A Field Trip to the Fire Station

Liam's preschool had field trips two days in a row ... the first of the two was to Chick-fil-a. haha The kids toured the kitchen, messed around with each other while the store manager tried to share facts about their business and food with them, and let them all pull the lever to make their very own ice cream cones. I'll let you take a guess of which one of those things was their favorite part. ;) Now that tour may sound pretty brief but in actuality it totaled about an hour and a half of standing around and by the end of it I was certain my arms were going to fall off from packing Lyla. haha Luckily it was followed by lunch in her own highchair where my bribe of getting Liam to actually try a chicken nugget worked and he LIKED IT!! Such a win for me! The kids ran around the play place and then I happily welcomed quiet time the moment we got home. ;)

The very next day he had another field trip to the fire station! The firefighters on duty were GREAT with kids, making them all laugh, sing, and dance as they toured their weight room, living room, kitchen, and bedrooms in a single file line. They saved the best part for last, the fire truck! I loved that Liam wanted to hug his sister for this picture ...

They all got to sit in the back of the fire truck (Liam was a little disappointed it wasn't the driver seat like his 3rd birthday) but they all got a fire hat to take home and had their first simulation experience of "stop, drop, and roll!" Imagine about 15 kids trying to roll OVER THE TOP of each other and you have a pretty perfect picture of what that moment really looked like. haha

Such a cute class with the sweetest teacher around! 

February

I realized after adding these pictures that I should have titled this the "ya ya saga" with the one single picture I have of Liam in it (haha) ... he just moves even faster than she does. ;)

I'm realizing parenthood is this liberating yet terrifying experience as your child masters new things. Packing that girl up and down two flights of stairs multiple times a day is a work out but she's been practicing scaling them on her own and it is beyond liberating on my back but I think my heart stops in the process every time. haha

How cute is that little climber though?! So proud of herself!

Baths are my favorite thing in the world so I'm trying to teach her young. They are also the most fun pass time during the winter months so this was our girl's night while the boys played legos ...

Don't ask me why but I keep my ribbon box in the play room (usually high enough so it is out of reach) but I got lazy after having to get it down so many times during the holidays that I forgot I left it where she could find it. She spent a good 30 minutes draping herself in every single one of those ribbons ...

 Liam is my wildly creative one ... he asked me the other day if he could borrow my corn on the cob holders and created this Rusty Rivets (a character from a tv show he likes) and it is spot on! He's going places with these talents some day!

These two spend a lot of their Sundays together and I couldn't be more thankful to have Nic help me carry the load after a long week ... 

One of my favorite things Liam used to do when he was her age and now she does it too!!! Runs with her hands behind her back! :) I love it so much!!

Breaking all the hearts with that chocolatey grin! 

Her hair is getting so long. <3 ...="" adore="" against="" at="" curls="" drying="" end="" from="" her="" i="" it="" p="" shoulders="" the="" way="">

The only possible way for me to finish getting ready in the morning is to let her absolutely trash my bathroom. She dumped a basket that happened to be filled with bandaids, nail polish remover wipes, and q tips! I look down, and see my very own alien baby! haha

Trying on daddy's shoes and waving to me ...

When you're making pretend dinner and accidentally sit on the velcro food ...

Having Lyla take a bottle after she weaned from nursing has been just as soothing of an experience for me as it has been for her. I know this stage too is needing to draw to a close and it is one more thing that makes her a little less of a baby. I had to capture this moment the other day so I could always look back on it and remember what she looked like while holding her own bottle in my arms ... because I know I definitely won't forget the feeling.  

Valentine's Day 2019

I've always loved Valentine's Day! I remember when I was a little girl, my mom used to surprise us with some type of chocolate and a new movie. All the good movies that went to the theatre in November right before Christmas time would be released on DVD right before Valentine's Day and it was so fun having something new to watch together. A couple of my favorite years being Princess Diaries and The Notebook! haha I think I've seen both at least hundred times. 

Now I can say, it is even more fun to surprise a husband and two kids on Valetnine's Day! Liam's class celebrated the day before and he could not hide his grin when he carried in his gift for Mrs. Amber. It was adorable to watch! When she told him she'd open it at the end of class, he carefully tucked it in his backpack and waited to give it to her. When I picked him, she had just barely opened it and was absolutely gushing over the book he gave her called Love Monster. I could have hugged her right then and there because it made his whole day and helped him to experience the joy in giving!

In the weeks leading up to it, I took these adorable pictures for special books we made together for their grandparents and Liam's little best friend in Pocatello, Hadley.

The faces they gave me as their goofy dad rolled around on the kitchen floor were priceless! ;)

Cutie pie!!!

We don't love to go out on Valentine's Day, we'd rather spend it at home away from the craze and with our kids but my mom did give us a special night to celebrate it a couple days before the actual holiday. Our second time having dessert at the Melting Pot and my mouth still waters just thinking about it!!!

Nic had to work on Valentine's Day so he did miss the morning with the kids but we got to have lunch with him at his office which is our favorite! I had them close their eyes and handed them their Valentine's Day mailboxes full of goodies that kept them busy and sugar filled all morning long. haha We did do a fun scavenger hunt for one of their surprises in the evening that Nic got to be home for!

Lyla loves carrying things around right now and dressing up so she got this little heart shaped purse with her first pair of plastic dress up heals. ;) She traipses around the house in the those things all day long and always wants me to stuff her purse with snacks. haha

Their Papa and Grandma Dee sent them the sweetest package in the mail that had these gigantic chocolate hearts filled with caramel and personalized with their names on them. They were a hit!

Liam got these glasses as a Valentine from one of his preschool friends, such a smarty pants. :)

Finally daddy came home to spend the evening with us and he came baring our favorite tradition of Papa Murphy's heart shaped pizza for dinner! Lyla was greeted with the sweetest kiss on the cheek and I was handed that beautiful bouquet of roses, such lucky girls!

Lyla girl helped me make brownies for dessert and didn't complain one bit when I asked her to help me lick the spoon. ;)

Hence the signing for "MORE!" haha

Nic surprised me with a bluetooth speaker which has been so much fun! I love that I can blast it in the kitchen from 4-5 while I prep dinner or take it outside with us without worrying about my phone! We broke it in with a few slow dances to Dan & Shay's Speechless.

Guys can be so hard to find a gift for on Valentine's Day but I had the idea in the back of my mind that we are in this new big city now with so many things we've never tried before and so I took advantage of that with my gift and gave him 5 date cards straight from the bachelor. ;) Our first one was that very next Saturday. Edie sweetly came over at the crack of dawn to spend the morning with these two ...

And Nic and I tried an aerial yoga class! It was SO MUCH FUN!! We both loved it! I couldn't believe what a great sport Nic was about it for being the only guy in the class and how limber he was! haha It was so much more difficult of a work out than I even expected but we both giggled at each other and really had fun trying something new. Our favorite part was laying in those ropes like a hammock at the end with the lights dimmed, candles all around, and the teacher sharing words of affirmation! NAMASTE!

I basically gave him a date card a month through June with a clue he has to decipher on one side and what to wear on the other. Our next date is tomorrow night and we are taking a waltzing dance class! I can't wait!!

I feel so lucky to live a life filled with love in so many ways! 

You're Worth Melting For

February brought one more snowy day and the best part about it was, it was on a Saturday! Nic's commute worries me with snowy roads and we were so happy to have him home to play in it with us!

With that bulky snow suit covering her hands, it was tough for her to pick up anything or do much in the snow but she loved pushing around her favorite car ...

We even brought out the sand shovels and Liam filled the sled with snow! I adore his smile in this picture ...

We have a fairly steep entrance to our neighborhood and I suggested we try it as a sledding hill but it didn't work out so well. haha Nic had to push Liam down the entire slope and Lyla was not happy to be in the direct wind while we watched them. We scrapped that plan and headed back for home.

I could watch these two together all day! When she smiles, he smiles and she kept hooting (her favorite sound) and pointing at/showing him the snowflakes as they fell from the sky ...

There was a whole lot of tripping and scowling as her face got covered in snow! haha

But she loved being carried around and tossed in the air by her daddy!

I still had my Christmas sled on my front porch in February but it kind of made the perfect seat in the snow! ;)

One of the many things I love about Nic is how he serves. Whenever it snows he is always shoveling everyone's driveway and I'm so thankful for his incredible example for our kids as they watch or help along with him!

My tiniest little eskimo! I could kiss that red nose all day long!

Daddy kept tossing shovels full of snow at her feet and she couldn't stop giggling!

 I  Someone had the grand idea of telling Liam she would build him an igloo he could play inside of. Number one there was not enough snow for that and number two, I forgot just how long that takes to achieve. haha My arms were killing me after making that tiny little horseshoe so daddy took over and didn't get much further than that. haha Sorry Liam!

She seriously is the cutest snow bunny in the whole world!

There is something so beautiful and magical about snowy days!