Two New Additions

We are pleased to announce the arrival of Kiwi the Parakeet and Hermie the Hermit Crab into our family.

We have terrific family in the ward who were looking for someone to take over the care of their parakeet and crab and we were happy to take them off their hands. Thanks Nuffers!

Kiwi is sweet and gentle, but I can't help being be frustrated with him. He trusts Bryan (who isn't the animal lover of the family) more than me. He even likes Hyrum more than me. You'd think he'd favor the person who feeds him, changes his water, and cleans his cage EVERYDAY- maybe one day he'll wise up to the girl who loves him the most.

Hermie is the new mystery of the family. I've never actually seen him move, but every morning there's evidence of a great party in his cage. Sand and food and cute little tracks everywhere- even physically impossible surfaces. He's gotta be some kind of secret agent/ninja/wonder pet crab. I even creep into the room to spy on him in the middle of the night (yes, the frequent nighttime bathroom breaks and contraction phase of the pregnancy has started) to catch him in action. Still, he just hides in the smiley face shell. I guess this is just another relationship that might take some time develop.

I really enjoy having little dependents around me to feed and care for. Even pruning, clipping, and weeding plants keeps me in high spirits. Maybe the fact that these alive, but non-intelligent organisms can't talk back or throw tantrums is the rationale behind my blissful new hobby.

Easter

We enjoyed a lovely Easter Sunday with beautiful weather and sweet memories.

The kids woke us up with Christmas morning-like excitement. We opened the blinds to reveal how busy the Easter Bunny had been in the back yard. It's so nice to wake up to upbeat kids instead of screams and tantrums. We should have a holiday every day!

We couldn't help but laugh and take a picture of Ivy's attempt to take off her diaper.

My only Easter regret was not making the day more centered around Christ's Resurrection. I found it extremely hard to teach my five year old about the entire event. As soon as I started to describe the story, Hyrum asked questions like, "Will Grandpa come back to life?"- how do you say, "Yes, but later" to a boy who has NO concept of time? What if someone close to him dies and he believes wholeheartedly they'll come back in a few days? On the whole, the beautiful miracle of resurrection is going to have to wait a few years. Now that I'm more prepared, hopefully we'll share some nice stories about Christ's LIFE next year.

Hyrum Says The Cutest Things

Bry accidentally broke Hermie's (the hermit crab) cage and felt really bad about it. Now he's in his smaller, travel cage until we find him a bigger pad. Hyrum noticed and asked me where the big cage was. "Dad accidentally broke it, but he feels bad about it, so don't make him feel worse."

VERY surprisingly, Hyrum responded, "I won't, I think Dad is great."

"Well, go tell him that Hyrum."

So Hyrum went to find his dad and said, "Dad, it's okay that you broke Hermie's cage, I think you're awesome."

I guess next time Hyrum is careless and breaks something I need to be more understanding!

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I receive pregnancy updates every week via email from babycenter, summing up the baby's growth and development for that week. Hyrum loves to look at the animations depicting what his little sis looks like inside of mommy. He asks all types of questions, usually, "What's that?" and I get to explain parts of the baby's or my anatomy. Last time after explaining all about the uterus and placenta he responded, (while scratching his chin) "Hmmm. I didn't know that. That's interesting."

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After I announced to the kids they were getting another sibling, Hyrum had some serious questions: "How did the baby get in your tummy?" "How does the baby eat?" "Is the baby lonely in there?" "Is the baby going to come out of your mouth?" The questions of a five year old are endless, but so, so sweet.

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So Hyrum is OBSESSED with dinosaurs. He’s constantly correcting me on their names and plays all day with the little figurines. He asks me everyday if he can be a Paleontologist. The only problem is he thinks a Paleontologist is like a zoo keeper. No matter what I say he doesn’t believe that dinos are dead and never coming back. “Hyrum, dinosaurs are extinct, that means they are all dead.” “But Mom, Sister Munson said that Jesus puts his hands on their heads and makes them all better.” I’m pretty sure Hyrum’s Primary teacher didn’t mention dinosaurs during a lesson about Jesus healing the sick... at least we know he’s listening!

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"Mom, I'm afraid of that vacuum." "Why Hyrum?" "It's a Transformer!" "You think the vacuum is a Transformer?" "It could be."

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"Mom am I an omnivore?" "Uhh... yeah." "Good Mom! Sounds like a great plan!"

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I experienced the first of thousands of the exact same question recently: "Mom, what's for dinner?" "Pasta" "Ummm... how 'bout fruit snacks?"

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The other night Hyrum complimented his dad by saying, "Dad, you're so cute. I wish you were a little kid."

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Hyrum's really into going "super fast" thanks to the Little Einsteins. He's so proud when he achieves this velocity and proudly proclaims, "I'm the fastest boy I never met."

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I asked Hyrum to give Ivy one of his toys and instead of whining and complaining he said, "Hyrum to the rescue!" Now whenever he avoids helping out I tell him to be a super hero and he can't wait to lend a hand!

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The other day we were watching Robin Hood and at the end when the castle's on fire I chose to make it a learning experience. I asked him, "What we do when we see fire, do we get out as fast as we can?" "Yes," he replied. "We get out a marsh mellow so I can eat it."

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Hyrum and I were discussing the Thanksgiving holiday and I asked him what he is thankful for. He said, "I'm thankful for my mommy... cuz she gives me mommy and daddy and baby sharks." ("What else are you thankful for?") "I'm thankful for helicopters that turn into submarines." So am I Hyrum, so am I.

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Hyrum's favorite question lately is, "Mom, where's my dog?" We obviously don't have a dog, but I would love one. I asked Hyrum what his dog's name is- he quickly replied, "Parasaurus".

Team Roster

Coach Trump

5'8'' 140 lbs.
Wins: 600 Losses: 1,250

Favorite Hobby: Doughnuts

Team Mascot
5'1'' blah blah blah lbs.

Adds merriment and cheerfulness...

when she feels like it.

MVP
3'6'' 38 lbs.
Specializes in charming the other team into submission.

Favorite phrase: "Excuse me..."

The Rookie
2' 6'' 25 lbs.

Keeps the other team at bay by biting their

fingers and laughing at their discomfort.

St. Patty's Day Tricks and Treats

We started our St. Patrick's day celebration making our "Leprechaun trap". With colored rainbows and gold nuggets we were sure to attract the little green guys.

Hyrum came home from preschool to find tiny green footprints leading to a special box. It was filled with a few rainbow treats (try to find an acceptable Leprechaun treat without milk in it!) and bubble swords.

It also contained a note from the Leprechaun himself:

You did not catch me, but I

caught your gold

To show my gratitude I am told

To leave behind treasures you will adore

I gave you some goodies and a little bit more

Drink the magic Leprechaun potion, but do not scream

Your mommie’s toes might turn green!

Here's the magic potion (green Crystal Light)

And here's my green toes.

I totally thought the kids would get a kick out of the little trick, but Hyrum was terrified to sobbing proportions. It took quite a bit of coaxing for him to understand it was a silly trick.

Here's Hyrum checking to see if his toes turned green.

After all that excitement we headed to the zoo.

I love taking advantage of this short time when my kids play along. Since my imagination is sad and shriveled, I'm so glad I can live through them.

Go Away, We're Hibernating

With the cold weather and extreme pregnancy woes, we quickly ran out of exciting activities to keep busy this winter.

j

I vaguely remember my pre-pregnancy life: I remember cramming the kids' days with different experiences to help them learn and just plain have fun. I remember having fun creating outfits for me and the kids and really caring what I looked like. I remember exercising two hours a day and feeling energetic. I remember looking forward to rainy days for a lazy break filled with pjs, books, shows, and relaxing. I remember being super busy, but feeling like my kids were thriving.
j

Nowadays just getting off the couch all day is a real challenge. Expecting a five and two year old to understand how I feel and that it's temporary is difficult. They've been much more clingy and emotional because they're confused and scared. I have the faith that the damage won't be permanent though.

j

Here's some of our cold weather adventures:

Ivy decided to potty train herself. I guess she realized all those long days cooped up at home were the perfect opportunity for potty training. And she was right, she's done wonderfully.

During those first days of training the only way she could stay dry was complete nudity. We played plenty of naked board games that week.

Soon after, she graduated to big girl undies and proudly shows them to everyone.

LONG video game marathons were had.

Thanks to the Walkers for letting us borrow their Wii Games!

I had to share Ivy's cute sweater and leg warmers her Aunt Traci made. So cute!

It's amazing how many hours of entertainment a simple cardboard box with holes cut out can give a tired, sick mama. Thank you cardboard inventors!

Pj days mean no taming the crazy morning hair. This 'do is worthy of the hall of fame.

Another great entertainer is the remote controlled helicopter. The kids begged their dad as soon as he stepped in the door to play with it. They didn't even notice as I crept up the stairs to go to bed.

I'm so lucky to have a healthy family, amazing, supportive hubby, imaginative kids who find ways to have fun with little help from me, and lots of Disney movies to babysit them all.

Girl Name OVERLOAD

Naming a new little person is hard.

Revealing your name to strangers is an important moment. It sums up who you are in one word. Cutsie, fun, tough, beautiful, handsome, romantic, old school, trendy, traditional- it's hard not to judge someone on their name. One thing I've noticed is a confident person can really pull off a unique name. But, what if my children aren't confident? What if they're just weird and their name makes them weirder?

With all this in mind, we have a list of girl names we like. But we can't decide which one and don't know how to make the final cut.

Layla

Lainey

Leah

Paige

Cassidy

Violet

Vera

Lilly

Grace

Joslyn

Macie

Delia

Gloria

Noelle

Joy

Mara

Lena

Maya

Bailey

Lyla

This is the SHORT LIST. So... pretty much we're going to name her Girl or Kid until she's old enough to pick her own dang name.

Snowy Days

We had a CRAZY cold, snowy winter.

It was all fun and games until almost two weeks worth of school was canceled, roads were never plowed, and we were sick of being stuck inside!

We did have a blast making snow caves and snow men, I guess snow isn't THAT bad.

The first thing Ivy said after spotting our beautiful snowman: "Can I kick it?"

Yes, she appreciates great art.

My Guy

Nope, he's not perfect, but he's super close.

l

Bry and I recently celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary and his 28th birthday.

l

We've been together long enough for some major fights, catastrophes, emergencies, meltdowns, sicknesses, deaths, and days where we couldn't stand to be in the same room. But miraculously he still comes home every day with excitement in his eyes- even though he's exhausted and our life is pretty dang boring. He's really something special and I'm a lucky girl.

l

There's so little time he gets to spend with us, so he likes to leave notes before he leaves early in the morning to remind us of his love.

l

Here's two examples of their hilarity:

(yes, he's going to kill me for sharing these)

"Roses R' Red

Violets R' Blue

I scream sad that I have to leave you.

But don't you fret,

I'll be right back.

Just as surely as cats are black."

l

"Of all the places on earth to go,

I would like to have you know,

there's no place I'd rather be

than, well, anywhere as long as my beautiful family is with me.

Which is why a sorrowful moment

I face each day, when 'goodbye' I have to say.

But what joy comes at the end of the day

when my angel children come running my way.

But that's not the crowning jewel,

you'd better sit on a stool.

For the greatest gift I was given

was my angel wife -Erin."

l

One thing we've discovered in our humble marriage: laughing together heals and strengthens. I'm so, so grateful to have a guy who will laugh with me, even when life is yucky.

Ivy June Turns Two

We had a sweet little family celebration for Ivy's 2nd Birthday.

We ventured to the mall for some dinner and Build-a-Bear bliss. I thought Ivy would totally love picking out her own little friend, but she was still a little too young to understand what was going on.

After the mall we came home for some cake and presents.

I attempted my first Ivy safe cake; (no eggs or milk) it tasted like bread with icing and sprinkles. So the kids loved it and Bry and I choked it down.

Ivy has brought a new dynamic to our family- mostly good and sometimes very... not good. She has a HUGE personality, I'll just put it that way.

Here's her top five phrases:

1. "HYWUM!!!!!" (ear-piercingly screamed)


2. "I can't have it? It has milk in it?" (She's getting used to the fact that almost everything everyone else is eating is off limits- yes, it's heartbreaking)


3. "Can I kick/bite/eat/break it?" (This girl has a giganto destroy impulse I have no idea how to handle. All of our books and toys are taped to unrecognizability.)


4. "I ready to be a good girl!" (I swear she spends half of her life on the naughty chair. For those two minutes she can be heard promising repentance. It takes her about one minute of freedom to find more trouble.)


5. "Mom! There's a ghost in my room." (Umm... I don't know where she got this one from. We spend a lot of time chasing ghosts out of rooms though.)

Even though she tends to complicate things a wee bit, we love her so dang much. She might be a little high maintenance, but she gives the best hugs and kisses we can't live without.