The Tanners

10 months!

2012-01-29T20:23:00.005-07:00

Okay so I missed a few months, and a lot has happened with our Ryan! He now has his two bottom teeth! They came in about a month ago and we are waiting for some more to follow. He wasn't too upset when they came in but he did get a pretty bad rash which looked very painful but he survived.
He is also full on crawling! He never scooted or really rolled around much but once he figured out how to crawl he was off! Before he even learned how to crawl he was pulling himself up on everything so when he put the two together, he was one excited boy!
He loves to point at things. He doesnt wave good-bye he just points. When he wants someone or something he points or reaches like in the above picture. He is also a very good grunter and can help us figure out what he wants through his points and grunts. If I even walk in the kitchen with him he starts going crazy pointing and grunting at all the food that he wants to eat. Speaking of food- he is a very good eater. He will eat just about anything but I have noticed he doesnt eat a lot. I think he just likes to eat little bits of food all day long. His favorites so far seem to be bananas, strawberries, cheerios, bread and applesauce but the only thing he has ever actually spit out and not eaten are peas. He still nurses but really only a few times a day. I think he will be pretty easy to wean (hopefully).

He still loves his sisters and they love him. When he wakes up in the morning and the girls hear him they will stop whatever they are doing and run to him and cover him with kisses and he loves it. He will laugh and try and pull their hair. He is a very silly boy and loves to play games and make you laugh. He will randomly start spitting and then look at you to see if you are laughing and then just keep going laughing in between each spit.

He is also much more adventurous then the girls were. He will pull himself up to something and then just let go or he will dive to reach something just hoping he makes it. I can see a lot of trips to the doctor in his future. He is also standing by himself for longer periods of time. Tonight he stood there for almost a minute. I am sure he will be walking before his first birthday!

And finally, (most importantly to me) he is finally doing much better at sleeping! He still struggles with naps but sleeps much better at night. He usually goes to bed around 7 (its so early because he hardly takes any naps all day and is exhausted by about 6) and I usually feed him before I go to bed around 11 and then he sleeps until about 6 am, I feed him and he goes back to bed until about 9 am. I can definitely live with that kind of sleeping schedule. He sure love him and his cute personality and can't wait to see what he has in store for us next month!

10 month stats

22 lbs 70%

29 in 60%

head 17 in 25%

New Years in Driggs

2012-01-08T21:39:00.005-07:00

We spent the week after Christmas playing at home but we were ready to play with cousins so we made the trip to Driggs for New Years weekend. We spent a lot of time playing in the snow, playing games, and we brought our wii so we played lots of video games. It was so fun and I love watching my kids play with their cousins. They have so much fun and it is such a special bond!

The first night all the girls were sleeping in the same room and when we went to check on them they had all fallen asleep on the bean bag. It was so sweet but they looked so uncomfortable. I dont know how they fell asleep! Every night we played wii games. We did a lot of dancing and boxing!Ben would get so into boxing. He was kicking and run around all over. I wouldnt want to mess with him!Bonding over the wii I love this picture. My dad was making everyones favorite blueberry pancakes and all the grandkids had to help! They were defintely made with love!On Sunday we went to church and Lydia just looked so cute and kept going around the house asking everyone how pretty she looked. I had to take some pictures!Ben and Abigale together again!This picture is so sweet!The house is right by a lake and it was pretty warm so the snow was really slushy on top of the water. Jonathan and Brady went out and shoveled away the snow and the next morning the water froze and made a perfect ice skating rink. Claire and Eliza got ice skates for Christmas so it was perfect.All the cousins minus Max :( who we missed sooo much! Such a fun weekend and a great way to start the new year!

Christmas!

2012-01-08T21:06:00.009-07:00

We had such a great Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve at Jonathan's parents and had fun baking, playing basketball, watching football games, and just getting ready for Santa.
The kids getting ready to open their first present of Christmas- Pajamas of course! Lydia, in her new pajamas, put on a show for everyone Christmas Eve night. She did some dances and sang songs- she is quite the performer. Abigale stood on the sideline and helped when Lydia forgot a step or note.Ryan is use to watching his sisters perform. I think Aaron was singing along!After Lydia's performance, we all sang Christmas songs and read the Christmas Story from the scriptures and then watched Elf- favorite Christmas movie!The girls wanted to write thank you notes for Santa to go with his cookies. I love how you can just see the excitement in their faces!Before bed, Grandma and Grandpa read Lydia a Christmas book- it was so sweet!Presents from Santa. Abigale's on the left and Ryans on the floor.The beautiful tree:Jonathan's dad is an amazing painter and the night before Christmas Eve, Abigale asked him if she could paint a picture of baby Jesus. Apparently, he drew the picture but she did most of the painting. I was very impressed and am excited to have the paintings for Christmas every year!They also painted this one!Christmas morning! The girls woke up so excited around 7:00 but unfortunately, Ryan did not sleep much all night and the girls had to wait upstairs for everyone to wake up. It was torture trying to distract them and keep them from running down. Finally, they were released and it was worth the wait!I love this age because it doesnt matter what they get, they are so excited!Lydia got the pink rose she asked for from Santa (thank you dollar section of Target)Aaron got all the guys these awesome shirts- I love Jonathans!Two of Jonathan's presents- gift card to his favorite donut shop and ear plugs (yes, they have been used when a certain baby is crying and he needs sleep!)Abigale made us this plate in preschool and she was so excited for us to open it since the moment she brought it home and put it under the tree. Such a sweet girl!Aunt Laurie gave this to Lydia and it was a hit! Pretty sure she wears it everyday!Even Ryan got some presents!A rocking horse!After opening everything and eating sticky buns and waffles (Yum!) the girls got a few toys out but we decided to head home after lunch so that they could really get everything out without having to re-box it all.All the presents ready to take home.That night we had so much fun as a family. We played our new wii dance games and broke out the new zumba workout. It was awesome! Christmas just gets better and better every year!

Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2011-12-23T15:36:00.012-07:00

So this is going to be a massive post but I want to share all the fun things we have done all month before Christmas Day (in two days)! The girls are with Grandma and Grandpa right now until we join them in the morning- the presents are wrapped, house is clean, and Ryan is sleeping so I am taking advantage of this time.
As soon as we got home from Thanksgiving we got the Chirstmas decorations out. Our tree is so small because we bought it for our basement apartment in Provo our first Christmas together and it is too sentimental to get a new one!Love this guy!And this silly girl!Lydia kept shouting "This is the best Christmas ever!" I love her magical age! So over Thanksgiving my mom and I made this advent calendar. (which Abigale conveniently took a picture of the top half) Everyday they pick an ornament out of the pocket and there is an activity in each pocket as well. It was a lot of fun and a good way to make sure we got all the fun activities in before Christmas.

I took pics of some of the activities:

Have milk and cookies with Santa

The Treehouse Musuem had a fun night where we ate cookies and milk, played at the museum, and then met Santa where the kids asked him questions and then sang with him. It was perfect because the kids didnt wait in line to see him and Lydia didnt get too scared!Attend Abigale's cheerleading performance Abigale attended a cheerleading camp at the local charter school because her friends big sister is a cheerleader. She had so much fun and was so brave to perform at the halftime show. Not sure how I feel about it but I might have a future cheerleader! She keeps asking when she can do it again.Write letters to Santa

The girls wrote letters to Santa and mailed them at the Macy's store. Lydia's letter says: Dear Santa, I want a pink rose. Lots of them. I am thankful for baby Jesus and Mary. Merry Christmas!Abigale asked for a Diego telescope because she had one stolen and wanted a new one. This cute guy did his new favorite thing- pull all the toys out of the bins.Go to Chuck E. Cheese

This is not the most festive but it was cousin Ben's birthday and they flew in for Christmas from Africa and Ben wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese with Abigale. They had so much fun and were there for hours!Silly William!Go to Abigale's dance recital

Abigale kept us busy going to all her performances but we loved it and Lydia cant wait until its her turn. Her class performed the Nutcracker and Abigale went to the Nutcracker in Salt Lake with Nana and her cousins so she was excited.It wasnt our favorite dance because there was not a lot of dancing involved but we were SUPER proud of Abigale for not getting nervous and doing such a great job. Our ballerina!Decorate Cookies Play in the Snow

Luckily it snowed at least one day this month. The girls loved throwing snowballs at the garage door!Have a cousin Christmas Party!

All the cousins were in Utah for a day so we had to get them together and have a party. We had pizza, played games, made a ice cream cone tree, and opened presents.Will and his treeLydia's tree:ElizaClaire flashing the peace sign:Maxers and Caitlin:Getting ready to open presents:These two are always together:Take a ride on the Polar Express

My wonderful friends put together this polar express activity. The kids all wore pajamas and had hot chocolate and cookies. We read the Polar Express while we rode to Woods Cross where Santa was waiting to give out bells. So much fun! Max, Claire, and Ben were able to come with us which made it that much better!Lydia holding her Polar Express ticket The whole group with Santa Have a picnic dinner by the tree

We had dinner by the tree and then had a Christmas dance party. So much fun!Make Gingerbread HousesGo to Temple Square

So fun to get all bundled up and see the lights. It was very crowded but so worth it.

Have a family Christmas Party

Our last night at home before Christmas we got the big air mattress out, had pizza, caramel popcorn, and watched Polar Express and Dreamworks Christmas cartoons. Perfect night.

What a month! It was so much fun and a little crazy! Merry Christmas everyone!

Thanksgiving Week

2011-12-01T20:47:00.007-07:00

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving week! We headed to Boise on Monday after Abigale's school and dance and spent three days there with friends and then spent Thanksgiving and the rest of the weekend in Pocatello with family. It was so perfect to spend time with friends and family but it was a little weird because last Thanksgiving we were living in Boise and went to Utah for the holiday and this year we live in Utah and traveled to Boise. We are happy to say that our house wasn't flooded when we got home this time :).
This guy was happy to be in Boise. We stayed at my parents condo so it was nice to have our own place to sleep but spent the days with our friends. Abigale really wanted to go to Monkey Bizness- a bounce house- and had been talking about it all week so it was one of our first stops.

This is Abigale helping Lydia. They are so cute together. He was having fun. I had to take this picture because I remember taking Lydia's picture on this same toy when she was Ryan's age. It was a little deja vu! One of the many reasons we came to visit was this little sweet girl! She was born in August and we were finally able to meet her. Ashlyn is a miracle baby. At her 20 week ultrasound, Holly found out that her baby had a cleft lip and possibly a cleft palate. It was pretty devastating for Holly and Jace especially because they didnt know how bad it was or what to expect until she was born. Well, when Ashlyn was born her palate was totally fine and she had a minor cleft lip on one side. She has already had her surgery and looks beautiful! She is such a sweet baby!The other main reason for the visit is this girl- Maeley. She is Abigale's best friend and even though they see each other once or twice a year they are still best friends and pick up right where they left off! Love them!While we were in Boise we had to go to dinner with all of our friends (sorry the Forresters couldn't come to dinner but we met up later). We love these guys and when we all get together it is non stop laughter!

I wanted to take pictures of all of us but Jonathan just grabbed the camera and started taking pics so these are some candid shots.Aww The Waltmans!Haha classic JaceFinally a semi-normal picture of the girls- Holly, myself, and Natalie in downtown Boise. The day we left for Pocatello, the guys went golfing and Holly and I got to hang out all day and just talk (our favorite) and we made a yummy dinner for everyone. After dinner we made italian sodas and hot chocoloate for the kids. I am mad this picture is so blurry but it was so cute. All the kiddos with their drinksWe had such a great time in Boise and it was very sad to leave but we were excited to head to Pocatello for Thanksgiving.

Abigale "helping" Papa with the leaves. Carving the turkey Some of the food. Abigale was in charge of decorating the table and you can bet she took it very seriously!Digging in and yes that is my favorite jell-o salad. A must at Thanksgiving.

Apparently, these were the only pictures I took but we had a great weekend. I started a fun advent calendar with my mom (which I am still finishing), we visited my grandparents, did a little shopping (mostly online), and just played and had fun!

Lydia's Birthday!

2011-12-01T20:17:00.006-07:00

Lydia turned 3 on November 6th! She has been waiting for this day all year. Almost every morning Lydia wakes up and says "guess what, mom? Today is my birthday." So I was happy to finally be able to tell her, yes, it is her birthday! After the big rainbow party, my mom and dad stayed the night and gave Lydia and Abigale their presents. They were totally spoiled. They got Lydia a bin full of dress up clothes and fancy shoes. It even had the tangled dress and Tiana dress, which she had been wanting so bad! She was one excited girl!Giving Nana hugs after great presents!

This was Abigale's reaction after she opened her present. I think she was happy! (or on a sugar rush from all party) One silly, happy girl! After opening presents and playing we went to dinner at Zupas (yummy!) and then came back to play some more. Somehow they finally got the girls calmed down long enough to watch something on the Ipad. (It was a busy day)

The next morning was Lydia's birthday! Started the morning right with a pancake shaped as a 3! (such an awesome Dad!)Lydia hates having her hair done so she is always grabbing her hair like this to get it out of her face which is so much easier then just putting a clip in it :)It was then time for the birthday box!We then went to church and came back and had dinner, rainbow jell-o, and some more cake! After cake we got out the air mattress and watched Winnie the Pooh which the girls loved!

Happy Birthday Lydia! You are so full of life and bring so much excitement to our family! Every time I think of you, I picture you in your Tiana dress with your high heels and your beautiful golden hair in your face! You are such a sweet girl and we are so blessed to have you in our family!

Rainbow Birthday Bash!

2011-11-20T09:41:00.006-07:00

Since the the girls' birthdays are a week apart we decided to have a joint birthday party. Abigale got to invite 5 friends and Lydia invited 3. We decided to do a rainbow theme because it is cute and something they could both agree on. It was fun to decorate the house in such bright colors especially since it snowed and was so gloomy outside. Like any party it was a lot of work but also a lot of fun and so worth it. I love my birthday girls!
The decorations: Abigale was able to help quite a bit. She colored rainbows all day and hung them over the house. I gave her a special wall to decorate- maybe you can tell which wall :) Some of the activities- When the girls first got to the house, they decorated their gift bags which had a picture of a rainbow for them to color. They earned prizes throughout the day and used the gift bags to store everything. We then played pin the crown on Ariel because Abigale really wanted Ariel at her party. We also played a few circle games having to do with rainbows of course!

We then took a break and ate some food! We had rainbow jell-o, rainbow cookies, rainbow marshmellow pops, rainbow goldfish crackers, etc. Next it was time for the pinata. The store was out of rainbow pinatas so we got the next best thing- a unicorn! The girls loved hitting it and loved the candy even more! Time for presents (its funny because this is what all of the kids were most excited for): They got some great stuff! Thank you everyone! Time for cakeThey were a little excited!

It took awhile to light all the candles! Of course it had to be a rainbow cake! So fun and worth work!

It was such a great day! Thank you to everyone for coming and for those that helped!

She is 5!

2011-11-13T20:13:00.005-07:00

This little lady turned 5!!! She is such a sweet girl and we are so lucky to have her in our family. She is such a peacemaker and amazing big sister. She knows what Lydia needs before I do and will help her with it. Ryan lights up when she come in the room and she can always get him to giggle!We are so proud of her and the beautiful little girl she is turning into! Now for the celebration! We started the morning off with her favorite happy face pancakes!We decorated the toy room with signs, streamers, and balloons. This is her first walking in:The birthday girl with her birthday crown and ready to eat her pancakeYummy! With the birthday box in the middle ready to be opened!In the first (biggest box) we put one present and I told her it was the best one. It was socks and she just looked at me and said "why is it socks?" It was pretty funny. The second box had a little present (a piggy bank) and all of the cards we made: The card dad made her: She then ran around the house and had to find all of her presents from the clues in the top box. She loved it and loved getting soo many presents. (Most of it is clothes since she grew out of all of her winter clothes. Some of the clothes are from my sister's girls so thank you Kristen!) She did get a little ice cream maker which we have used and loved. Abigale took this picture for me for some reason btu I thought I would document her present :) The birthday girl with her favorite people getting ready to go to church. I love this picture! After church the celebration continued when we went to Grandma and Grandpa Tanners house for dinner and cake. Abigale got so many presents. Look at this big bear Lindsey got for both girls! They love it! Grandma got Abigale a whole set of winter snow clothes. She especially loves this Hello Kitty hat! We call this the Abigale doll from Aunt Laurie because it looks just like her! More wrestling of the big bear! (Good thing we have a big toy room!) Blowing out the candles of the Tinker Bell Cake!Such a pretty cake and one happy birthday girl! Thank you everyone for making the day so special for our special girl! Stay tuned for pics of Lydia's b day and one big party!

Pics of Halloween!

2011-11-08T20:05:00.005-07:00

We had a great Halloween and the girls had plenty of chances to dress up!
It started with the ward trunk or treat- our two little fairies! And our little monkey!

We also went to The Treehouse Museum's halloween "Walk in the Woods". They had characters dressed up throughout the museum and then got a gift bag at the end. The girls love that place and we are lucky to have a season pass so we got as often as we can!

The three little pigs helped Abigale build the arch Abigale at her preschool Halloween Party Abigale and her two buddies Ashlie and SerenaHalloween night! Daddy took the kids for the first part and then brought Ryan home and I took them out with some friends for the last 30 minutes or so. Abigale was so excited to get candy. Lydia barely got out of the stroller. I love this picture! After trick-or-treating the kids came home and we had homemade ice cream (which Abigale made with her new ice cream maker) and apples and carmel dip. We got out the air mattress and watched Shrek Halloween. Silly girls. The funny part was that the girls came home and forgot about their candy. I think they each had one or two pieces and the rest of it we gave away and used at their birthday party (pics on that soon). It was a great holiday and we are ready for Thanksgiving!

7 months!

2011-11-06T10:44:00.002-07:00

Happy 7 months Ryan! He is still our happy cute guy!This is his serious face that he usually only makes when he is tired, otherwise he is smiling!

His hair goes curly when it is wet but is straight when it dries. One of these days I might try some gel in it to keep it curly. I love it! Putting up with his sisters. They are always trying to put hair things in his hair and dress him up! Poor thing but I better get used to it! We went to some friends house to watch the BYU game and had to dress him accordingly! Ryan is still not a very good sleeper. I keep saying if he slept better, he would be the perfect baby! We have started sleep training (which I hate) but he doesnt know how to put himself back to sleep when he wakes up. We have been doing it for over a week and he still cries at least an hour every night. It is hard but I think he is getting better. He also has had a hard time with naps lately. He will sleep in 20 minute spurts and wake up crying. Hopefully it is just a stage and he will figure it all out! The thing is that even though he is not sleeping great he still is a happy guy! He loves most baby food and has recently discovered cheerios- his new love. I love it too because I can feed him one and take a few bites of my own food while he works on chewing it.

Love him!

We love when Uncle Jeff comes to town!

2011-11-06T10:26:00.004-07:00

Uncle Jeff decided to take a weekend break from his long days of being a lawyer in D.C. and head on a fishing trip with my dad in Driggs. He was nice enough to stop by on his way to Driggs and take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese! They were so excited to see him and of course to go to their favorite place. We had so much fun! Thanks again Jeff!

My mom also joined us and took turns holding Ryan. He is a heavy boy! Yummy Chuck E. Cheese pizza! (It actually wasnt as bad as I remembered) This was Abigale's favorite game. Never too early to teach your child how to play slots! Lydia was so brave to go on these rides. A year ago she wouldnt get near them!

Cute kids!

We love Uncle Jeff! Abigale showing off all of her winnings! I told her to get down by her toys and this was her model pose. Kind of gross she is laying on the floor but it was cute!

Classic Lydia pose

St George Family Vacation!

2011-10-26T20:15:00.013-06:00

Jonathan and I had been wanting to go on a family vacation with just our little family for quite awhile to see if we could handle it, so when his grandparents invited us to come stay with them in St. George, we decided it was the perfect time. What made it even more perfect was that both his grandparents live there and that The Little Mermaid was playing at the Tuacahn Theater!

We spent a lot of time sitting on these couches watching movies and just talking with his grandparents. We dont get to see them very often so it was so fun to catch up. We spent every night after the kids went to bad hearing funny stories about Jonathan's parents and learning more about his family that live so far away and that I have never met. They are so sweet and cute! Great-grandma Tanner: the girls LOVED her! Great Grandma and Grandpa TannerGrandpa Tanner has a studio and loves to paint. He gave us a few of his paintings which we love! It was so fun to see him in his element and all of his paintings. I see where Jonathan gets his creative side!We spent a day driving around St. George and went to the temple which was beautiful We went to the Visitors Center and they had some really neat interactive displays. The girls' favorite thing we did was the water park by the St. George Tabernacle. It was perfect for them. It had running streams, waterfalls, rocks to climb, and a big water fountain. Ryan was happy and got a nap in while the girls played so I was happy! Lydia was definitely not scared of getting wet. She would run right down the middle of the huge fountain while Abigale stood on the side and just got her feet a little wet. Love this girl! You can see Lydia in the middle and Abigale on the outside. The day was even more perfect when Dad went and got Happy Meals for the girls and Cafe Rio Salads for us. Yum! They even had a carousel in the park and it was really inexpensive so we rode it a few times. At first Lydia was nervous but by the end she was so proud of herself for riding without crying! Even Ryan loved it. Abigale wanted to take a picture of us. She did pretty good!Ryan getting his feet wet! The reason for the trip (besides visiting family) was The Little Mermaid! The girls were sooo excited and it was such a beautiful outdoor theater- right in the middle of the red rocks. The play was amazing! The had some great special effects that made it look like they were really swimming. They changed the story a little bit from the movie and added a lot more songs. The girls were laughing and giggling the whole time. They even stayed awake and it didnt end until 11! Next year they are doing Aladdin so I think we will be back! Getting ready for the show! Prince Eric and Ariel after the show. We were in line to meet them but the girls got too nervous and were too tired by this point so we just took a picture. They did a great job! On our way out of town we stopped to see Jonathan's other grandparents again. They have a beautiful home, with a beautiful view! They were even nice enough to let us swim in their pool one day. Great grandma and grandpa Taylor! Such a fun vacation! It was so fun to make memories with our kids and hopefully start a new tradition! I think we wore our kids out but it was so worth it!

Birthday/Conference Weekend!

2011-10-13T21:14:00.007-06:00

Since Jonathan's birthday is the third of October, it is always around General Conference, which we love! We had such a fun weekend celebrating and listening to our Prophet and other leaders speak. It is really one of my favorite times of the year! This year started a little crazy. At about 12:30 in the morning a family from Jonathan's mission called and said they were in Provo and wanted to sleep at our house. Jonathan was excited to see them but not too excited about waiting up until 2:30 for them to arrive. But they did arrive and it was great to meet them. When they were leaving before the first session, Lydia ran out to say goodbye and missed a step and landed right on her face on the cement. Her mouth started bleeding really bad and her lip immediately started to swell. Poor girl was in so much pain for the rest of the day and couldn't eat anything. But besides the crazy start to the weekend, it ended up being so much fun!
This is at the beginning of Conference- Abigale liked drawing the men on tv and Jonathan is holding Lydia and putting ice on her mouth. We decided to try something new this year and made these treat bowls. Everytime someone from Conference said one of the words that Abigale wrote down, they got to pick a piece of candy, crackers, apple slice, or whatever was in the cup. Abigale loved it and I think this will be a new tradition!

On Sunday after the first session we drove up to Jonathan's cabin in Park City to meet up with some of his family. The drive was GORGEOUS! I told the girls that it looked like Heavenly Father took a paint brush and painted all the trees and Lydia insisted that she was the one that painted the trees and kept reminding us of what a great job she did! :)

One of my favorite places in the world- The Cabin! I didnt get the for sale sign that is in front because it is too sad :( Jonathan's mom made us a delicious lunch when we got there and we spent the rest of the day playing and relaxing while we listened to the last session. Ryan had a fun time! So did Abigale! And Lydia talked Grandma into watching Tangled with her upstairs- so she had a great time too!

Grandpa and the girls playing Princesses! Such a good grandpa! And Grandma was on baby duty which I dont think she minded! Behind their cabin it goes straight up the mountain and almost to the top they put in a big swing. It is scary but so much fun. I thought there was no way the girls would do it but they both tried it and Abigale loved it and did not want to get off. I even tried it! You can see how far you swing out and you get so high above the ground.

We then headed back to the cabin for some birthday cake!

The next day was Jonathan's real birthday and it started with breakfast in bed and getting Abigale off to school. After school the girls had a dentist appointment (I felt bad scheduling it on his birthday but I also wanted him to go with me to help with the kids and he didnt mind) I am so glad he came because Lydia was so scared. I am sure it has to do with the fact that her mouth was still sore but Jonathan talked her into it and she did great. Abigale was such a big girl. While I was trying to talk Lydia into cooperating, I turned around and Abigale was in the back by herself getting x-rays. Good news- No Cavities and Lydia's front tooth looks like it will be okay after the fall! After the dentist we grabbed lunch and Jonathan said he wanted to do something fun as a family for his birthday so we found a cute little pumpkin patch and picked out the perfect pumpkin.

Cute girls in the hay maze.

After the pumpkin patch, Jonathan went golfing with his dad and brother and had a great time. When he came home we had his favorite dinner (chicken wraps with a special sauce) and opened presents. Abigale with the gift she picked out for dad- a little basketball and some silly string. (Which we had fun with that night) We also started another fun tradition called the birthday box. We filled the bottom box with a present, the middle box with some candy and cards and notes from everyone, and the top little box had clues to where all of his other presents were hidden. It was so much fun to watch the girls run around the house with their dad helping him find his presents! I can't wait to do it on their birthdays!

If you cant tell Abigale is about to get sprayed with silly string. So much fun! Happy Birthday Jonathan! We love you so much and hope you had a great birthday because I know I had fun!

Do they look alike or what?!

2011-10-04T21:27:00.002-06:00

Abigale Anne 6 months

Lydia June 6 monthsRyan Jonathan 6 months

6 Months!

2011-10-04T20:49:00.004-06:00

My little guy is 6 months old! It is sad but so fun at the same time. I love watching his little personality develop and watching him figure out more things about the world. So sweet!Ryan is sitting up all by himself now and loves it. He doesn't roll very much but it's because he loves to sit up and whenever he is laying down he gets mad so he doesnt get very much practice. He is always reaching for things. You cannot put anything near him without him reaching out and grabbing it. I no longer can sit at the computer with him because he falls out of my lap reaching for the keys. His favorite thing to hold is a remote. If it is anywhere near him he will spot it and dive for it. He also loves to bang on things especially peoples faces. Ryan loves to clap and is so proud of himself when he does it. He loves baby food and has eaten everything we have tried including the green vegetables. It always amazes me when he eats the baby food because my girls hated it! Ryan is not the greatest sleeper. In fact, I think he has slept through the night 3 or 4 times. It is weird because he cries quite a bit during the night but in the day he never cries. When he does cry at night, we have to go in re-swaddle him and turn on his music toy and he usually goes back to sleep. During the day he would much rather be playing with his sisters then sleeping but he will eventually hit a wall and he will fall asleep anywhere. He is the sweetest boy and just silly. He loves to laugh and play little games. If anyone starts laughing he will giggle back at them. Today, Abigale started hitting a balloon in the air and he thought it was the funniest thing ever and just started laughing really hard. He loves Abigale and just lights up when she comes in the room. She can get him to laugh harder then anyone. Another thing that is different about Ryan is he will let anyone hold him. My girls would scream if anyone looked at them at this age but Ryan doesnt care who holds him. It has been the biggest relief for me and I hope it doesnt change. He definitely knows me and smiles when I walk in but he is fine playing with anyone. He is still a big boy wearing mostly 9-12 month clothes but is slowing down a little. At the doctor today he was 19 lbs 6 ounces which is the 80th percentile for weight and 75 percentile for height. As the doctor put it, he is now bigger then only 8 out of 10 boys instead of all of the boys!We love this guy so much and are so grateful he is in our family! He brings so much joy and happiness! Happy Half Birthday Ryan!

First Day of Preschool

2011-09-25T21:32:00.002-06:00

I know I am a little behind and everyone has already posted pictures of the first day of school but I think mine are the cutest! :) She was so excited!

Sitting at her table!Lydia saying goodbye to her buddy! She looks like she is crying and she is but because she fell down in the parking lot! Abigale had a lot of fun the first day of school but when I picked her up she kept saying that she was tired. When we got to the car she said she didnt feel good and when I looked at her she was really pale and her lips were really blue. Luckily, I had brought a banana and water for her because I figured she would be hungry and she quickly ate it up. Before I got out of the parking lot she was asleep. I was a little worried about her but I think she was just so excited she didnt get much sleep and wouldnt eat much breakfast and got light headed. From now on, I make sure she gets plenty of food in the morning and packed some snacks in her bag, just in case. Luckily, she didnt let it affect her and she still loves school and takes dance lessons every Monday at her school too!

The night before we had a spa night and did pedicures and manicures. She loved it and I think it will be our new tradition!Beautiful glitter toes and fingers!The week before school started Abigale finished her last class of tumbling. She loved it and got really good but I think it was a little hard on her body so I am glad for now she is sticking with dance. Had to throw this one in. I Love my kids!

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-25T20:51:00.007-06:00

We decided to make one more trip to Driggs for Labor Day weekend before my sister and her family left to go back to Africa. Lucky for us, Caitlin's brother in law was getting married that next weekend so she flew out early so we could spend some more time together! Getting together twice in one summer is a big deal for us! We were just missing my brother :(

We decided to go on a nice long hike and it was beautiful but we had to keep our eyes out for bears since there have been a lot of sightings this year. We had delicious food as always. Jonathan is enjoying "space burgers" off the grill and delicious corn on the cob-his favorite!Brady, the master griller! Everyone enjoying their delicious food and perfect weather. One night Kristen's family decided to go to the drive in theater to watch Spy Kids 4 since it was their last chance to go and Abigale begged to go with them. I was a little hesitant because the movie didnt start until 8:30 and she is normally in bed by 7:30 but I couldnt deny her a fun experience with her cousins so she got to go and had a lot of fun. We paid for it a little bit the next day because she was grumpy and tired but luckily she took a nap.

Here she is getting in her warmest clothes with her cousin Claire.

I love this picture. Abigale was sitting by Ryan and he kept grabbing her hair and she would laugh. Max wanted to get in on it and William (in the background) kept running up and grabbing her hair too! They thought they were pretty funny.I know I have a lot of pictures of these two but they are just so cute together!Papa in heaven. Reading books with his Grandkids!Cant wait for these two to become buddies! Part of the reason we all met in Driggs for Labor Day was so that we could attend the Eastern Idaho State Fair on the way home. I grew up going to this fair and we went last year with the girls so it was fun to go with everyone this time. They loved playing in these little cars. All the cousins minus Ryan and Claire: The best part of any fair is the food of course. Jonathan decided to go crazy and got a hamburger with 2 doughnuts used as the bun. Makes me sick just looking at the picture. He said it was pretty good but he, not surprisingly, felt sick the rest of the day. Not worth it!
He was loving the fair! Abigale was obsessed with seeing all of the animals. She wanted to run up and touch all of them. I dont think I will ever get used to the smell- I am definitely not a farm girl. Abigale and her buddy Aunt Caitlin! Next best thing about the fair- the rides!

They did not love this ride. It was really jerky and they kept hitting their heads. Abigale, who loves rides, was crying to get off of it by the end. You can tell by the picture that they were nervous to start. Such a great trip and an even better way to end the summer. We had so much fun but are ready for the Fall!

Ryan's Blessing . . . Finally!

2011-09-07T20:57:00.006-06:00

I know that Ryan was almost big enough to sit up in a chair or crawl up to the front by the time he got blessed, but we finally did it! It was just so hard in the summer to find a weekend when we were in town and at least his grandparents let alone all his aunts and uncles. Throw a move into the mix and that is why it took us so long! It was actually nice though to do it when he was a little older because he had a little more personality and Jonathan had 5 months to think about what he wanted to say. Plus, he looked really cute in his white shirt and slacks! I wanted to get a tie but we decided we didnt need to make him look any older then he already is!

From what I hear and read, the blessing was amazing, but unfortunately I was unable to hear it! The microphone didnt work and Jonathan must have been talking pretty soft because I could not make out one word. I kept waiting for the blessing to start and thought something was wrong with Ryan so I looked up and could see his mouth moving but couldnt hear anything! I am not going to lie, I was pretty upset. I didnt know what to do- I wanted someone to stop him but he was already half way through and I could see Jonathan getting emotional and I knew there was no way he could start over now. As soon as he sat down, I told him what happened and made him write down everything he could remember saying in the blessing. It was nice to be able to read what was said but I was still pretty upset. About half way through the meeting, I had to take Ryan and feed him. While I was feeding him I said a prayer to help me understand and Heavenly Father quickly helped me feel better and realize the words said were not that important- it was more about the feelings and all of the people that were there that love him so much. Jonathan told me that night that he felt that the blessing was really between Ryan and Heavenly Father and we decided that maybe it just wasnt meant for everyone to hear! The bishopric felt so bad and came over that night and said that they checked everything right before church and it was all working and it worked the rest of the day. We decided we can either be mad about it or just realize there was a reason for it and trust our Heavenly Father. Either way, it is a day and learning experience I won't forget! All of Jonathan's family was able to come except for his younger brother, Craig, who was really sick. My parents came and my sister and her family were nice enough to drive from Driggs.

Jonathan's family: I am so blessed to have married into such an amazing family. It has been so fun to live a little closer so that we can see each other more often. The girls love when we all get together because they are the only grandkids so far so they get lots of love and attention.

My family! Too bad Ry is looking the wrong way! He really wanted to grab those leaves behind us! My sister and her kids stayed the night with us and we had a lot of fun. The kids went crazy in the play room and the adults were actually able to talk a little bit. The next day we went to the mall so they could do some back to school shopping and my sister picked up In-and-Out for lunch! They could only stay for the day but we loved having them!

Claire and Ryan
William decided to get in the picture Thank you everyone for coming! I love you all!

5 Months!

2011-09-01T15:42:00.002-06:00

Look at that face! I just love him! Ryan continues to be a great baby! He can sit up by himself for a few minutes until he tries to reach for something. He can roll over from his stomach to back but doesnt really like it. It always scares him. The last few weeks he has been waking up in the night but we are working on that. I think it is because I have been letting him take naps in his swing and so he has a hard time adjusting to his crib at night. I have started being a lot more strict about naps in the crib which has led to better naps but he still wakes up at night. Who knows? Being a parent is all about guessing and trying everything and then trying to replicate what works, right?He is a happy guy and is always smiling! We finally put batteries in this dog toy that walks and barks. Ryan thought it was the funniest thing ever and really wanted to pet it or eat it. He puts everything in his mouth and is always reaching for toys with both hands. He smacks his lips a lot so I think he thinks he is talking. Instead he just grunts a lot. He obviously still loves to eat. Look at that double chin! He will not take a bottle :( but we will keep working on it. We gave him his first taste of rice cereal and his reaction was about what I thought. The faces he was pulling was pretty funny and he would just let it all dribble out of his mouth. I dont blame him though. I dont really believe that any baby would eat that stuff. We may just wait until next month for the real food.

Love you Mister Ryan!

Strawberry Reservoir

2011-09-01T14:38:00.007-06:00

Jonathan's lovely sister was nice enough to invite us to join them and Aaron and Bri and stay at their cabin and spend the day boating at Strawberry Reservoir. We only went up for one night but we had so much fun and the cabin was awesome! Abigale loved being on the boat, Lydia thought it was kind of scary and preferred hiding under a towel on Bri's lap eating Cheetos (who can blame her?) and Ryan was just chill and good for any adventure we throw at him. He probably took the best nap ever with the rocking of the boat. Jonathan showed everyone up on the wakeboard and had some pretty graceful falls and I enjoyed eating, chatting, playing with the kids and taking in the sun! It was a great day!

Aaron and Abigale getting ready to take off!Laurie, her friends Jaron and Keya, Lydia and Bri

Abigale driving the boat!On the tube! We took one trip as a family on the tube with Abigale on my lap and Lydia on Jonathan's lap. The girls liked it until the boat started to speed up and Lydia started yelling, "Laurie, its too scary, its too scary!"

Love my guys!Brothers! Can you tell? That night we had a yummy dinner and then made a fire to roast some marshmellows!

Dont mind me- I didnt really pack for the mosquitos so Laurie let me borrow some socks to wear with my flip flops and capri pants (Awesome!) and Bri let me borrow her sweatshirt. Still a pretty cute picture!

So cute!

We had some pretty funny moments by the fire!

The Girls!

The guys! I love this picture because I dont know what is scaring Ben, Aaron looks like he is 10, and Jonathan is doing is own thing. The cabin was full of mounted animals which I thought would scare the girls but they thought it was pretty cool. The adults had some pretty funny conversations about them and Ben even snuck a deer head outside and knocked on the window to scare us!

Luckily they had a little toy to keep Ryan entertained and to save our backs. He is getting so big and heavy. We had such a great time and cannot wait to go back again (Christmas?)! Thanks again Laurie and Ben!

My Girls

2011-08-23T21:00:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to do a quick update on my girls. Ryan has been getting monthly updates so it is time to talk a little about Abigale and Lydia.
Abigale

-She is starting preschool in a few weeks and couldnt be more excited. She really wishes that she was going to kindergarten since most of her friends are but with her birthday in October she has to wait another year.

-She loves to learn. She can read short books and loves it when i give her "math" problems

-Abigale has to constantly be entertained. She can watch tv for a few minutes but would rather be playing a game or just following me around.

- She loves having friends over or going to their houses.

- She is so happy that she doesnt have to take naps any more and she thinks the coolest thing ever is when she gets to stay up later then Lydia. This is happening more frequently because since they share a room they will keep each other up for hours playing so we give Lydia time to fall asleep and then send Lydia to bed.

- She loves when we give her responsibility and takes it very seriously.

- She loves Ryan and is really good with him. He just lights up when he sees her.
- If she gets in trouble, she gets very upset and escalates quickly unless you just give her a hug and then she calms right down. It's funny but she loves to be loved. When I give her a hug or tell her I love her she gets so happy. Good reminder to me to do it more often.

- One of her favorite things in the world is to play Mario with dad. The moment he walks in the door she is dragging him to the tv to play.

Lydia

- Lydia is my drama queen or as my dad says a great actress. She is either the cutest thing in the world or the biggest pain :)

- When she is upset or mad there is no talking her out of it. I cannot bribe her or logically talk to her. She has to just calm herself down and have some space and then she is fine.

-She has no volume control. It does not matter where we are she is always loud. Church, library, it doesnt matter she likes to talk loud.

-She loves to be in charge. Whenever we try and play a game she likes to take over and make up new rules and tell us what to do.

- I try and do school time with her but she wont let me because she has to be the teacher.

- She loves to dance and we have many videos to prove it. Whenever she hears music it doesnt matter what she is doing she has to stop and dance. She is really good at getting on tables and shaking her behind. We are so proud :)

- She loves to watch tv and could watch it all day if I would let her. She especially loves Dora and when she is not watching it she pretends like she is Dora and is going on adventures.

- She needs her sleep and still takes a nap every day as long as we are home.

- 90% of the time her hair is in her face. She will not let me do it and if I do she has it pulled out within minutes. She says that she has Tangled hair- as in the movie but it really is tangled!
-She loves Ryan but doesnt know how to show it quite yet. She usually just pokes him or squeezes him. Poor kid!

- If you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up she will either say a Rock and Roll Star or a Fireman girl. (I dont think she knows what either of them actually are but heard about them on Barney but it is still very cute)

- She is obsessed with birthdays. At least 4 times a week she tells me that it is her birthday or sometimes if I am lucky it is my birthday. She likes to tell strangers that it is her birthday too and that she is going to Chucky cheese. If you ask her her birthday she will say November number 6.

- She has a lot of confidence and will tell anyone off. I was a scout leader and had 6 ten year old boys at my house and she walked in and started telling them what to do and got mad when they would not listen to her. A little boy was chasing her and Abigale around the playground and Abigale just ran away from him and ignored him and Lydia said "get out of my way bum bum!" (we are still working on talking nice to others)

That is all I can think of for now. I love my girls very much and want to remember how fun and crazy they are right now.

Fun Times with Cousins

2011-08-23T20:41:00.002-06:00

So at the last minute my parents, well my dad, talked me and my sister into going to Pocatello for the Pioneer Day celebration. So on Saturday morning we decided to go and jumped in the car. It was fun to be with family and the kids of course loved being at the celebration with their cousins. They had a petting zoo, train ride, bounce house, horse races, etc. So much fun! William is my sisters youngest and he loves Ryan. If Ryan is ever laying on the ground he loves to lay on him and give him hugs. Luckily Ryan has two older sisters who do the same thing so he doesnt even notice. Hopefully the love continues when Ryan is the younger cousin following him around. It was a great time and we are so glad we made the trip. I love that we live close enough that we can pretty much see my parents and Jonathan's family anytime we want!

First Haircut!

2011-08-06T20:54:00.006-06:00

While we were in Driggs with my family, they kept giving us a hard time and calling Ryan a girl because of his long hair. I knew that we needed to cut it but I am used to having girls where you can let their hair grow long and not worry about it. I didnt know how to cut a 4 month olds hair but we finally decided it was time and Jonathan broke out his hair cutting skills (he has cut his own hair since before we were married).

We put him in the Bumbo chair and made him a cover out of a sack but soon took it off when he kept putting it in his mouth. You can kind of see how long it is in the back and on the sides.
Look at that mullet! I cant believe we let it get so long! We looks too little to be getting a haircut! Looking good. I decided I didnt want to keep the hair that we cut since I am not a scrapbooker and would eventually just throw it away so I took a picture instead! I think he likes it! and his sisters love him! Laughing . . . to serious! Our little guy is now 4 months old! He is still a sweetheart and we love him to pieces. He can now roll over from his belly to his back and can sit up for a few seconds. He is a strong little guy and loves to stand up. If you lie him on his back he will crunch his stomach and try and sit up. He is still big weighing in at over 17 lbs but last month he was in the 98th percentile and this month only the 95th! Ha! He is a pretty good sleeper. He will go for a week sleeping 10-12 hours straight and then have a few nights in a row of getting up once or twice. (It usually has to with gas and his belly hurting!) He loves to grab things and put them straight to his mouth. It is so fun to watch how fascinated he is when he grabs something and gets his hands to do what he wants! He is such a happy boy and will smile at everyone. He especially gets excited when he thinks you are going to pick him up! I wish I could just hold him all day but when you have three children you do the best you can! Love you little man!

We Survived!

2011-08-06T20:25:00.002-06:00

We have officially moved into our new house!

The move wasnt too painful. A lot of our stuff was still in boxes and it is much easier moving across town then to a different state. We slowly moved stuff over all week and then moved all the big stuff in one day. Well Jonathan's brothers and sisters moved it for us! Our brother in-law has a huge trailer so he offered to come down with all of the siblings to help us move. My mom took the girls for the night and Jonathan and I moved all the big stuff into the front room and some of it outside to make it as easy as possible to load up. Well, we called his sister at about 6:30 and they were still over an hour away and had to stop to get the trailer so Jonathan and I decided to go out to dinner since we were starving. We took our time thinking we had until about 8:00 but when we got home everyone was there and the entire trailer was loaded. I felt so bad but also very happy because I was pretty tired and not looking forward to moving it all! They are awesome! The last few days Jonathan's parents watched the girls so that we could unpack and it was so nice. We got everything unpacked and even all the pictures on the walls! Moving is definitely a joint effort and we feel blessed to have such great support!

While we were really sad to leave our old ward, neighborhood, and house, for some reason Jonathan and I both felt that it was for the best and that everything would be fine and so far I feel pretty good about this new adventure! We are really loving our house. The old one was split level and we got really tired of going up and down stairs everywhere we turned and I was nervous for when Ryan started crawling. I would have had to buy 6 gates to keep him safe! This house is just two levels- upstairs is the master, nursery, living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom and laundry room and downstairs is a huge family room, 3 storage rooms, a bathroom, play room, the girls room and office. We love the layout much better! I was a little nervous about having the girls downstairs but they love it. They are close to the tv and the playroom so they feel like they own the whole basement. The neighborhood seems great too. We live within walking distance to two parks and across the street is a great family with a little girl Abigale's age so she is in heaven. I also love that we still live close to our old friends so we still do playgroups and get together with them!

It's crazy how much life can change in a few weeks and because of one phone call but I think we have made the best of the situation! Hopefully we dont receive any more life changing phone calls any time soon!

4th of July in Driggs

2011-07-21T20:18:00.011-06:00

We had our second annual family reunion in Driggs over the 4th of July weekend. Once again it was so much fun and this year everyone in the family was able to come. That is 9 adults and 8 kids. (Our family keeps getting bigger!) I hope this is a tradition we continue every year because with my family all over the world it is nice to know we will all get together at least once every year! And what a beautiful house and area to get together!
This is Abigale and Ben one year ago: And this year!

Ryan was able to spend a lot of time getting to know his cousins better. They were all so cute with him and Claire and Eliza loved holding him.

The boy cousins (minus Ben). Max and William were so cute and loved to give Ryan and each other hugs. I see a fun future for these boys!My brother is known as the Avatar Uncle because he introduced the kids to Avatar on netflix and last year they loved watching it with him. This picture was taken last year:Obviously they are still into it and their Uncle! We took a fun hike where my sister went earlier and hid prizes for all the kids. It was a long walk but the kids were troopers. Siblings and all the kids (minus Ryan who was sleeping and Ben who ran away before we could take another picture) Cute Lydia during the hike

And Abigale who loves her "wishing plants" and was in heaven when they were everywhere she looked.

Ryan and his tongue

We brought our bikes this year and trailor and had a blast going on bike rides. We even found a way to put Ryans carseat in the trailor and Abigale rode her bike so the whole family could go.

We rode our bikes into town and had a picnic. "Thumbs up for rock and roll" (one of the cutest you tube videos ever. Thank you Caitlin for introducing it to me!)

The kids played duck duck goose with Uncle Jeff and things got a little out of control! It was pretty funny to watch. Lydia is doing her typical hands on the hips and probably bossing someone around or yelling at Jeff for messing with her sister! We went to a firework show put on at the Huntsman Center. This was pretty late for our kids so I think they were excited and a little delirious! I love this picture of all the girl cousins and Ryan sleeping in the back!

Some of the guys (Ben and Jeff)

On Sunday we decided to hike around Jennys Lake and it was so beautiful!

Grand Tetons!

When we got there we realized that the kids probably wouldn't last the hike around the lake so we rode the boat to the other side and then hiked up the mountain. It was perfect because we could go as long as we wanted and then head back plus the kids loved riding the boat.

The Mulcocks! (so precious) Jonathan sporting Abigale's visor and Ryan with his "Little Ranger" hat. We were scared his head would get sunburned so we bought the sweet hat.

Abigale is our little rock climber. I was afraid she wouldnt make it on the hike but she was always climbing up the side rocks and running up ahead. She was in heaven and looking pretty cute!

We hiked up to a place called Hidden Falls and it was amazing! There was sooo much water coming down the mountain. The mist felt so good and the temperature dropped about ten degrees just standing by it.

We took a detour and did some rock climbing

The water was so high in some places that you couldnt cross the bridges. This picture makes me a little nervous because that water was going so fast and looked so powerful but Lydia looks cute!

Ryan did amazing. He stayed in the carrier the entire time and was in and out of sleep but never made a sound. Love this boy!

The next day was the fourth of July and we rode our bikes into town for a fun parade (I forgot my camera) and then headed to the park.

Lydia showing off her candy from the parade My sister put on a scavenger hunt for all the kids which took them all over. They even got a break in the middle for pirate cupcakes! The prize was a toy for all the kids. Abigale and Lydia each got a harmonica. They love them a little too much and I have had to hide them more then once!

Looking for clues by the lake!

Ryan hanging out with Uncle Jeff and his new cowboy hat (dont be fooled. he is a lawyer in DC)

Lydia telling Jeff a story.

Playing in the sprinklers
Ryan was so tired the last night. Jonathan picked him up and he put his head down and just went to sleep. So sweet!
The last night!
Love these kids!!
We had so much fun and are hoping to see them one more time this summer before they head back to South Africa but we always have next year, right everyone?

Crazy month of June!

2011-07-17T20:53:00.011-06:00

We had a crazy week last week! We got home from a great trip in Driggs, Idaho to find out that our house we were renting was foreclosing and they wanted us out in 30 days! :( We spent the week looking for houses online and walking through many of them. We really wanted to stay in our ward and neighborhood and there were a few homes available to rent but not what we are looking for. Jonathan is working from home more and more so we really needed a house with an office. We finally found one in Clearfield about 10 minutes away. While it is not as nice as the house we are in now, it is in a really nice neighborhood and it has plenty of space. So we got out the boxes that we had unpacked 6 months ago and started packing everything up again. Aahh I hate moving but we are trying to stay postive. We have moved 6 times since we have been married and this is the first time I have not been pregnant so that is nice!

Anyway on with the month of June. . .

June was full of visitors and we loved it! Our good friends the Forresters stayed a night at our house on their way to California and the next weekend our other very good friends the Perrys (who we miss like crazy) stayed for the weekend. It was so much fun!

Abigale with her friend London Forrester
This is the only picture I got when the Perrys came to town. We were having too much fun I guess but one night Holly and Jace went to their cousins wedding in Park City so we took all the kids to Arctic Circle for dinner and to play on the toys. They had a lot of fun and it was sad to see them leave but we cant wait to go back to Boise to visit!

This is Ryan just hanging out while the kids played.

A few days after the Perrys left my sister and her little boy Max came to stay with us from Florida. It was so much fun and Abigale and Lydia loved having a little boy to play with and follow around.

Max loved the cars in the backyard and loves pushing anything he can including little baby strollers

Cute guy

Caitlin was going to leave for a cruise the next day and she was going to leave Max with us so my dad came to help out until my mom got back in town (from Paris!) to take over.

We had fun at the Treehouse Musuem in Ogden (one of our favorite places)

We met up with some of our cousins at the Gateway who are in town for the summer from South Africa!

LOVE love this picture! Abigale and Ben are too cute and who knows what Lydia is doing!

My beautiful sister and her sweet little guy who was having a rough night. It was the night before she was going to leave him with us and he was not feeling well so she took him to an instant care and he had pink eye! He was nice enough to share it with me, Jonathan, Lydia, and Ryan but at least the same drops were used for everyone!

Cant forget this happy guy!

I think Max was missing his mom but we did our best to keep him happy. He is such an easy and fun guy. Abigale was sitting on the couch and Max just climbed up on her lap. He loves her!

Eating ice cream with Nana!

Playing in the sprinklers

My mom took Max to Pocatello for a few days and Abigale decided to join them. We missed her but tried to have fun with just two kids. We decided to head into SLC and went to the farmers market and the Gateway where they were having a chalk art competition/family festival.

There was a band playing at the farmers market and Lydia just wanted to watch them the whole time.

Some of the chalk art was amazing.

Cute kids but a dark picture

Abigale helping Ryan in his swing

Abigale worked hard to earn enough points to get a bike so that she could take it to Driggs for the 4th of July. Since she got a new bike Lydia got her old one. She doesnt quite know how to ride it yet but they will have a lot of fun riding together in the future!

The Treehouse Museum had a family fiesta night. It was kind of lame but they had churros which were good. Of course the kids had fun- they love that place!

They gave the kids moroccos (or however you spell that). Ryan grabbed mine out of my hand and he loves holding it but he keeps hitting himself with it.

The next weekend my parents and Caitlin's family came back to SLC because my dad had a conference. They stayed at Little America so we took advantage of the swimming pool and had a Cafe Rio pool party.

Whew! That was a long post full of fun events! Stay tuned for 4 of July pics!

Guess who is 3 months old?!?!

2011-06-28T21:18:00.004-06:00

This Adorable Guy!

We love him sooo much! He is seriously the best baby ever!For the last 6 nights he has slept from 9 until 6 or 7 straight and then eats and goes back to sleep from 8 until 11. Such a blessing! He is really good in his carseat and usually sleeps through everything when he is in there which is great when I go to the store or church!If you just look at him he will start smiling. It is sometimes hard to get him to look at you because it seems like he will look around for you and look everywhere but right at you. He has giggled a few times and we try constantly to get him to do it more. He loves his sisters and he smiles the most at Abigale. The only time he cries is when he is tired. When he starts getting fussy we just wrap him up and put him in his swing or in his crib and he goes right to sleep. He is starting to really grab at toys. When we put him in his bouncy chair with the toys hanging down he will just sit and stare at them and focus and then start hitting them and grabbing at them. There is a tag on the side and he will just sit and try and grab at it. His hair is out of control. We really need to cut it but it makes me sad and I am used to having girls where you just let there hair grow so I am not sure how to do it. His hair also has a natural part (just getting ready for his mission early) We really can't get enough of him! I am sad that he is growing so fast but cant wait to see more and more of his personality and how he is going to handle himself with two sisters! We love you Ryan!

The Last Half of May. . .

2011-06-16T21:39:00.010-06:00

The day after Mother's Day I decided to head to Pocatello for a few days because my dad was going to be out of town and because Jonathan had a lot of work to do and then he can work late without feeling too guilty! It was a great trip and very relaxing. I love that we live close enough that we can go anytime and the drive is only the length of the girls' movies!
We took the kids to Ross Park to play on the toys but Abigale became fascinated by the huge boulders they have there. She loved climbing up them and then sliding down. She now claims that she is a rock climber and I will admit I was impressed with how well she was climbing!

We then made our way over to the big rock walls and we had fun finding paths up to the top.

The next day we went to Moreland so that my grandparents could meet one of their newest great-grandchildren. My grandparents are amazing! My grandma just turned 92 and my grandpa will be 92 in September. They still live in the same house since before I was born so I have a lot of great memories every time I go visit! It is fun to see my kids there now and playing with the same toys I played with as a little girl!

My Grandpa kept calling Ryan a bruiser with his boxing gloves on (he scratches himself a lot) it was so cute!

The next day my dad was back in town and he took the girls to his office and courtroom.

They loved sitting where Papa sits and talking into the microphones. My dad showed them the little jail cells where the prisoners come through from the jail and Abigale was obsessed with them and told us that was where they took a time out! My dad said yeah sometimes a verrry long time out!

My dad was responsible for having this replica of the Liberty Bell placed in front of the courthouse and he loves showing it off! Which was fine because the girls loved it! They even got to ring it a few times and it was a lot louder then they were prepared for!

Just a random picture that Abigale took and so that everyone knows I exist since I am always the one taking pictures!

We got back from Pocatello it time for Abigale to start swimming lessons. It was just two weeks everyday for 45 minutes. I am not sure how much she really learned since she spent a lot of time at the wall waiting for her turn but she still loved it and feels more comfortable in the water.

The hardest part was that I had to sit and watch every lesson in case something happened and it was not fun keeping this girl from the water. I brought about 10 books every day and we got a lot of reading in. By the end, she was telling me all of the stories. I love how blue her eyes look!

My parents came into town so that my dad could go to a doctor in Odgen and we went to the Treehouse Childrens Museum and then had lunch at the Pizza Factory and played on the toys at Fat Cats. I think they wore each other out!

This cute guy turned 2 months old and has turned into quite the smiler. Every chance he can get he is smiling and we just love it! Yes he is 2 months old and he is wearing 6 month clothes! At his two month appointment he weighed 14 lbs 11 oz and was 96th percentile for height and weight! He is a chunk!

I had been wanting to get these cars for my girls for a long time but never wanted to pay full price for them. I decided to go to a yard sale by my house and found one but it was still a little higher then I wanted to spend but decided to go for it anyway since I had been wanting one. On the way home from the yard sale I stopped by another one near my house and they had another car for only $5. So I decided to get both and now the girls have a blast driving their own cars around!

We decided to wash all of the cars and Lydia was a big help!

Memorial Weekend we didnt have much going on so we decided once again to take advantage of the short drive to Pocatello to hang out with my parents. The girls love going there and Jonathan was able to get some work done while we were entertained.

It was really neat because we were able to visit the gravesites of my grandparents on my dad's side. The girls had never been to a cemetery before and Abigale was fascinated by it all and asked a lot of very interesting questions. It was a great way to explain to her about what happens after we die and how important it is to be an eternal family.

Cute girl on the drive home!

Mothers Day Weekend

2011-06-16T21:13:00.007-06:00

With Fathers Day this weekend I figure it is time that I finally post some pictures of Mothers Day. I was lucky enough to celebrate the whole weekend and it was perfect!
We woke up Saturday morning and Jonathan told me to get ready because we were going to go to Salt Lake for the day. I hurried and got a good workout in and got ready and we decided to head to Temple Square and then the Gateway Mall so that I could pick out some presents! Temple Square was so beautiful! The weather was gorgeous and the flowers were amazing. There were also many brides walking around so my girls were in heaven! We wanted to take a lot of family pictures with the flowers but of course our camera died in the first 30 minutes but we did get a few cute ones.
Walking to the templeShe was so excited Lydia, always dancing

We ended up going to the Church History Museum and the kids loved the children's area. We spent so much time at Temple Square that instead of going to the mall we decided to call it good before the girls got too tired. We headed home, took naps and then went out to dinner. Jonathan dropped me off at some stores to do some shopping and he took the kids to get some food for breakfast and dinner. It was so nice to just walk around and pick up a few things that I wanted.

The next morning I was lucky enough to get breakfast in bed- fruit crepes! Then the girls gave me their cards and some gifts. It was perfect!

Lydia was mad about something and Jonathan took a picture of her grumpy face. She is such a drama queen but check out those lips!

I took this picture of the kids because for some reason it made me really happy. Watching my two girls play games together while Ryan just hung out next to them. It was one of those little moments I wanted to remember forever. I love my kids!

Cant forget about this cute guy with his boxing gloves on! And these beauties!

I am one lucky momma!

Haircut Time!

2011-05-23T19:56:00.004-06:00

For weeks Abigale was telling me that she wanted to cut her hair but I kept putting it off because her hair was so long and beautiful that I was too scared to cut it. After a few days of hair constantly tangled and fighting with her to do it and brush it I decided it was time. I needed to get my hair cut too so I decided to go to a salon and do it together. She was so excited and was not nervous at all to cut her hair. She did so great holding still and we are excited about the outcome. I think I would have gone even shorter but it is a good start for now!
Before picture: Her hair looks a little crazy because the top was in a braid so it is half curled

Getting it washed. This was pretty bad because she didnt keep her head down in the water enough so when she was done her whole back was soaking wet. She had to take it off and stick it under the dryer and it still wasnt dry by the time we left. Luckily, she just thought it was funny and just wore cape the rest of the time.Getting ready to cut!

She played with my phone to help keep her chin down

After! It still looks long but she cut quite a few inches and it is A-line so it is shorter in back.

Modeling before church the next day. Notice the cute skirts that Jonathan's mom made. The girls love them!

Over the shoulder pose Cute girls!

Hanging Out with Superman

2011-05-23T19:51:00.003-06:00

This shirt was the first one that Jonathan picked out when we found out we were having a boy! He has been waiting for it to fit and now Ryan is growing so fast he wont be able to wear it much longer!

April 2011

2011-05-10T20:20:00.010-06:00

Almost caught up . . .

April was a crazy but fun month! Life with three kids is everything that you hear. It has its moments of complete craziness, you are constantly tired, you often feel overwhelmed but it also has its moments of pure joy. Having a baby in the house again is such a different feeling- we are all completely in love with him and cannot help but smile when we see him.

April was a lot of this- just snuggling and loving are little guy Ryan got his first bath. He hated the sponge bath but now he loves taking baths and it completely relaxes him.

Life with three kids who love their daddy :)

Our friend had an Easter Egg Dyeing Party and it was a lot of fun. It was kind of hard to hold Ryan while helping two kids dye eggs but we loved it and the treats were delicious.

Just a sweet picture of sleeping Ryan

Another cute picture

Abigale loves holding Ryan and is very comfortable and confident. She is going to be such a great mommy!

We went to another Easter Egg Hunt at the church with some friends. This is the girls getting ready to leave with their cute baskets from Grandma Tanner.

Sisters!

It was cute because they had an egg hunt for two year olds and younger in the primary room and then one for the rest of the kids throughout the church. Everyone brought 10 eggs per child and were allowed to find 10 eggs so it was perfect. This is Lydia finding eggs.

The older kids playing "Easter Bunny Says" while patiently waiting their turn

The girls with their eggs. I think Lydia snuck all of her candy before the day was over and Abigale still has some in her room :)

So precious! My parents came in town for Easter weekend and my mom brought a cotton candy cupcake mix which were not the greatest tasting but Abigale sure had fun making them!

Dyeing Easter Eggs We went to dinner at the Brick Oven and they had a man making balloon characters. Abigale got a unicorn and Lydis wanted a bunny. So fun

Easter morning! Lydia was so excited! Here she is showing off her new dress thanks to my sister (she would wear this dress everyday if she could but I have to hide it from her) and some presents from the Easter bunny

Playing catch with her new ball!

I love this picture. She is modeling her new sunglasses and wearing them like Nana

She ate her whole box of peeps in about 10 minutes!

Ryan turned 1 month old at the end of April! He is so sweet and easy going. He still sleeps most of the day and gets up once at night to eat. He loves his sisters and whenever he gets fussy we put on music or just stick a binky in his mouth and he calms right down. He still doesnt really know how to suck it but he loves it in his mouth. Cute guy!

March 2011

2011-04-28T19:20:00.008-06:00

March was a very fun month (well as fun as one can have being 9 months pregnant) and ended perfectly with Ryan joining our family. Here are some of the highlights I captured on camera.

This is Lydia's princess face. Whenever she puts on a princess dress or a skirt she always says that she is a princess and makes this face. It gets me everytime. So cute! St Patricks Day!

I know it has been said before but holidays really are more fun with kids around. Abigale was so excited for this holiday. For weeks she talked about catching the leprechauns and kept reminding me of what they did last year. Which was a good reminder for me. This year he turned their milk and yogurt green, messed up their playroom, and put shamrocks all over their house. He also left some clues all over the house which led to some fun presents. I had a doctor appointment that day so we missed our friends party but Jonathan's mom and sister came over to watch the girls for me which was even better!

This is the girls at the end of the treasure hunt. The final clue led them outside. They were so excited!

This is Abigale outside on the first real warm day of the year. She went and just laid on the driveway for like 30 minutes. I think she was taking in all the sun that she could because a few days later . . .She was doing this!We had a special treat in March when my parents came to visit and took us to Disney on Ice. It was such a great show and the girls loved it! Lydia still talks about it and asks all time when we can go back and Abigale pretends to ice skate around the house now. Thanks again mom and dad!A few days before I was supposed to be induced, I decided to take the girls somewhere fun so that we had a good way to pass time and because I knew the girls wouldnt be out of the house very much once the baby was born. We went with some friends to Classic Fun Center and the girls loved it! They have roller skating, 5 big bounce slides, a climbing area, arcade where you can win tickets, rides, and lazer tag. So much fun!March was such a great month and of course ended perfectly with the birth of our little guy!

February 2011

2011-04-28T09:30:00.005-06:00

If I want to start posting cute up-to-date pictures of my little guy, I decided I need to go back and do a major update before I forget everything. I decided to do it month by month so be prepared for a month worth of pictures in one post! Enjoy a look back at our month of February:

I have to start by saying that February started out amazing as I got an early birthday present from my favorite team ever! Thank you Green Bay!
I celebrated my 28th birthday at the beginning of the month and it was a great day! After breakfast in bed, I spent the morning with some friends and then I took the girls to Arctic Circle for lunch where they played on the toys and we had ice cream cones. We then headed home and I put Lydia down for a nap and a movie on for Abigale and I took a long nap (best present ever). I woke up just in time for Jonathan's parents to come over and watch the girls while Jonathan and I went on a date. We went out to dinner and then we went birthday shopping at Target! I got a lot of fun things that I had been wanting but would never buy for myself. Got to love birthdays! We were going to go get dessert but I decided I wanted to do cake and ice cream with my girls so we went to Coldstone and got a delicious cookie dough ice cream cake. We took it home and had fun eating with the family. It was a great day!
These are the only pictures I took but I love how the girls are helping me blow out the candles:

I love Valentines Conversation heart candy and got a bag for my birthday. I had left the bag on my couch and I guess Lydia loves them too because in the morning she opened the whole bag and just sat there and ate the candy until Abigale told me what had happened! Thats my girl!

This was a late birthday present and I love it!

For Valentines Day we went to a party with a lot of friends. I decided that instead of buying Valentines, I would let the girls help make them. They had a blast. I made Abigale color and write her name on all of them and she did a great job.

Valentines Party! The girls are making "mailboxes"

Daddy got Abigale this candy flower and it was quite a mess! I think her lips were stained purple for a few days

Just a cute picture Jonathan took of the girls helping me cook. Nice belly!

Having fun building a snowman with dad

At the end of February we made a special trip back to Boise! Oh how we miss that place! It was a little hard for the girls. We drove past our old house and looked in the windows and Abigale kept saying she wanted to move back to that house. She doesnt quite understand that we are not going to live there again. She always says that when our house in Utah floods she wants to move back to that house!

We went to our good friends house and I guess they had too much fun because this is what I saw when I looked in the back seat.

Nana introduced Abigale to harder puzzles and she had a lot of fun with them. I think this is a 100 piece puzzle and she did great. One of the girls favorite places in Boise is the toy area at the mall. They could play there for hours!

At McDonalds eating ice cream with Papa

Abigale and her best friend Maeley!

The main reason I went to Boise was because my wonderful friends wanted to throw me a shower. It was so much fun to see everyone and my friends did a great job! Thank you thank you!

One of the games we played was a race to drink all of the milk from a bottle. It was much harder then you think! It was pretty funny to watch my mom and friends drink from a bottle!

Two amazing friends!!! I love these girls! Oh and Deanna is not really that tall- she was standing on her toes to make Holly look even shorter. You might not want to look to close at the picture :) Hilarious!

Ryan's Birthday

2011-04-17T20:09:00.006-06:00

Now that Ryan will be 3 weeks tomorrow (!) I want to write about the day he was born so that I dont forget any of the details. This might be boring or TMI for some of you so just skip down to the pictures now :)

On Sunday the 27th we left church and were hurrying to get to Jonathan's parents house for dinner and family pictures. I was feeling pretty good all day, just eager for Tuesday to come when I would be induced and thinking about all the last minute things I had to do the next day to get ready for our little guy. On the drive to Sandy, I started feeling a little sick but I just thought I was carsick. When we got to their house we had a delicious dinner of lasagna and his family had planned a surprise baby shower for me. After we ate dinner we were getting ready to play some baby shower games but when I got up from the table I felt leaking and tried to hurry to the bathroom. Lydia followed me in and by the time I got there I was pretty wet but not sure what was going on. I guess I have seen too many movies but I thought that when someone's water broke it was like a big gush of water but that's not what happened to me. Everytime I stood up I could feel more water slowly coming out. I somehow got Jonathan's attention and told him what had happened. He got his mom and explained what had happened and she said that my water definitely broke and that I was going to have the baby that night which kind of freaked me out. Everyone was trying to figure out what we were doing so I came out and told them that my water broke and they were so excited. They pretty much pushed me out the door which was good because I could feel more and more water coming. We decided to leave the girls there for the night and my mom would meet them at the hospital the next day. It was sad to leave them but Jonathan had a talk with Abigale and explained what was happening and told her to help with Lydia and of course they did amazing.

On the drive back to our house and then to the hospital, I started making some phone calls and I remember Jonathan just started cracking jokes that I did not find very funny but he was laughing so hard he was crying (I think he was freaking out inside but didnt know how to handle it). We stopped by the house and grabbed our clothes and then headed to the hospital. By the time we got to our hospital room I was soaking wet. They checked me in at 8:00 and from there it was just a waiting game. I was dialated to a 3 and once we got the IV going (which was a much better experience then the previous IV's) we started walking around the floor trying to get something happening. By midnight I was still at a 3 so we decided to start the pitocin to get the contractions going. The whole time I was so paranoid that I wouldnt get the epidural in time (which is what happened with Lydia) so at about 2:00 am the contractions were bad enough that I decided to go ahead and get it. It was very painful but I felt a lot calmer after it kicked in and I could still feel my legs which was great. The bad thing was it slowed the contractions down quite a bit and of course I couldnt sleep but just stared at the monitors all night long. At about 6:00 I was only dialated to a 5 and they had maxed out the pitocin so they called the doctor and decided to up it even more and put a monitor inside of me so that they could get a better reading of what was going on. At about 7:30 the contractions became very intense. The nurse checked me and said I was at a 7 and then all of a sudden I felt some very intense pressure and begged her to check me again and she said "wow he is right there. Let's get your doctor in here." The pain was awful so they gave me some more drugs and the anesthesiologist came back and gave me something stronger just at the doctor walked in. The first 2 pushes were rough until the medicine kicked in and then 3 pushes later out he came at 8:30. It is such an amazing experience and actually very calm and peaceful. There was only Jonathan, my doctor (who I love) and one nurse so it didnt seem as hectic as when the girls were born,

As soon as he came out they wiped him off a little bit and he was screaming but they put him right on my chest and he immediately stopped crying and curled into me. It was the perfect moment. He still loves to lay on my chest and just snuggles in. After I had him I felt pretty sick. I think it was all of the medication they gave me right when he was born and lack of sleep. I couldnt stop shaking, I was extremely dizzy and started throwing up. I threw up everything I ate for the next few hours but once the medication was out of my system and I took a little nap, I felt much better and was able to actually hold him and enjoy him! My mom got there at about 11 and then Jonathan's family came with the girls at 3:00. They were so cute when they saw Ryan. Lydia said, "Mom you got a baby!" They instantly fell in love with him and that hasnt changed.

So far there hasnt been any jealousy but they constantly wonder where he is and want to see him or hold him. Having 3 kids in some ways has been easier then 2 because Abigale and Lydia keep each other pretty entertained so that I can take care of Ryan. The hardest part is the lack of sleep and then trying to find the energy and patience to keep up with them but luckily I have had a lot of help.

Ryan is growing so fast. At his two week appointment he weighed 9 lbs 6 oz and was almost 22 inches long. He has gained two lbs in two weeks and grown 2 inches! He is such a sweetheart and loves to snuggle. Nursing was a little rough the first few days but now he is obviously doing great and drinks from a bottle which makes his dad very happy so that he can occasionally feed him too. He still sleeps most of the day and then we wake him up at around 6:00 and try and keep him up until about 9:30 or 10:00. He usually wakes up every four hours at night but makes a lot of noises all night long. We love him so much and love having a baby in the house again. I am especially loving not being pregnant anymore!

Now for the pictures:

Just checked in:

Recovering:

He's Here!!

2011-04-03T19:41:00.006-06:00

Introducing the newest and most loved little brother Ryan Jonathan Tanner 7 lbs 11 ounces 20 inches long Born March 28th at 8:30 am Birth story will be coming soon but everything went very smooth and he is such a sweetheart!

Christmas in Driggs!

2011-03-16T15:41:00.011-06:00

So I started working on this post last Sunday hoping to get all caught up on the blog before the baby was scheduled to arrive on Tuesday the 29th but I started not feeling well so I stopped halfway through. That night my water broke before I could finish it so here it is now a week later. Crazy to think when I started this Ryan was in my tummy and now he is sleeping next to me! We love him so much but here is the blog from Christmas. We had too much fun not to document!

We were so excited for Christmas this year because all of the cousins would be together! When one sister lives in Singapore (but just moved to South Africa) and the other one lives in Chicago (but just moved to Florida) it is rare when we all get together. Here are all the cousins after church. It was hard to get a good picture of all of them but this is the best I could do: This is Abigale's cousin Ben and she loves him and misses him a lot. They are only two months apart and have soo much fun together. They are so sweet!This is Lydia trying to get a picture with the two cousins closest to her in age but they weren't really interestedBen's birthday was at the beginning of December but since my sister was in the middle of packing to move to Africa and Ben wanted to wait and have cake with Abigale, we celebrated with a fun Batman cake. Unfortunately, my sister Caitlin had to leave us the day before Chirstmas Eve to spend time with her in-laws but before she left we had a fun cousin Christmas party! The kids decorated cookies, played fun Christmas games, and had a gift exchange. It was a great way to start Christmas! After Caitlin left, we all headed up to my sister's house in Driggs on Chirstmas Eve to have a winter wonderland Christmas. This is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner (shrimp, salad, raspberry jello salad, potatoes, and rolls) After dinner we did our first annual cousin nativity. It was so cute. Abigale was Mary and took the part very seriously. She wore her costume and took care of baby Jesus all night. Of course Ben was Joseph and they made quite the pair. My niece Claire did a great job of writing and narrating the play and being an angel! Christmas morning! The kids were so excited to come downstairs: Abigale was at such a fun age. She did not care what she got she was just so excited about everything! Lydia the monkey, showing off her monkey, Boots:Opening Presents Daddy picked out something extra special for Abigale that we knew she would love. We were so excited to see her open it: She loved it!

She got all of the princess dolls! She still loves them, in fact, as I write this she is playing on the floor behind me with them!Lydia got a little computer and a pillow pet from her uncle Jeff. She loves that pillow pet and still sleeps with it every night!

After we opened presents and had breakfast we headed outside to enjoy the beautiful snow and get some sledding in

My nieces got some fun spa items for Christmas so they had a fun bubble bath in the big tub

They even got lotion on their feet

This is normally how we would find Abigale and Ben 90% of the day.

In Jackson they have a really cool Elk Refuge where you can take a sleigh ride out into the middle of all the Elk while a guide tells you everything you ever wanted to know about them. It was freezing but the girls loved it. Everytime Lydia sees a horse she still talks about riding them out to see the elk. It was a really cool experience even though it was sooo cold!

We said goodbye to our family in Driggs on New Years Eve and headed to our new house. Isn't it pretty. We love it and are so blessed to have found it!

Life in the Hotel

2011-03-16T15:18:00.008-06:00

There are a lot of things about the hotel that I will always remember- the same breakfast every morning, watching Abigale learn to swim with her floaties in the pool, the smell in the room that lasted for days when I attempted to cook something in the very small kitchen, all of the eating out we did so that I wouldnt have to cook, spending hours on the internet looking for a house in Utah, trying to remind myself that it is Christmas time by having the girls color Christmas pictures and putting them around the room, etc. I did an awful job of capturing these moments with pictures but here are some that we took when our friends spent the day with us. Best Buds!

This was right after swimming so everyone was still wet and cold

Love her!

Hanging out in our small room

Watching funny you tube clips

Wanted to include this because this is one of the only pics I have of me pregnant. The black does a good job of hiding the belly but its there. I think I was 6 months pregnant.

Abigale had a little Christmas Dance recital at a nursing home and well it didnt go quite as planned or as I had hoped. For days leading up to it she would cry everytime we would mention it and say that she didnt want to go. As a parent, I didnt know what to do- Should I just make her do it and tell her to get over it or let her stay home? Well, we decided to take her and see if she would get over her fear. I am not sure if it was the best choice because she started bawling when we got there. I tried sitting with her before the performance and I even was able to sit right next to where she would be dancing but she just sat on my lap and refused to dance. It was so sad because she looked so cute and her teacher told me she knew the dance better then anyone but I guess she just wasnt ready for it. I got her to do that dance that night for me and it is about the cutest thing ever. She really loves to dance so hopefully next time she will be ready to perform!

Isn't she so cute!This was on her last day of dance class. She loved her teacher Miss Kim! We were finally able to move back into our house in the middle of December but it wasnt really our house since everything was just in boxes. We were all just sleeping on the mattresses on the floor but we tried to make the best of it- we watched a movie on the computer and had a pizza party!

I still miss our old house!

Thanksgiving and what we came home to find~

2011-03-16T15:02:00.006-06:00

For some reason all my pictures have a weird glare but I wanted to share the few that I took at Thanksgiving. The girls were so spoiled. Here they are getting pedicures and manicures by Grandma and Aunt Laurie. Lydia was in HEAVEN!

Abigale and Uncle Aaron

Daddy and Lydia

There was a lot of snow but not the good kind for building a snowman so the girls and Daddy did the best they could but they did find a can of silly string so that made the snowman awesome!

We took the girls to a fun Aquarium in Sandy and they loved it.

Ignore the glare on the glass but this was a huge octopus

Cute Girls

This is what we came home to after a great Thanksgiving break. You can tell by the footprints that the floor is soaking wet. Yes, we did put up all our Christmas before we left only to put it all away the next day :( Garage floor

Obviously the heat had gone out and it was soo cold in the house especially with the water everywhere.

Our poor house. The legs on the tables were ruined and had to be replaced. The water came in through the wall behind that couch and filled the room and then traveled a few feet into the other rooms. We know that it could have been a lot worse. Usually when we go out of town things are so frantic that the house gets left in a mess but this time the girls were playing at a friends house until we left so I was able to deep clean the whole house which meant there was hardly anything on the floor. Such a blessing!

It's about time . . .

2011-03-11T15:15:00.004-07:00

Just when I was getting the hang of blogging and staying on top of things, life took a big turn for us! This is kind of a long story but I want to get it down for our records so I apologize now but I will start at the beginning with pictures to soon follow! It all started Thanksgiving week while we were spending time with Jonathan's family for the holiday. Jonathan decided to interview for a new job which was exciting but a little scary because the job was in Utah. The interview went well but we decided to just wait and see what was going to play out. On the way home from Utah we hit a major snow storm and the road closed so we had to turn around and go the long way with a stop overnight in Pocatello. My parents were still out of town so getting into the house with the alarm system going off was quite the adventure in itself but we made it and I was grateful for an extra day of vacation. The next morning we started off to Boise and about 20 minutes into the drive we got a call from Jonathan's work saying that our neighbor had called looking for us because we had water pouring out of our garage! Not news you want to hear when you are 3 hours away from home! We started calling friends to go over and turn off the water and check out our house and sure enough the entire front room and parts of the rest of the house were flooded! We then called the insurance company and got some things worked out and spent the rest of the drive trying to figure out what could have happened and what might have gotten ruined. When we finally got to the house, it was crazy to see our house in its condition but nice that we had some time to prepare ourselves. The insurance agent met us at the house and gave us some money to stay at a hotel and told us we would probably be out of our house for a month! It was a little overwhelming and sad to think that we would not be in our house for the whole month of December! We packed some more clothes and made the best out of the situation by finding the best hotel we could that would feel a little like a home. After switching hotels a few times we found a place with a little kitchen, two bedrooms, free breakfast, and a swimming pool. It was definitely hard to be out of our house and away from our things but living in a hotel had its perks as well! As for our house, they said that the water heater broke and sprayed water throughout our garage for the 4 days we were gone and eventually it soaked through the walls and got into the house. Nothing of real value was ruined but a lot of little things (thank goodness for insurance)! The biggest deal was that all of the carpet had to be replaced which we were excited about because we had been wanting to replace the carpet since we moved in!

Now back to the job- while all of this was going on with the house and we were living in a hotel, Jonathan was told that he got the job in Utah and that they needed him to start January 1st. After a lot of thought and prayer we decided it was best for our family so while the workers had to pack most of our things to lay the new carpet and fix the walls, we just decided to pack the whole house up. We loved our house and it was sad knowing we would not live there again but we were excited for the new opportunity. In the middle of December, we left the girls with my parents and drove to Utah for a few days to try and find a house to rent. It was pretty stressful and some of the places we saw were really bad but we were definitely blessed when we found our house and knew the minute we saw it, it was perfect. We signed the papers drove back to Idaho and that weekend said goodbye to our friends (sad, sad day) and packed up the house. Jonathan drove the truck straight to Utah and unpacked in the new house and I rode with my parents to Pocatello to spend time with family before Chirstmas. We eventually all met up in Driggs and had an amazing winter wonderland Christmas! On New Years Eve we drove back to our new house in Utah and spent the holiday unpacking. It has been an adjustment for everyone but so far we are really enjoying this new adventure. I should of known it was coming because we have moved in the middle of every pregnancy so I guess I am used to it. Speaking of pregnancy- I am officially full term at 37 1/2 weeks! Crazy! I go to the doctor tomorrow and hopefully some progress is going on so that we can schedule an induction and finally know when we will meet this little guy (who is still yet to be named- HELP!) Well that is actually the quick version of our crazy month of December but I promise pictures are coming soon!

100th Post!

2010-11-23T19:34:00.002-07:00

Well it only took me about 4 years but I finally reached my 100th post! To celebrate I thought I would share some exciting news! I am sure most of you already know but I havent shared it with the blogging world. We are having baby #3 at the end of March! We are super excited and I am even more excited now that I am over halfway at 21 weeks! The pregnancy has been a little rough to say the least but now that I can actually eat without throwing everything up, I can enjoy the little kicks and movements and be excited about the little one joining our family. We had the big ultrasound a few weeks ago and it was so cute because the baby was laying on its belly with its knees to its chest, looking very comfy. I love this picture because the baby is giving a thumbs up and flexing at the same time! Haha awesome!

And the news you have been waiting for . . .

Thats right, its a boy! We are so excited to add a little boy to our crazy family! Since we told Abigale I was pregnant she told me it was a boy because she needed a sister and brother. When we told her it really was a boy after the ultrasound she just said yeah I already knew that! Almost every day she talks to the baby and asks if he is ready to come play with her. She is a great sister! We are so excited and Jonathan already picked out the outfit to bring him home in!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!We are heading to Utah tomorrow as long as the weather permits! Hope everyone eats a lot of yummy food- I know I will!

Leaves!

2010-11-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

Having fun playing in the leaves!

The Birthday Week Continues . . . Lydia Turns 2!

2010-11-23T17:48:00.004-07:00

Having my girls birthday exactly a week apart can be a little stressful but a lot of fun! Since most of Lydia's friends are Abigale's friends younger siblings- It was just a week long party for both of them! We decided to keep it very simple and took Lydia to Chuck E. Cheese and invited some friends to join us. I think she was a little young and we had to force her on a few rides to enjoy them but we had a great time!

This is while everyone sang Happy Birthday to her (so excited because Happy Birthday is one of her favorite songs):

Fun times at Chuck E Cheese

After we wore the kids out- we were brave enough to go to some stores and out to dinner with friends. Luckily, it turned out fine and we all had a great time. We then headed back to our house to open presents. At this point Lydia was a little tired, so we saved a few presents for another time (Christmas!)

This was by far her favorite present! First, the princess pajamas she insisted on changing into as soon as she opened them but when she opened the Barney doll it was priceless! She LOVES Barney (luckily, I dont mind him too much and she has learned a lot from some of his movies). The toy plays his "I love you song" and as soon as I started playing it she just sang right along and carries him around everywhere ever since! We love you so much Lydia! You definitely bring a lot of personality to our family! You are either the entertainer trying to make everyone laugh or the drama queen finding ways to get mommy to hold you! My favorite thing you say right now is before you start a sentence you say, "Momma, you want to know what . . . (Abigale hit me, I saw a dog, I am hungry, etc)" It is so cute! Like I mentioned, you love Barney but also The Wiggles and as soon as you wake up you ask to watch a show. You are Abigale's little shadow and get so excited when she lets you play with her. You still are a great sleeper- sleeping 12 hours at night and a 2-3 hour nap everyday. You still need those naps or else you are very grumpy but otherwise you always have a smile on your face. We love you so much!

Abigale's 4th Birthday!

2010-11-02T16:28:00.005-06:00

Abigale had a great birthday this year! Like always it feels like a week long celebration. She had a little party a few days before her birthday, the night before we had a ward trunk-or-treat, and on her birthday she got to go with just mom and dad to lunch and to the toy store to pick out a present. That night we went to some friends house to celebrate some more. It was a great day (week) and Abigale asks daily when it is her birthday again.

For her birthday party, we got a great deal on a bounce house and she loved it! This is her watching the man blow it up at 8:00 am. She was begging to go out there but it was a little cold.
This is her classic poise now whenever I take her picture- silly girl! It was finally ready and dad came home just in time to jump with this girls for a minute before heading back to work. Lydia took some coaxing but she loved it by the end of the day.
Abigale's party was a lot of fun. She loves Halloween so we did a Halloween party with scary treats and fun Halloween games but the kids were jumping in the bounce house for the majority of the time so it was great for me and the moms to sit and chat! Abigale jumping until the sun went down! Of course the day of her birthday she couldnt wait to open presents so that was the first thing we did. Modeling her new snow gear while wearing a princess dress? We got her this new toy where you trace the princesses and she spent a good hour just sitting and tracing. She loved it! We took Abigale out to lunch while Lydia was with my parents and her favorite thing in the world is pancakes so we went to IHOP so she could get her smiley face pancake. They even sang to her and brought her ice cream but she ate almost the entire pancake so she was too full for the ice cream. In this pic she was bugged that I was taking her picture- she just wanted to eat! At the toy store she spent most of the time sitting in all of the cars but too bad she had a $20 limit!

Happy Birthday Abigale- We love you so much! You have turned into the sweetest most adorable little girl. You are such a great big sister and love taking care of Lydia and making her laugh. You are so fun to have around the house and your smile lights but a room! We love you!

Some Pictures of Halloween

2010-11-02T15:51:00.004-06:00

I wanted to post a few pictures of our Halloween and of course the girls in their princess costumes. Halloween is Abigale's favorite time of year and it might have something to do with that her birthday is on October 30th. She is a lucky girl to open presents in the morning and go trick or treating at night! With Halloween being on Sunday, this year was a little different. We planned on trick or treating Saturday night but no one else in the city had the same idea so we went to our friends trunk or treat and hung out at their house. Abigale missed going door to door but she didnt need any more candy! Two trunk or treats was plenty. Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Yes, this pumpkin Jonathan carved won first place at the ward party. His talents never cease to amaze me (and kind of scare me)!

At the pumpkin patch: Carving a pumpkin with dad:

She loved it and yes her pumpkin is green. She got to pick one at the pumpkin patch but it had to be one that she could carry herself and this half green one was the only one left but she still loved it!Ariel! Snow White!This is the only picture I got at the ward trunk-or-treat but it was a great night and I am glad my mom was able to go and help Lydia. She was a little nervous about all the costumes but after she got a few pieces of candy she was fine!

2010-10-28T16:50:00.004-06:00

I think this is finally the last catch up post! Now lets just see if I can stay caught up! Ha! This post is a bunch of randoms but things I want to document. Here goes:
My parents went to Hawaii with my sisters family and brother (I know sad we couldnt go, right?) but they brought back the girls some awesome souveniers.
The little hula girl: Look at that smile- I think she likes it and doesnt know what she missed :)

My little ballerina started dance class this year and she loves it. She is a little shy and will never show me what she learned when she gets home but it has been really good for her and every once in awhile I catch her doing some dance moves. Right now they are learning a Christmas dance and I cant wait to see it. Doesnt she look like a dancer in this picture?

Getting ready for class, she was so excited!

I spent a day (allll day) at my friends house canning peaches. It was a lot of fun hanging out with great friends and bring home lots of peaches but it took my back awhile to recover from that day! The only picture I took and apparently Holly thought something was funny!

We celebrated our 6th anniversary with our first vacation since our honeymoon! We went to Vegas for 5 days while my parents watched the girls. It was such an amazing trip. I am not a huge fan of Vegas, especially the Strip on a Friday night-YIKES, but we made it great! We stayed at a great hotel with an amazing pool area so we were able to spend a lot of time relaxing. We also went to Phantom and Lion King. We LOVED Phantom and wanted to see it twice. Lion King was good but not as great as Phantom. I still liked it but Jonthan was a little disappointed. We even went to the temple which was soo awesome and beautiful and just what we needed! Of course we also ate great food!

I had to take a picture of this sandwich he got at Serendipity- just thinking about it makes me sick. It was a foot long steak sandwich with bacon and fried eggs among other artery clogging things! He was full for a few days and he only ate half of it.

LOVED it!

Looking GQ before Lion King (and yes we were a little over dressed)

On October 3rd, Jonathan had another birthday! I love that his birthday is the first week of October because it usually falls on Conference Weekend which makes for a very relaxing birthday weekend! Here he is opening all of his presents. Dad and his girls

Abigale specifically picked out these animals for her dad and she had fun playing with them for the rest of the day! I love how she cant take her eyes off of them!

After conference we went to our friends house to continue the celebration. We had a yummy dinner and cheesecake pies. I think these pictures are funny because it looks like there are only a bunch of kids at Jonathan's party!I dont even know what this is about!The girlsHa ha! I had to throw this picture in for my sister. She always laughs at how big Lydia's mouth is and when she kept putting this huge ball in her mouth- I had to take a picture. She does have a huge mouth!

Sad day! We said good bye to the Sonata! We loved that car but it was time for something a little bigger :) Yes, we are now a mini-van family and loving it!

Labor Day Weekend in Jackson

2010-10-28T16:13:00.004-06:00

At the last minute and two weeks after our two weekends in Utah, we decided to hit the road again and join my parents at thier house/my sisters house in Driggs, ID (which is just outside of Jackson Hole). Actually my parents were nice enough to take the girls the day before we could leave so that Jonathan and I could get a break from driving with kids. Aahh the drive was so quiet and easy! It was great!
Jackson is really one of the most beautiful places ever! We had such a fun and relaxing time. We went on lots of bike rides, walks, played lots of games, and just had a great time. We will be spending Christmas there with my family and I am so excited!

We went to Grand Targhee and went on a little hike but it was extremely cold and we were not quite prepared for that. We did take a few fun family pictures and it was so worth being cold to see the view!
We were supposed to make funny faces but I wish Jonathan and I didnt because the girls look cute!The Tetons!

We walked through Jackson and went through a few of the shops

Trying to get into the cowboy spirit but the girls weren't feeling it!

In downtown Jackson they put on a little show with cowboys- when I was younger I remember it being really cool with guys falling off balconys but this was pretty lame and Lydia did not like the guns! I think Abigale liked it though!

I think we started a new tradition. We bought Cinnamon bread from Great Harvest and made french toast the next morning. It was amazing!! I had some for breakfast and lunch! Abigale was a great helper for Papa

This dog was the next door neighbors and Abigale was obsessed with it. I was obsessed with how big it was!

After we left Jackson we had to make a stop on the way home at the Eastern Idaho State Fair. My parents love going to the fair and especially love going with grandkids because it is an excuse to buy lots of yummy food! The girls loved the rides and the animals. Lydia did not want to leave and kept asking for more horses. It was such a great weekend!

Two Trips to Utah in One Week

2010-10-11T19:58:00.007-06:00

I know that it sounds crazy to drive 20 hours in 9 days but it was so worth it. The first weekend I was in Utah was for a much needed girls shopping trip. The drive flew by when I had great friends to talk to and no kids to worry about! We then spent most of our time in Tai Pan and IKEA. I think we were in IKEA for like 6 hours and still had to go back the next day! It was great to just walk around and take our time (maybe a little too much time). We also did a lot of shopping, eating, and talking, and no girls trip is complete without manicures, pedicures, and facials! It was so much fun and cant wait to do it again!

We barely took any pictures (too busy spending money) but these ones crack me up. We bought so much stuff at IKEA between the four of us that we had to completely empty the van and repack everything. We did a great job and fit everything perfectly- with room to spare for more shopping.

I promise I did help but had to take some pictures firstThe only group pictures we took all weekend and at some random yogurt giveaway at the mall. This is was right before we started the drive home.

The next weekend we headed back to Utah because my old roommate Kate was coming to town. We lived together for two years (? it seems like longer) at BYU until I got married and she went on a mission. She now lives in Washington D.C. so I jumped at the chance to see her even if we only got to see eachother for a few hours. She is the best and I loved seeing her! We also got to see our other roommate Annmarie and finally meet her adorable little guy Jake. Annmarie and I had been trying to get together for years so it was nice to finally catch up. Our lunch was a little crazy with my two overly tired girls but it was still so fun to get together.

Bad picture of me but the only one we got

Abigale took control of my camera

Like I said- overly tired!

Abigale took this cute picture of Jake The rest of the time was spent playing with Jonathan's family. We love spending time with them and the girls still ask for Grandpa and Grandma Tanner.

Abigale and Lydia had so much fun jumping on the tramp with Grandpa. He would demonstrate a move on the tramp and then Abigale would copy with Lydia cheering them on. It was pretty entertaining for everyone

Well, these guys were more entertained with their phones

We spent a day at the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point with Grandma Tanner. It was a lot of fun but maybe the girls were a little young and a little too into princesses to really enjoy all the dinosaurs. Abigale still had fun though

It was a crazy week but a lot of fun and dont worry our travels were not over. We headed to Jackson the next weekend!

2010-10-01T20:10:00.005-06:00

Today was a great day and I am pretty exhausted but I still wanted to make sure I updated the blog while I am on a roll :) We enjoyed the last day of 90 degree weather today by spending time with friends at the park but it was so hot that we decided to be spontaneous and head to a beach off the Payette river. We headed to her house and borrowed swimming suits and packed up snacks and had a blast! It was soft white sand and the water was perfect for the kids to run around in and get sandy and wet. Great way to end the summer . . . now bring on the fall!

Back to the update-

After spending a few days in Pocatello we headed back to Boise and just in time for my wonderful husband to get free tickets to the Tim McGraw/ Lady Antebellum concert. We invited some friends and had a great time. I will admit I didnt know very many of the songs but the concert was still a ton of fun. The highlight was watching a woman jump on stage and then jump on Tim McGraw's back but the best part was when security jumped up and tossed her back in the audience. Tim McGraw was pretty upset at the security guards and told them to calm down. It was very entertaining! Lady A was amazing! Sorry the pics are pretty dark We didnt get very much rain this summer so when we had a big storm the girls decided they wanted to really enjoy it. Lydia enjoyed it a little too much. There was a ton of water pouring out of the rain gutter and Lydia loved to just stand under it and get soaked. Me and my girls hanging out at home. I love them!!

Abigale loves taking pictures with my camera and this is one of Lydia she captured

Playing with friends. It is fun to watch Lydia and her friends because every time they get together she understands a little more about how to play with others.

And We're Back . . . . with some catching up to do!

2010-09-30T19:34:00.003-06:00

Well we had our computer completely wiped clean a few weeks ago so that has been my excuse for not blogging but it is finally time to document the rest of the summer before the fall turns winter. Hopefully there will be quite a few blogs in the next few days and then I will be caught up.

In the end of July my sister and her family were in Pocatello for a few days so the girls and I decided to make a quick trip out of it so we could spend some more time before they headed back to Singapore. Like always my girls loved every minute of being with their cousins. We miss them so much and will hopefully see them at Christmas?
My mom has some fun dress up clothes so the kids were busy with that. Luckily, she had a pirate outfit in the midst of the princesses and fairys for Ben!

I love Ben's pirate face! Precious!

Having fun in the swimming pool. The water was pretty cold but they slowly got more brave and were jumping in by the end of the day.

All of the kids were in bed but somehow Papa lured them all out one by one as they watched some Bugs Bunny on his computer. They were all laughing pretty hard even William!

We headed down to my elementary school so the kids could run around but it was pretty hot so we didnt stay long. It's funny how even though my school now has some new playground toys they still had they old scary looking ones and they brought back a lot of memories!

I love this picture of Lydia. She looks so old to me! We had such a great time!

Our Summer So Far. . .

2010-07-14T17:00:00.007-06:00

The end of May to the begining of July was a little bit crazy for us but mostly a lot of fun. We started by going to Utah to spend time with Jonathan's family but mostly to be there for his sister's wedding. We spent Memorial weekend in Park City at the cabin (one of our favorite places ever) and then spent the rest of the week having fun and getting ready for the wedding.
Playing Candy Land at the Cabin:
Lydia feeding the dog:

I think she likes it there:

When we got back from the cabin, Abigale helped Grandma wash the dog and she got a bit of a bath as well in the process:

The girls loved playing the piano but I am glad it is not in my house! Luckily, this piano has a volume:

The wedding was beautiful! It was such a beautiful day and Laurie looked gorgeous! Abigale and Lydia loved being little princesses!

After Utah we spent a few days at home and got some things done around the house.

Pruning the plum tree: Picnics in the backyard:

We went with our dear friends to the Meridian Dairy Parade. They give out free chocolate milk at the beginning but just a little advice- dont forget you put the milk in the back of your stroller and leave it in your car in 90 degree weather for a week! It will explode everywhere! YUCK! Luckily my husband is an expert at cleaning cars and got the rotten smell out!

Abigale and Maeley:

Lydia and Carson enjoyed the parade from a little further back but we still snuck them some candy:

My sister, Kristen, from Singapore, bought a house outside of Jackson so they are here (not in Boise but at least in the United States) for the summer and my nieces and nephew came to Boise for a week. We had a great time and Abigale loved being with her cousins.
At a water park:

We then went to Jackson to stay with my sister for my nieces baptism and for the 4th of July. We had a lot of fun going on walks, bike rides, swimming, eating, playing games, talking, and just being together. I dont have any pictures but my niece got baptized in the Teton River. It was such a beautiful, peaceful, and spiritual setting. I am so glad I was able to be there!
Fun with cousins:

Abigale and her cousin Ben are a month apart and even though they have only seen each other one other time- they became instant buddies! They were so cute together and just had a blast hanging out! We miss him already!

We have had a great summer so far and cant wait to see what the rest of it holds!