Lily opening Aunt Rachel and Uncle Kaleb's Present

Birthday Video Clips

Lily's Birthday Celebration Part One

Here are some pictures from Lily's little party with just us on her birthday. Thanks Christie for the birthday dinner, thanks Holly for letting us demolish the cake that was meant for playgroup and thanks Rachel for sending her a present so that she had something to open! Yes, Lily had to take a bath after she had cake before she could open any presents! She had a blast! After we opened the presents she found the present from us, a bike, and we all went on a bike ride/walk. She loved it!

Lily's Birthday

Well, of all the times for Lily to get sick, it is on her birthday. It has been quite a week. It all started with Skyler having an ear infection. When he wasn't getting better and I noticed a rash on his arms and legs, I took him back to the doctor. She informed me that he had hand foot and mouth disease. His whole mouth, tongue, cheeks, throat had ulcers all over it. I felt terrible. He had been complaining about his mouth hurting, I thought it was his molar coming in. Obviously I was wrong. Because of his illness, I rescheduled Lily's playgroup birthday celebration twice. I was so not wanting to reschedule. Holly made us the most adorable ladybug cake and I wasn't sure what to do. But she is such a sweetheart, she's going to make another one for us! We were finally going to have it tomorrow, when this morning I found out, Miss Lily has it too. Poor girl, her cheek is an "owy." So I rescheduled her party to next Wednesday, canceled a couple of other things and rescheduled a couple of more things. It's been rough around here. Skyler missed two days of school this. We have wonderful friends! Erika brought us some yummy tortilla soup, Christy offered us a meal as well and brought us some papers from preschool! Thanks everyone! We will be over this soon! And we will be done with the sickness for the year I hope, we certainly have had our fair share! So Lily will turn two, with foot, hand and mouth disease, a huge black knot on her head from running into the wall with the blanket over her head and no celebration, at least not yet. But, at least we have a birthday to eat, even though Lily already dipped into that already!

Lily turns two

Two years ago we were blessed with the birth of our little Lily Anne. It was a tough pregnancy and full of anxiety and fear, but our prayers were rewarded with our little ladybug. She has brought such joy to our lives and we would not be complete without her. Her laugh, her smile, her drama, it is one of the best things in our life. Happy Birthday Baby!

Lily through the years:

Easter

Lily and Skyler's Easter Baskets before they were discovered.



















The Kids in their Easter outfits right before Church.










The joy of discovering their Easter Baskets!

Flashback

Last year on this date the whole family was in Hawaii for my brother's wedding. It was the first time in an airplane for Skyler and Lily and it was an exciting time. Here are some pictures from our trip. What do we remember most? Walking, a lot, pineapple, Jamba Juice, walking some more!

Potty Training Update #2

It's done. She couldn't take it anymore and just let it out, on the potty. It was quite a magnificent specimen if I do say so myself. This may be too much information for some of you, but it was shaped like a snake, she got up and saw it and said "Poopy snake mama." That's exactly what it was. We flushed that poopy snake down the toilet and were happy as can be!

Potty Training Update and an Ear Infection

Well, the potting training has gone better than I thought and Lily is completely done with it. She knows when to go and she tells us and we go in the bathroom and she takes care of business, that is if she has to peepee. If she has to poopoo, it's a different story. She just doesn't go. She has to go and has had to go since dinner last night, but just refuses to do it on the potty and so is just refusing to go! This is not good I am sure, but it's bound to come out at some point. The girl is so good she is waking up from her nap and in the morning dry!!!!!!! Love it.

Skyler has been running a nasty nasty fever since Sunday. I took him to the doctor yesterday, he has an ear infection. Was I surprised-no. I just don't get it. The doctor said he would probably stop getting them once it warmed up outside. I won't hold my breath. He did schedule a 2 week follow up to make the infection is really gone. That was nice of him. There will be a few more posts some time today with Easter pics and a fun flashback to a year ago. HMMM, what were we doing a year ago? It was warm and sunny, that's my only clue!

Potty Training

I am not sure any mother ever really looks forward to potty training. I know that I never have. With Skyler I kept putting it off. I had reasons, but they were just excuses. I really just wanted someone else to do it for me. But at age 2 1/2 I felt there really was no excuse to wait any longer and I just did it. It took half a day. That was it. It was done. So knowing that, you'd think I'd have had a better attitude with Lily. No, I don't. She's different than Skyler and I wasn't sure she would take to it, because at 18 months Skyler had 100 times the vocabulary she does at 23 months, and she's stubborn! (She is female!) But, yesterday, I bit the bullet. It was over for her and diapers. Yesterday I took her by the hand and walked her into the bathroom and told that from now on when she had to go potty, she would use the potty in the bathroom. No more diapers. We had two minor accidents and the rest of the time she went in the potty. Today we had one accident and I even took her to the store without any problems. So, I guess she is different than Skyler, but not any worse or any better. I am going to love the fact that I won't have to change diapers anymore, however, having one using the potty can be quite inconvenient at times as well. Luckily I already know where all of the bathrooms are at all of the places I frequent.

I've been tagged!

I wasn't tagged just once, but twice by Chris and Rachel, so here are my answers:



> Two names you go by: Stephanie, Steph, but I really prefer Stephanie

>
> Two things you are wearing right now

> sweatpants and tshirt

> TWO OF your favorite things to do:

read, spend time with my kids

> Two things you want very badly at the moment:

> rest and for Lily to be potty trained
>
> Two Pets that you have or have had:Mary and Pepsi

> Two people who will fill this out:?

> Two things you did last night:

> Watched American Idol, worked out

> Two things you ate today

> egg, toast

> Two people you last talked to

> Holly Erica

>
Two things you're doing tomorrow:

Potty training Lily, Wii game night at Finans

> Longest trips taken:
>Hawaii, Key West

> Your favorite holidays: Christmas and Thanksgiving

> Two favorite beverages:
> water and iced tea

Now who is going to fill this out for me? We'll see! Respond and fill in the blanks for me!

When Dad Comes Home

It's always the greatest thing to watch when Chuck walks through the door after a long hard day at work. The kids stop what they are doing and run fast as fast to see who can get to Daddy first. He usually gets knocked over, and that is part of the fun. Then there are lots of hugs and kisses and they all move into the bedroom. They crawl up on the bed while Chuck is changing his clothes and putting his things away and they talk about their day. It's been really nice because after Chuck listens to Skyler and Lily tell about their day, Skyler has been asking about his day. Chuck, not one to leave out any details, explains what his day was like. It's very nice.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

These three leprachauns wanted to wish you a wonderful day! Luck of the Irish to ya all!

Lily and her Dad

I often find Lily and Chuck like this. She will get a book and hunt her dad down and he is so happy that he stops what he is doing and reads her the book. It makes my heart happy to see.

The first 2008 visit to the zoo

We went to the zoo on Wednesday and we had a lot of fun. We loved looking at the animals in the desert dome, especially all of the birds. We also loved the giraffes and zebras and of course, Bruce the sharks in the aquarium. Skyler really enjoyed pushing Lily around, and so did I! He also enjoyed posing for pictures and riding the giraffe, even though you can't tell by looking at the picture! Here are a few pictures of our adventure.

Mom Gets Alone Time

Chuck is the best. He let me go do a little shopping all by myself. I was so excited. I was excited to be shopping without worrying how long I was going to be gone; if I had enough diapers, wipes, snacks, drinks, entertainment. I was excited because I didn't have to plan my stops strategically to prevent tantrums, nor did I have to worry about buying things I didn't need or want just to pacify anyone. I had no time limit. I guess what I am trying to say is that it was MARVELOUS! I went to the resale shop to look at for some clothes and stuff. I bought a $3.50 bike for Lily. I then went to Hobby Lobby and bought some things to make a couple of wreaths, a few birthday presents, and a few odds and ends. Then I went to Walmart and bought Lily her birthday present and a couple of things for Easter. I had a nice time wandering around, taking my time, and enjoying myself. I'm sure it will be a long time before it happens again, but that's okay, as long as I get a few moments like this every once in awhile, I'll make it!

Kindergarten Roundup

Yesterday was Kindergarten Roundup at Peter Sarpy. I can't believe Skyler is going to be in Kindergarten! The time has flown by. My little baby boy is going to be in school full time and it doesn't seem possible. It seems like yesterday that we were bringing the little peanut home from the hospital on a cold, snowy December day. He is such a barrel of laughs and brings such happiness to our home. I will miss him during the day. Lily is really going to miss him. He is excited about the fact that he gets to ride the school bus and that he gets to take a blanket and a pillow to school for quiet time. He saw the playground equipment and asked what it was for. I told him it was for recess and he told me recess was going to be his favorite thing to do at school. Isn't that true of everyone? I signed him up for summer school. It starts the last week of May and goes for three weeks. The scary and good part is that it is all day long, to help get him ready for school in the fall. I hope I can handle it. I mean I hope he can handle it!

Donuts

I took a donut quiz and this is what kind of donut I am:

You Are a Glazed Donut

Okay, you know that you're plain - and you're cool with that. You prefer not to let anything distract from your sweetness. Your appeal is understated yet universal. Everyone dig you. And in a pinch, you'll probably get eaten.

What Donut Are You?

Seriously!

Really, enough is enough!!!! Skyler has an ear infection again. Tuesday night he was acting so crabby and refused to eat his dinner. We made him go to bed, it was 6:15. He actually did go to bed without much of a fight. I should have known something was off. Wednesday morning, he woke up with an ear ache and a fever. No trip to Bounce U for play date, instead a trip to the doctor's office. He has an ear infection in the same ear as last month-what gives. So after a lot of rest yesterday, he finally came back to life enough last night to play with his sissy and eat a pretty good dinner. Then what happens, you ask? He woke up this morning at 6 o'clock vomiting and has been ever since. No school today. No fun lunch with Jonathan. This afternoon is Kindergarten roundup. I guess I will be going by myself. Bummer! I don't know what the heck is wrong with my two constantly sick boys, but I SERIOUSLY have had it!!!

She's just so cute!

Skyler's Spiky Hair

Skyler just had to have his hair like this the other day. He wanted me to capture it and put it on my blog- his words.

Well I did it.

I decided to cancel my online craft website. I hadn't sold anything, hadn't even gotten an inquiry about anything, so I thought it was time to move on. I am thinking about selling some things on Etsy. I have heard such great things about it. Will keep you posted!