A Belated Birthday

I have been putting this off trying to figure out why my scanner zooms in on Bailey's Birthday pictures to the point where you can see her brain through her left nostril and that's about it?! Apparently cooperation isn't in the agenda, so I am opting to share the only two pictures that scanned decently (they are pretty darn cute if I may say so myself!).

Bailey turned 5 in January. FIVE!!! I think I just got a new wrinkle under my left eye... We surprised her by taking her to Jeepers - a cross between Chucky Cheese and an indoor kids theme park at the mall here. It was SO much fun!


Brandon opted to take Bailey, Hunter and Landon on the biggest ride FIRST. Since it was only two to a row, Bailey and Hunter had to sit by themselves with no mommy or daddy to help them be brave.. Hunter now has a phobia of all rides and refused to go on any more. Bailey loved every ride accept that one (she cried if we got too close to it). Landon on the other hand couldn't have cared less (granted he was the one sitting by dad)! He went on whatever we told him to. He was emotionless about the whole thing - didn't get scared or excited.. not sure if he's just super tough, or if I should be worried about that.. All in all it was a GREAT day!

I am SO thankful for this sweet girl. She is truly my saving grace! She is the most responsible 5 going on 16 year old you'll ever meet! ;) I think she thinks the baby sitters are actually her friends (not sure how she'll take the news when she finds out I pay them to come over?? lol). On numerous occasions she'll change Peyton's diaper and get her dressed in the morning before I even know they're awake! She is my ears, eyes, and many times, brain! She loves music, animals, dressing up, and dreaming about getting married and having babies (YIKES!). :) Always good for a laugh, and in tune enough to know when you could use a hug.. I have been one SPOILED mom with her for a daughter! I love you Bailey girl!!! :)

"Just touch your elbow!"

BOYS.. as a youth I never quite understood them. As an adult, I REEEALLY don't understand them! Now that I'm a mother of two adorable, charming, cuddly, crazy, messy, destructive and yet still "perfect" sons, I am anticipating wisdom coming my way any day now.

Hunter is 3 1/2, and after a few failed potty training attempts which included peeing on the front window and a call from a neighbor telling me my "napping" son was bearing all standing tall and proud in his bedroom windowsill (what is it with boys and windows?!), he has been the proud owner of underpants for a few months.

Something about the new found freedom of underpants has him "fiddling" more than ever these days... drives his mom C.R.A.Z.Y.!!! I've yet to determine the cause of this phenomenon.. perhaps he's just making sure his little buddy is still in tact, or maybe he just likes the look on my face and the extra attention it gets him?? Either way.. NOT cool (or sanitary!) little man! After embarrassing mom one too many times (like making the poor missionaries in our ward turn redder than a chili pepper, and giving Grandma and Grandpa an eyeful on Skype), I decided to take a more desperate approach: "Hunter, bud.. privates are not for touching. If you feel the need to touch something, just touch your elbow."... Seems pretty fool proof right?? Accept now I have a little boy walking around all day with his hand on his elbow, a distraut look on his face, and swiveling his hips around like he's got ants in his pants! Maybe it's just me, but I'm thinking this may be a tad bit more difficult to explain at the grocery store...

Ready? Aim. FIRE!!! ...oops...

Once upon a time we had a little girl who potty trained herself two weeks before her second birthday. No reminders were needed, no stickers or prize buckets. Just some princess underwear and a john and she took care of the rest! Then we were blessed with boys.. boys with boy parts.. boy parts that well, need more practice on their aim!

My favorite is Landon's poor facial expressions. "Dude.. what'd I ever do to you?! So NOT cool bro.." LOL ;)
Just in case you were wondering what happened...

The moral of the story? Steer clear from the line of fire!!! LOL :)

Free to good home

Free to good home:
Two year old boy with a passion for all things energetic. Comes from great breeding lines - he is in excellent health and has phenomenal strength for his age! Has a smile that will knock you off your feet and loves to cuddle when he isn't in "fast paced" mode. Shows great interest in interior design. However, he is in need of full time training on determining market needs and customer satisfaction for design services...

This little guy has no need of being constantly entertained.. he provides dinner and a show all by himself! *Constant supervision is recommended. Potty breaks, showers, mending to other children or household duties may not produce desired results in this full time training process.

Terms of sale:

-Must have a full time supply of pacifiers (aka "binks") on hand as he is rarely seen without.

-If he is sitting still for a period of time longer than a Disney movie, chances are he is sick - take him to the hospital IMMEDIATELY!

-Must be fed at least 10 times a day. Keep a large supply of food with you at all times just in case.

-He loves to be read to, but do not leave him unattended with any books that you would like to read again at a later date, unless you enjoy impromptu jigsaw puzzles.

Last but not least, he MUST be returned once training is complete (we estimate he will have full understanding of basic principles by the age of 8).

Disclaimer: We LOVE Landon and although at times tempting, we would never let him decorate anyone else's home other than our own (at least not intentionally!). This post is for memories sake only. PLEASE do not use it to call child protection services.. though parent protection services may want to hear our story.. ;P

Where's the frosting?!

So I've diagnosed myself with selective OCD.. my hangers are color-coordinated, my DVDs are in alphabetical order, and I am constantly organizing and re-organizing my pantry and refrigerator. That being said, I LOATHE cleaning the bathrooms and microwaves, and I never make my bed. Granted I wake up anywhere from 4-5am for seminary each morning, so making the bed would consist of kicking my hubby out first which I think is cruel.. and I blame my lack of enthusiasm over microwaves and bathrooms to working in a deli for a number of years where there was an abundance in opportunities to do just that. Needless to say, I think I've made my lifetime quota in those areas! ;)

ANYWAYS, today as I was re organizing my fridge, I found a jar of chocolate frosting. There was only 1/3 of it left. Too much to throw away, too much for me to eat alone and still feel decent at days end! So, naturally, I called my kids in! :) They eat the frosting for me so I don't "have to", AND I help convince them that their mom rocks! ;) Bailey and Hunter (Landon was resting in his room) happily took their over sized "Daddy" spoons and the jar and went to work! Once Hunter realized the scoopfuls were less than huge, he lost interest and went merrily on his way. Bailey kept at it.. Now, I LOVE chocolate I'll admit, but I have never, NEVER seen a frosting jar THIS clean, unless it's gone through a dishwasher... THAT'S MY GIRL!!! :)

I mean truly, have you ever seen such a beautifully licked jar?! "Where's the frosting?!" I said laughing.. "What did you say mom??" came her sweet reply.. she walked around the corner and I busted up again! :) I LOVE this girl!!!

Dinner AND a Show!

I gave up hope for a quite, peaceful family dinner about 2 or 3 kids ago, but yesterday evening definitely took the cake!

Being both a Fast Sunday and daylight savings, by the time we all returned home from church, Brandon and I were VERY hungry. I had planned ahead and put chicken in the crock pot which was ready to shred when we walked through the door. We turned on a Sunday movie for the crazies and Brandon and I went to work prepping dinner for Hawaiian Haystacks (YUM!). We called the kids in and all sat down for what was sure to be a picture-perfect family dinner!

We blessed the food, and had been eating for about .2 seconds when we heard what sounded like water spilling on the floor. Landon and Hunter (the usual culprits) didn't have open glasses on hand, so we didn't know where the sound was coming from until we heard Bailey timidly say, "Ooops.. I think I had an accident. I'm sorry mommy and daddy.." Well, you just can't get mad at that sweet little face, and, we understand that accidents happen! I told her it was alright and to just go upstairs and change her pants. When she was finished, she could bring a towel down to wipe up her mess (she's 4 1/2 and quite capable of cleaning up after herself, so we left it be until she returned). She complied and went upstairs.

I then caught a glimpse of Landon who was chewing up his food and spitting it on the floor. Apparently it was good enough to taste, but not enough to swallow?! Brandon and I simultaneously chastised him for his lack of manners. I then turned to Brandon to give him my "What the heck?! Did he really just do that??" look, when I noticed Hunter... Amidst the commotion he took it upon himself to strip down. He was standing on his chair with only his shirt on, with one leg up on the table, slightly leaning back (pelvis forward) as if to say "Ah yeah, look at me, I'm a boy!". Well, as cute as I might think my kids are in their naked form (don't judge - you know you think your kids are cute too!), that was a little more "BOY" than I was hoping to see while eating my dinner! Brandon and I tried to chastise him, but all we could do was laugh!

Once we calmed ourselves down enough to cover up his display of "manhood", we heard splashes.. this time I knew EXACTLY where it was coming from and I looked under the table to find Landon on the floor playing in Bailey's puddle! For real?! It was one of those moments where you can laugh or you cry.. Brandon and I chose to do both! After everyone was cleaned and re-dressed, we stuck everyone in their car seats, took a nice Sunday drive and laughed over all of our little "blessings"! :D

Ironically, it will go down as one of the most fun family-bonding Sunday afternoons to date - pee, child anatomy and all! ;)

On a different note, last Monday a girlfriend of mine helped us take some family pictures for our Christmas cards this year. Here are a few of our favorite, more "put together" moments!..

Dear Grandma,

Dear Grandma(s),

My mommy has been SUPER busy lately and really dropped the "capture every milestone" ball... it's probably hiding somewhere under mounds of tulle! But not to worry, it looks like she's finally caught up with the craziness, and all of the Halloween costumes (307 to be exact) are in the hands of their rightful owners rather than decorating our now less than colorful home. But it's okay, because although I enjoyed looking at the vibrant colors, it always made me sad when mommy told me I couldn't eat her hard work.. :( What's up with that?!

Alas, I have been growing like CRAZY - sitting up, crawling, and even starting to eat small finger foods! Can you believe I am 6 1/2 months old now?! As for my siblings, about a month ago Bailey decided she was big enough for no training wheels. She's doing GREAT and looks way bigger than mommy and daddy would like her to be! I guess it made Hunter want to be big too, because he finally showed interest in his bike and is riding like a pro (with training wheels to his dismay)! This makes Landon happy, since he now has the push car all to himself! Anyways, mommy pulled out the camera to capture the sweet moment of Bailey showing Hunter how to pedal on his bike around the cul-de-sac. She got some really great shots, but you'll never see them... you see, she came out to play with us and put her camera on top of her car! I guess she's been so busy that she's been forgetting things and left it up there. Errands had to be run of course, (we eat a LOT over here!), and we haven't seen our lovely camera since! :(

Today, I guess mommy couldn't take it anymore because she got out her old junky camera (which she despises!) so she could get a cute picture of me before I decide to start walking.. it's not fantastic quality, but, I guess it'll do until daddy buys mommy a new camera for Christmas... ;)

Love you!

Love, Peyton :)

Howdy Partner!

A HUGE THANK YOU to the Johnson family for hosting their AWESOME Barbn Dance last night! It was so much fun mixing and mingling with good friends, and making new ones too! :)

My kids LOVED their horses! I can't imagine how big a full grown horse must seem to a child!

Even Peyton was able to get up close and personal with the mighty beasts! I hope all my kids will love horses as much as their mom! Brandon promised me a horse someday.. I told Bailey (who also LOVE them) and between the two of us, I don't think he'll get off the hook that easy! ;)

The Johnson's hired a man to teach square dancing to everyone who wanted to learn. Bailey and Brandon had a BLAST dancing together (even though it was CRAZY hot!).

Before we headed out, we attempted a family shot... this is as good as it was gonna get!

We had such a blast, and made some great memories! It's times like these that you just want to last forever!!! :)

The New "Big Man" on Campus!

Can Hunter really be THREE?! My word where has the time gone?! If he wakes up tomorrow and wants to start dating, I think I just might kill over! Serisouly though, I have been SO blessed with this adorable kid! He is so sweet and sensitive.. my little lovey boy! :) Only his face could win me over to the point that I would purchase homes for his BUGS for his birthday!

In case you didn't know, I love all God's creatures.. truly, I do. But there are certain creatures that are meant to stay OUTSIDE, and not interact with mankind. That being said, Hunter LOVES bugs! A while back I gave my kids jars to collect their bugs in. I vividly remember cleaning my kitchen when Bailey came running up:

"Mommy, come quick! You have to see what Hunter did, and I don't think you're gonna be very happy..."
"What happened Bailey??"
"He let all our friends out to play in our preschool room downstairs!"
"Our friends?? What friends??"
"You know.. our worm friends, and our roly-poly friends..."

Yeah... about 3 dozen creepy crawlies later, you may be wondering if I'm glutten for punishment?! Well, one look at his face, and you just might have a lapse in judgement too! ;) Happy birthday buddy!!!