kyle before, so it's not really anything new.

Well, I was telling my mom about it the other day, and she said "Duck Tape"

Today was the first time Kenzie has tried it again since that conversation with my mom, so we tried it. First we tried just putting the tape over the Velcro, but she ripped it off before we had even put the tape on the other side of the diaper. We ended up having to put the tape all the way around the diaper. It wasn't very fashionable, but she left it on. We haven't had to tape any more diapers after this one so maybe she is over it. Yeah I know she's probably not, but I can wish cant I?

GOING CAMPING!

Kyle and Mackenzie received the cutest little sleeping bags for Christmas! They each come in their own little backpack, and have a matching flash light, and watter bottle.

Since we won't be going camping for a few months (If we do get to go this year) I put the sleeping bags in the top of the kids closet so that I will know where they are when I need them.

Yesterday Kyle got bored and climbed up so that he could reach the top shelf of his closet. The next thing I knew, he was wearing the sleeping bag on his back, and was "I go camping" over and over again! He also got Kenzie's down for her, and they walked around the house for hours "going camping"

Since our kids have never actually been camping, they don't actually know what camping is. I really hope that we are able to go this summer when my whole family goes, I think the kids would LOVE it!!!

SLEEPY TIME

On Sunday night, when I was just getting ready to head to bed, Kenzie started crying. So, I got her a fresh sippy cup full of milk, and tried to put her back down, but she just did NOT want to be in her bed! So, I picked her up, and carried her out to the recliner. She still wanted nothing to do with her milk, and she immediately cuddled herself up to me, laid her head on my shoulder, and just stayed there. It took her an hour to fall asleep, but I didn't mind. I love cuddling with my sweet baby girl!!!

SUNDAY

We have been unable to go to church for the past 2 weeks because the kids have been sick, so I was very happy that we were finally able to go today! I was a little worried about how Kyle would handle Sunbeems because we had just gotten him used to it before he and Kenzie got their colds. So, I was very happy when I walked him to the row where his class sits in singing time, and he picked out a chair in the middle of the row, and sat quietly.

I knew it had been too easy though.

His teachers had not gotten there yet, so I decided to stand outside the Primary room door where he couldn't see me until they got there, and sure enough, he started screaming. I wasn't really that surprised though because he had been out of his route en for two weeks. I was deciding weather to go and sit with him until his teachers showed up, but then a member of the Primary Presidency went over to sit with him, so I gathered up Mackenzie in one arm, and my diaper bag in the other, and headed off to Gospel Doctrine.

Class had just gotten under way when Mackenzie decided that all she wanted to do was talk, so I took her out into the hall. We then spent almost an entire hour walking around the church. I was getting board, so I headed toward the Primary room, and was mildly surprised that I could still hear Kyle. So, I peeked in the open door, and had a really hard time not laughing. Kyle was trying to get away from one of his teachers, and all I could see was Kyle's head bobbing up and down over the top of the little chairs as he tried to fight the one of his teachers who was trying to cary him back to his seat because it was the middle of singing time, and ofcorse Kyle's class is in the front row. I guess he settled down though because when Aaron picked him up from class they said that he was really good.

Dur ring my almost hour of wandering, I also got curious, to see which Nursery Kenzie will be in (Our ward has 2) so, I found the door that had Kenzie's name on the list, and saw that she will be going to Nursery on April 19th!!! I already knew that, but there was just something so exciting about seeing it in writing! We are almost there! I have always been able to go to Relief Society because Aaron always takes her during that time since I have a calling there, but soon I will be able to go to Gospel Doctrine too! However, Sacrament Meeting will still be quite another story for who knows how long. I usually spend most of that in the Mother's lounge.

At this point in our life, we go to church strictly because that is where Heavenly Father wants us to be, and to set the right example for our kids. (I know that every couple with young kids goes through this, I see many going through it right along with us) I spend most of the first and second hours walking the halls, and Aaron spends the third hour that way. But I know that we will be blessed for being there even though we don't always get to hear all of the lessons being taught. And I know that soon enough the day will come when our kids will be old enough to (sort of) sit quietly enough that we will be able hear the lessons again. We will just be patient and wait for that day to come.

HAIR CUTS

We went over to my mom's house yesterday so that she could cut Aaron, Kyle, and Mackenzie's hair. Kyle, who used to throw quite a fit when getting a haircut, was a VERY GOOD BOY!!! He sat very still for Grandma, and giggled a lot when the clippers tickled him. It was so cute!

Mackenzie only needed her bangs trimmed, but she wasen't exactly thrilled about the whole thing. So atleast for now her bangs are out of her eyes. My mom will probably have to touch it a little another day.

POTTY TRAINING UPDATE!!!

This afternoon, Kyle all of a sudden decided that he wanted to go potty! At first I would have to go in there with him, he eventually went by himself. He wanted to go again about every 30 seconds (I'm not even exaggerating about that) But by the time he went to bed tongint, he was going to the bathroom all by himself! We are going to have a long next few days ahead of us, but it is so worth it because we are going to save so much money on pullups!!!

Also, every time that Kyle would go into the bathroom, Kenzie would follow him in, and say "potty" So, I decided Why not try, AND SHE WENT!!! Who knows, we may be saving LOTS of money soon!!!

YUMMY CAKE!

Yesterday Aaron was asked to work some overtime on his day off. As a thank you from his boss, he received some play money that is valid in the hospital cafeteria. So, he bought 3 pieces of chocolate cake. One for me, and one for each of the kids.

After dinner, we gave the kids their cake, and they loved it! As you can tell for m the pictures above, Kyle ended up much cleaner than Kenzie did.

MONKEY BUISNESS

Mackenzie is our little monkey!I know that all kids like to climb, but she takes it to an extreme! Her new favorite place to hang out is on the back of the couch, banging on the wall. This would be fine with me except for the fact that on the other side of this wall is out bedroom, and she usually does it while Daddy is sleeping.

I have also caught her climbing on top of the kitchen table, climbing up to play with things on top of the entertainment center, I have found her standing on top of the computer disk which is only big enough to hold the computer, and so many other places that I can't even think of them all! And if she can't find a way to get up to where she wants to be, then she will find something that she can push over there to use as a step! And she is resistant!!! No matter how many times we take her down from somewhere that she shouldn't be, she just keeps on climbing right back up! I think it is adorable! :)

POTTY TRAINING

I have been working with Kyle on the whole potty training thing since shortly after he turned 2 years old, and I have come to the conclusion that I would much rather change diapers for the rest of my life than work on potty training a boy who is just not interested in it!


Both of our mom's saw the trouble that I was having with the whole potty training thing, and they both gave me lots of advice which I was very grateful for, but Kyle just was not interested!!!


This past Christmas my mom gave this DVD to the kids as a gift!
And it seems to be working!!! We watch this movie all the time, and Kyle really does seem to be interested now! I just have to tell him that if he goes potty in the potty he will be cool like Elmo :) Now, he even sometimes tells me when he has to go! He still has a long way to go, but now I have hope that he actually will be potty trained someday !


This movie has had other benefits too! One of Kenzie's new favorite words is "potty" I think I will probable introduce her to the potty soon too! I know she is not really old enough, maybe it will help me when she is old enough. I hear that girls are much easier to potty train than boys, I really hope that this is true!

BABY BEAUTY SHOP

Aunt Kimber decided that she wanted to paint Kenzie's toenails. So, she came over yesterday, sat her in the highchair, and did it! Kenzie was pretty still through the whole thing, and now I can even get her to point at her toes and say "pretty"!

SuCH A CUTE LITTLE MESSY FACE!

Yesterday Aaron's mom came over to visit! The kids had so much fun seeing Grandma! And the had even more fun getting to go shopping with her! At the end of the day, Kyle talked Grandma into buying him doughnuts!

Once we got home, and Grandma headed back to her house, we gave each of the kids a doughnut! They loved them!

When Kenzie was almost finished with hers, I looked over, and saw the cutest little mess, and we just had to take a couple of pictures!

FUN IN THE SNOW!!!

This past weekend my sister Kimber and her husband David went up to Northern AZ to visit David's mom. On their way back home, Kimber called me and asked me if it would be ok with me if they brought some snow home to show our kids. I said sure!


A few hours later, they arrived with a huge plastic tote full of snow!!!

Kyle and Mackenzie had never seen snow before, and they LOVED it!!!

Uncle David helped them build a tiny little snowman
Kenzie wearing Aunt Kimber's snow hat

Uncle David and Kyle with the finished Frosty!

Uncle David and Kenzie with Frosty!

Kyle had lots of fun throwing hand fulls of snow over the railing of our balcony!

Pretty soon, it was time for Kimber and David to go home, and time for my two little snow monsters to go to sleep. We left Frosty out on the balcony and I hoped that he wouldn't completely melt by the time the kids woke up in the morning.

I was happy the next morning when I looked out the window and found that he was still there only a little smaller. So I quickly got the kids dressed, and we went out to play with our tiny little Frosty!

Kyle was very happy that his little snowman was still there!

Kenzie had lots of fun just running around the balcony!

She also kept making her big brother mad by taking his snowman apart, and trying to eat the snowballs!

The kids had so much fun with the snow! I think that next winter we will have to try to take them somewhere to play in the snow! I think they will love it!