Happy Love Day

Thank you Terry for the best V day ever!



The boys love their balloons and matching pj's


He also got me this vintage Hamilton drawer for my trinkets. It's gorgeous :)

Hope everyone had a great V day!!

My happy place

I've been meaning to do this post for a while. You know those days when you get really stressed or frazzled? And your mind just automatically goes to your happy place? The place where you have great memories and experiences, and you wish you could teleport yourself there for a few minutes a day? This is my happy place.





It's my Grandpa's house. Nothing but good happens here. It's in the country, it's quiet and peaceful. When I go here I am happy. The leaves on the trees make the most beautiful rustling sound when the wind blows. When I was little, I used to sleepover here, and in the morning you can hear the train go by. We always eat the best food here, and have the best conversations. (Plus, Santa always stops by on Christmas Eve!) We lost Grandma 7 years ago this June, and it hasn't quite been the same, but Grandpa is still going strong, and the house is as warm and inviting as ever. I'm so glad I have grandparents that truly lived up to the word "grandparents". You know, the kind that always have cookies and ice cream available at a moments notice? The ones that always had the good cereal that my parents would never buy? The ones that always came to Grandparents Day in elementary school? Those are those grandparents I have, and I love them.

The church across the street

Looking from the church (the house is hidden in the trees)

Random fun

January pretty much sucks, so we've been trying to keep busy playing inside

Went to the Treehouse (they both LOVE the firetruck)

Went to the Living Planet Aquarium; the stingrays were strangely active


The penguins were awesome!!

Nothing like having your sister come and make Sunday dinner
(don't know why that is in bold. Blogger is wonky)


Evan fell in love with his reflection...


and enjoyed some snuggle time

Thomas the Tank Engine rules at our house!


They grow up so fast :(

10 months old!

Evan is 10 months old! Hard to believe he's almost a year old. Where has the time gone?!

Stats:
24 pounds
29 inches long
18.5 head circumference
85% weight 90% height

I'm embarrassed to say that he is just barely sleeping through the night! I finally just let him cry it out, and, well, it worked. (Why didn't I do this 6 months ago?!)

We love you little bunny!!

Merry Merry Christmas

Once again we had a very Merry Christmas. I think we enjoyed watching the boys more than anything.  Deacon still didn’t get the whole Christmas concept, but we’re working on it!

We enjoyed dinner at the Riverwoods after seeing the Carl Bloch art exhibit at BYU on the eve of Christmas Eve

Can’t wait till summer so it can go outside

We’ve replaced the batteries on the cars 3 times already!!

 

So glad my brother and his wife were able to visit from D.C.!

 

See the little baby boy on the left? That’s my stepsister’s son. He died unexpectedly 3 days after Christmas. We are heartbroken :(

 

Pretty sure he loves the gift!

Me and my siblings

Obligatory Santa shot

 

My dad got the best picture of us with his camera, so I asked him to get one with mine…..and this is what we got

 

My Uncle Kevin definitely won the ugly sweater contest!

My dad being his usual self

 

My grandpa has the original chatter phone, and Deacon loves it! Luckily Target is on the ball :)

 

Evan loves whatever this thing is

 

Hope everyone had a good holiday!

Christmas Card

If you didn't get one, here it is! Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

The Latest

Evan turned 9 months old today. This is always such a nostalgic "birthday". He's been on this earth for as long as I was pregnant with him. It seems like such a long time to be pregnant, yet having him here physically has gone by so fast. I guess time flies when you're not nauseous and puking, hmmm?

Evan also gets to celebrate his first Christmas! Again, another milestone I cherish. I almost cried as I hung up his stocking. I told Terry I'm tired of the boys growing so fast! I am already dreading when they start school and leave the "nest" (yes, I'll be the mom sobbing her eyes out at the bus stop)
I got the house nice and festive for the boys, and Evan has already managed to smash an ornament on the floor. Gotta applaud his curiosity!!

He also got his "first" haircut ( he got his actual first one a few months ago, but I didn't have the camera, so let's just pretend). Evan was so good. I think the buzzing of the shears put him in a zen-like trance. Love having a mother-in-law/hairstylist!

Deacon got a "big boy" bed (yes, he's wearing safety glasses. why, ummm cause he's a silly boy.) Terry wanted a fun bed, I wanted a traditional bed, but you can see who won that argument (it's a racecar bed). So far Deacon hasn't been thrilled with it. I'm not sure if we kept him in the crib too long, but he never tried to climb out of it so what was our rush? He keeps wanting to go in the crib, but we haven't let him. It's terrifying/hilarious to hear a loud "thud" in the middle of the night, knowing he's fallen out of the bed. Sometimes he just stays on the floor and other times he gets back up and gets in bed. If I had won the argument, the bed would have siderails....

I'm so in love with these two boys. Life is happier and each day is a blessing, but it's bittersweet without my mom. I miss her so much it hurts. I want to hear her laugh at these two silly kids, I want to see her hug and kiss them. I have so many questions for her. I want to know if I did things as a kid that they do now (was I a good napper? did I like solid foods? did I take my diaper off and run around the house naked?) I hope she can see how I try to be like her with my beautiful sons. Didn’t mean to have a downer ending, but the holidays make me weepy for my mom. This is our 6th Christmas without her and it still sucks. Last year I was pregnant and hormonal and cried all day. Hopefully this year will be better with these two silly boys to make us smile.