Turning Three

 This is our very first experience with making a fort out of kitchen chairs and blankets.  Justin and Daphne loved it!  It was fun for all of us.  Daphne kept walking in and out of it giggling, and Justin wanted all the pillows and stuffed animals inside.  It was super fun.

 Today was Justin's third birthday party. It was great!  However the weather was horrible and not all invited were able to attend do to weather.  Justin was so excited to be there to play that he was almost vibrating by the time that we got in the doors.  We were there right as they opened and because of the snow storm it really wasn't too busy.  It was a great experience.

 Justin's Mommy-made custom designed Mickey Cake.  He was delighted to finally get to blow out the candles and eat his cake.

 What a face.  He had been running around and you can see it in his cheeks.  His smile is so big!  We love you so much little J-man.  We are so glad that you are in our family and that you were sent to us.  You bring such delight to our lives.  HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY!

 Daphne took the chance while Justin was still napping from his party to play with his balloons.  She is such a happy little one.  She loves to play and be loved.

GG Requests...

 I spent some time on the phone with Grandma Hayes the other day, and she commented that I never update my blog, so here it is!  I know that it has been forever, but life is busy with two little ones and attempting to gets some crafts made for shows.  Having fun getting there, but gosh there is oodles to do!  The first set of photos was a few weeks ago the first time that we made tub paint!  My kiddos adored painting the walls, and I was able to let them do it in a controlled environment.  I uploaded the pic of my dear little Daphers and then realized that she was showing a bit much for Mommy's comfort.

 Oh how she loves to pretend chat on the phone.  She wanders the house with her little phone jabbering on just like her Mom.  She loves to have conversations with Nana on the phone, which she begins by saying, "LO?"  Her curly little personality creates great balance in our household.  She is getting her molars and I noticed just today that her first one is through.  Great work Daph!

 Justin is super excited about his upcoming birthday and he loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Netflix.  Sad for Mom and Dad that there is only one episode.  We have seen that 30 minutes over and over...at least a hundred times!  He also is obsessed with Cinderella, and I like to believe that his favorite part is the mice.  However I really think it is the yelling at "Rucifie" and "Cinderella!".

 We made Chocolate Chip Cookies and his first few bites where not on his side.  If you know our J-man then you know that he hates having stuff on his hands, face, and especially  his lips.  It's almost like he is a tiny carbon-copy of Uncle Eric.  As soon as he realized it was on his face he immediately had to get Mom in the bathroom to clean him up.

 Changing Sheets on Mom and Dad's Bed is so much fun!  I get to lay back and relax while Mom does her work.

 I cannot believe that Mom gave me a bowl of homemade strawberry jam for my biscuit tonight!  I am having so much fun making a mess in this sticky situation! Bath-time for this baby! (It was everywhere!)  Justin and Daddy enjoyed their soup and homemade biscuits as well!

10 Months and Mr. J Counts

 Justin is 32 months old or 2 1/2.  Justin is working on his numbers and will count along with me all the way to 15. He is quite the handful and is always wanting to play with his sister, who is not quite big enough yet!  He loves to do puzzles and spend time with his Daddy.  He has discovered the delights of play places when we go eat, he always requests to go to Leo's Place.  However when we go to Leo's, he is not responsible enough yet to stay where he is supposed to.  Like my brothers, he wants to go down and play with the electronic games (they cost money).  He keeps it lively but he can be oh so sweet and we are so glad he is a part of our family.

Daphne is 10 months now and is a little delight.  She loves to play and eat and be held.  She actually says a lot of words for her age, Mama, Dada, and Nana.  She even mimics kitty when I call them.  She is attempting to walk and takes a few more steps all the time.  I took her for a day at the mall shopping and she was great!  Seems like I am going to have a new shopping buddy.  I just love her!

Ready, Set, GO!

Ready...,Set..., GO!  Were my sweet Justin's words as we were happily on our way to Utah.  On the way there I was able to feed Daphne (while she was in her carseat) by sitting my own hi-knee down in the way back.  While I was there I discovered that my our daughter had finally cut her first tooth! Yay Daphers!

     The way there really was delightful and the kiddos were very good.  Once at Thanksgiving point Justin immediately wanted to run.  Our favorite room in the Museum of Ancient Life was one that I couldn't take a picture of because it was too dark.  It was made to be like the heavens full of Stars.  It was dark and there were tiny lights in the walls.  Justin kept going back to that room. He really loved all of the activities that were hands on.  It was the perfect place to take such a busy little fella.  He enjoyed playing with the bones that you could build dinosaurs with (magnetized on a sheet metal wall).  He enjoyed building a dino out of the stuffed dinosaur parts.  But most of all he liked the gift shop.  My silly little boy...sigh.  We take him to a dinosaur museum and does he want to take home a stuffed dino? Absolutely not.  He wanted a stuffed Meercat!  We then went on to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner where there is an indoor play area, like McDonalds, for the little people.  That evening I ran to the VF factory outlet, which was right behind our hotel, and found some screaming deals!  After that very quick shopping trip I took Justin for a swim and then it was off to bed.  We all sorta slept...a two year old in a new place is tough!
     The next morning we got up and headed to Hogle Zoo.  It was pretty fun, but Justin was really tired and the zoo was extremely busy.  Hard on Nate who is not so keen on that large of a social group.  Justin especially seems to enjoy the monkeys and I was able to see my two favorite animals, the giraffes and the camels.
     After the zoo we found a Taco Time and had lunch.  We then went downtown to Temple Square and found that parking was free for the day!  I was really excited about that!  We went into the North Temple Visitor's Center and saw the Christos Statue.  Justin delighted those around us throughout the center as he kept pointing to pictures of Jesus and saying, "Jesus".  I must admit that it was super cute.  Then we went into the tabernacle, walked the grounds, took some pictures and headed for north.
     We stopped in Garland, Nate's old haunt, and went to see an old neighbor of his.  They have two llamas and an alpaca which Justin enjoyed seeing.  Overall it was a great trip.  I am so glad that we were able to go.  I now want to take Justin down at Christmas time to see the lights.  It would be so fun!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

 I cannot believe that it has been four months since my last post!  Seriously this sweet baby is growing so very quickly and I attempt to take pictures everyday, which really makes Nate think that we will have too many pictures.  However I have never heard two things from any parent 1) I spent too much time with my kids 2) I took too many pictures of my kids.  I think that kiddos are always fascinating to watch, and my dear husband knew how much I love to take great pictures so for my March birthday he bought me a digital SLR.  It is a Nikon of course! So I have been clicking away taking literally hundreds of pictures of my beautiful children. Any friends or family that want to have professional quality pictures taken with their own style, give me a call!  I would love to do some more of what I used to do so often!
     Over the last five months Nate and I have really been discussing buying a mini-van so that it would be easier to take the kiddos and other family members with us everywhere we go.  We attempted to take multiple trips with family members in my little Malibu and it was not so comfy.  Discussing it was important!  Weekend before last we had Grandma Thomas babysat for us and we went and test drove every mini-van that we were interested in.  Then Nate found a screaming deal in Ogden, UT and we were able to recruit Grandma Meek into babysitting last Friday so that we could go to Utah and check it out.  We ended up buying it and I have had a super fun week cleaning it up (it was a repo.) and driving it everywhere I went!  It makes me want to take a trip really soon!
     As for our sweet children, they are my little weeds.  They are both growing so very fast.  Justin is 27 months old now and he is full of spunk!  He keeps me running all of the time.  His new love is to spend every second outside, which works for me now that Nate has the fence that he put up in April finished.  It looks so nice and I no longer have to worry where Justin is!  I know that he is stuck in just the backyard and he will be relatively safe.  He really loves his sister and always wants to play with her and get her to laugh.  He is really good at getting her to giggle whenever he comes around.

     Personality, personality, personality!  Gotta love this cute little tongue hanging out, on Nate's side of the family it is known as the Thomas tongue.  Our dear daughter, Daphne, creates such a fun home for us.  She lays back, hangs out, and makes life for Mom very easy!  No colic here.  She sleeps through the night, takes great naps usually while Justin is, and loves to be played with.  What a wonderful blessing she is to our home.  We sincerely love her.