Sunday, March 6, 2011

Ode to my family

Well, it's officially been 4 months....time to get in another post.  Since Halloween, we've had thanksgiving, Lyza's first birthday, Christmas, Valentines....lots of snow, many memories made.  That is why i need to post about these things more because i just don't remember and it's so nice to look back and see what we've done.  Abe is funny, he'll log onto the blog and say " I just want to see what we've been up to lately."



Mostly i want to write about my kids, because they are great.  Truly great.  Lyza turned 1 on December 22nd.  This girl has such a sparkling personality.  She can definitely get a little feisty at times, but she is learning how to not let Van push her around.   She's always been our chunky babe, but to our surprise at her 1 year check up she had lost 6 oz and went from 19lbs 9 oz to 19 lbs 3 oz. She began crawling at 10 months and she had thinned out a lot.

It amazes me how fast they learn. Lyza is saying mommy and daddy and puppy and uh-oh and wow and bye and hi....and i love to hear her little voice constantly babbling.  She literally calls every animal 'puppy'.  Abe took them to the aquarium and said she called every fish in that place "puppy".  She is so close to walking.  She has taken 9-10 steps on her own and is getting more confident with it everyday.  She recently learned how to give kisses and loves to share them.  She is definitely Van's biggest fan.  I am just enamored with her and adore her cuddly little sweetness.  She's always been our Lyza Bean, but lately we've been calling her loulou or Lyza lou.  I pray everyday for her health and safety and that i can do the best for her as her mom.



Our crazy little Van is quite the class clown i am told by people from nursery.  One leader recenty told me she called him Van, and he corrected her saying "i'm Vannie"....I thought, he never does that at home when i call  him Van, but we do call him Vannie a lot and started asking him what his name is and he would touch his chest and say "Vannie".  He is coming up on 2 1/5 years in april and weighs around 23 lbs. He is still a runt as we call him, but is finally starting to out grow some of his pants.  I love when he pumps his fists and says 'awesome'....but we have to be careful because he is repeating EVERYTHING we say.  He is aware of so much going on around him.  It is so sweet when he will say prayers.  With all the snow we have gotten lately he has started to love going outside and stomping around in the snow.  He and Abe went outside a few weeks ago and Abe began to build a snowman.  Van was done after about 20 min but Abe had to finish that snowman and it was his best work to date.  I love your big hugs, Van. and when you call me Molly, but especially when you call me, mom.  You make me so happy.

Abe is a great Dad.  Maybe the greatest.  He is definitely more anal than me when it comes to parenting.  I really never worry when he has the kids.  I'm sure he worries a lot more about us- he worries a lot more than me about everything pretty much.  When i'm working people always ask who has my kids and i just tell them i work on my husbands days off and he's got them all day....9 am to 9 pm.  They are pretty impressed he can handle it, and even more impressed he takes them to places like Tracy Aviary, and the Aquarium, and the Hill Airforce museum (which btw is great because it's free and practically no one is there. so if your kids like airplanes it should be on the list).  He goes crazy staying at home all day.  I even come home to clean laundry  and clean dishes occasionally.  Abe is someone who takes a little time getting to know, but once you know him, you can't help but like him.  He is constantly making me laugh.  I love when he and i and the kids are just hanging out having a dance party at home- the kids love to get their groove on.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Halloween!!!

 I love this picture of Van trick-or-treating at my dad's office.  


Van had no problem allowing me to apply guyliner and a mustache and goatee.  Thanks Captain Jack Sparrow for the make-up tips. and Lyza loved being a cute little pumkin.

Our pumpkins at night!  I carved these 3 myself, because for some reason i just felt like we needed to have them for halloween.




And Lyza crawls :)  I have to admit it is pretty cute to see her make her way across the floor in pursuit of whatever she has her sights set on.  She is the best smiler ever.

Why did Halloween seem so long this year?  Why am i complaining...it's the first i've  really had to make an effort in a while.  It was fun getting the kids dressed to go out.  We made trick or treat visits to both  my parents places of business, and to Abe's parents house on Halloween and we definitely brought home way too much candy. Until next year!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Fountain Green


 If you haven't ever been to Fountain Green, Utah you are missing out.  It is about 20 minutes east of Nephi and home of lots of open land and also Maple Canyon.  In September we went down there with Abe's brother's family in search of a deer.  They had a tag to hunt a deer on some private property which turned out to be a field the size of a football field.  But if any deer set it's hooves on that land it was, it was as good as dead.  We arrived to our destination with a little time on our hands until dusk, which was the most likely time the deer would come, so my sister-in-law and I headed into town to find a park or playground of some kind to entertain our kids while our husbands waited out the daylight. Playing in the dirt along side the road near the field was losing it's luster.





 We probably found the best park in the western united states.  It was on it's own block, and was surrounded by grass, and had pavillions and picnic tables right next door.  There was everything at this park to keep wee little ones, and big kids having a great time.  And it wasn't even crowded.


The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and exploring Fountain Green.  We even headed up into Maple Canyon and let the kids climb up the rocks.  If we hadn't stopped Van i'm not sure how far he would have climbed.  He still doesn't quite sense danger.  
This was a nice way to spend half a day.  Unfortunately no deer crossed into the field the boys were staking out.  Lucky deer.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Turning 2!




It was Van's birthday last week.  I am so happy we had a little party because it was so much fun.  He was so excited  just about his cake(which i chose not to make).  Abe had bought it the night before at Costco and Van was with him.  All night he kept wanting to eat "Happy Cake".
So the next morning, his actual birthday, I let him have 'happy cake' for breakfast.  Once he saw it in the fridge that morning there was no convincing him otherwise to eat real food for breakfast.  And i thought- 'sure, it's your birthday.'  (documenting the corner he had previously eaten at breakfast.)

This kid successfully blew out his candles.
Van's cousins were super excited to help him enjoy his birthday.

We had a great time!  We love our Vannie.