Not quite there yet......

As you can tell from this picture here........

........somebody is still learning how to use a spoon. What's it like cleaning up a mess like this on a daily basis, you ask? Would be frustrating if the face underneath the mess wasn't SO DARN CUTE!

In other updates, I'm still quite amused at the daily chatter that takes place in our home. Being a mom of little boys is something else, that's for sure.

Ethan likes to ask how to spell things lately, since I've been teaching him how to spell his name. Here's an example.
E: "Mom, how do you spell lego?"
M: "L-E-G-O."

E: "How do you spell book?"
M: "B-O-O-K."

E: "Mom, how do you spell buzz lightyear, defender of the universe?"
M: "Uhhhhhhhhh......."

Ethan has also entered the wonderful stage of "testing" us what he can and can't get away with. So I use phrases like, "If you do this one more time....." or, "the next time you don't listen to mommy........." and they are usually followed with a threat of some kind. Take away his computer, his toys, his movies, sit in time out, etc. Which really, as my dad would say, it's not a threat as much as it's a promise because trust me, I ALWAYS FOLLOW THROUGH. The day E realizes this--both of our lives will be much easier. Anyway, so today Skyler must have said something to Ethan along the lines of getting his computer (DVD player) taken away if he didn't listen. To which Ethan, in a very authoritative voice said, "DAD, IF YOU TAKE MY COMPUTER AWAY.........."and then he just sort of trailed off because he couldn't think of a good enough threat to use on daddy. Too funny.

I also find myself saying, "Get off of your brother right now." To both boys lately. Teig is starting to figure out that he's not so small anymore.

As I'm typing this both of my boys are throwing ridiculous fits (maybe trying to see which one can scream the loudest) which makes me wonder when the insanity will end :)

The big 3!

We celebrated Ethan's 3rd birthday on January 29th. It's hard to believe that 3 years ago I had my first brand new baby! And now 3 years later I have two little guys who aren't babies anymore. We love E more than words can express. I can't believe he's ours and we feel so blessed he calls us mom and dad. Ethan has been on a Buzz Lightyear kick for some time now. He swears he's a space ranger and likes to use his laser beam on cars that are passing by. I love his little imagination! He can always be heard saying, "Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!" or "To infinity and beyond!" So obviously we went with a Buzz Lightyear theme. Those of you that know me well know that birthdays are no light matter for me. I go all out. Hey, it's their one day/year that they have all to themselves. Unless you're my dad. Then you have to share your birthday with your little brother. Lame. Ok now for some Buzz overload.
The moon cake didn't take long to make at all. The little alien heads? Took some time. Thankfully my brother Jared helped out by rolling out the blasted tiny eyeballs. 3 for each alien? Poke my eyes out.

Used a new brand of fondant for the aliens...Fondarific. And fondarific it was. Tasted just like buttercream. In Ethan's words, "So YUM."

A close-up. All the cupcakes were sprinkled with edible glitter. Disco Dust. Best. Idea. Ever. If you want your kids to eat their food--just sprinkle some glitter on it. Works miracles. I put some on green beans the other night. My boys wolfed it down. I'm not above lacing my children's veggies with glitter if it means they eat it....heck, I'd probably eat worms if they were served to me with disco dust. Everything is better with disco dust. 'Nuff said.

It takes some concentration to keep your 3 fingers up but your pinky finger down :)

Told him to smile and this is what I got.

Opening presents

Proud to have blown his candle out all by himself

Teigan might have been slightly miffed that the attention wasn't all on him.....he was just happy to finally get his cupcake!

Mama and Ethan sporting the big 3 again. Oh I love that man.


It was a fun day and we were so happy to have been able to celebrate in Colorado with both sets of grandparents and even one great grandparent! Happy Birthday to Ethan!!!


On a side note, my brother Jared turned 13 while we were in town. I used the leftover fondant from E's party to make Jared some pretty sweet basketball cupcakes. We are all partied out until Sky's b-day in April :)

LOVE.

Looking at some of these random pictures just bring a smile to my face. This is my life and I love it.
I could watch Teig eat corn on the cob every single day without it ever getting less funny.

Gotta love 4 little buddies

Especially when 3 of them are little boys and 2 of them are wearing matching jammies

2 little monkeys....

Playing xbox with daddy. (Sky has his game face on)

The best place on earth for mommies and little ones

Can't imagine my life without this little nerd alert :)

BFF's :)

Family Pics 2009

We had the beautiful and talented Marissa Moss do our family pictures this year. I don't know about anybody else, but I practically lose sleep over coordinating outfits. Skyler is such a good sport to go along with my antics because his thought is "can't we just wear whatever?" To that comment I could just roll over and die. And I would before I let my family just wear "whatever." Ethan and Teigan did great, and Marissa had the fabulous idea of incorporating hot chocolate into our session. It was a blast and I totally recommend Marissa to all of my Las Vegas peeps.

UGHH!!!

The title of my post is exactly how I feel about updating a blog that has been neglected since Christmas. It's also Ethan's new form of expression whenever Teigan tries to take his toy, books, computer, etc. I hear, "Teigan no that's MY computer. UGHH!!!!!" at least a couple of times per day. That's most likely my fault because I say UGHH to pretty much anything that frustrates me. I need to be better about remembering that I have little ears around that listen and mimic pretty much everything I do. Ok, on to updating.

Christmas 2009 was good to us! Ethan was so excited to make cookies for Santa. We put some out with milk and a carrot for Rudolph and told Ethan that Santa would eat them when he came to our house to leave presents. You'd think that'd freak a little guy out a bit. It kind of freaks me out that it's tradition to tell your children that some big old bearded guy just slides on down the chimney and walks around your house while you're sleeping.....any time other than Christmas that just would not be acceptable! :) Anyway, this is Ethan being super excited that Santa has come.

Teigan got a new slide for Christmas

And this is how he felt about it :)

Daddy and E building with new legos--Ethan's absolute favorite thing to do!

Teig and Ethan celebrating Christmas at Grandma and Papa's house in January.



It's so much fun to celebrate the Christmas Holiday with two little guys who have such happy little hearts. We love them.

Celebrating FOUR Years

Really? Where has the time gone? I know we have two boys now, but seriously--it feels like yesterday we were dating and falling in love.

I've heard it said before that marriage is a mirror. And I completely believe that. Initially the notion of marriage brought mostly thoughts of always loving Skyler, but now looking in retrospect at our years together, I’ve come to see that so much of it has been about me learning and growing to be a better person. I’m amazed at how much I have been stretched and challenged and made better because of my marriage. My marriage mirror has shown me that I can be stubborn and selfish. It has shown me that I need to support more and complain less; that I need to continually seek maturity and wisdom where I harbor irresponsibility.

When I look into my "marriage mirror" and see my unattractive qualities I feel so blessed to have an eternal companion who looks past them to see the good. Someone who helps me to be better. Someone who loves me when I am unlovable and respects me when I am not worthy of respect.

My husband makes me feel beautiful, treats me as though my spirit is gentle and worth loving, and that I am valuable; I have realized, although I don't always show it, that I have a heart for Skyler's happiness--that I only want to see him succeed and desire to take care of his spiritual, physical, and emotional needs. I've learned through marriage how important it is to love, support and understand my husband--to really be his best friend.

When I fell in love with Skyler and agreed to marry him--I knew I was beginning a journey which would require us to stand side-by-side, hand-in-hand no matter the trials we would face. What I didn't realize but now do, is that as much of our marriage is a collective journey to be done together, it is also an individual one. One where I am supposed to learn and grow and stretch my capacity to do things I never knew possible. It's just comforting to know that while I work on my individual weaknesses, I have a husband who loves and supports me.

To my honey on our anniversary, I want to thank you--for the memories, the joy, and the richness you have added to my life. I love you more than all of my favorites combined. Thank you for always loving me...especially in those times that I have been "unlovable." I know we are meant to last an eternity. I love you!

Out of the Mouth of Babes 2

Wrestle. That's what my boys do. All day everyday. Teigan is usually an unwilling participant in this sport, but he does what he has to to survive. Typically I can see the look in Ethan's eyes before he attempts to tackle Teig and I tell him "Don't even think about it mister." To which Ethan has a look like "how did she know?!" Other times I will walk in mid-wrestle to Teigan's screeches (doesn't cry-just screeches at me to rescue him) and I have to say, "Ethan get off of your brother-he doesn't like it!" And then there are times like the other day when the boys are rolling/wrestling around playfully. Boys will be boys right? So I allow that.

I was folding clothes and the boys were wrestling behind me. I heard them stop rolling around so I turned to look at them and Ethan had pinned Teigan--I was about to say "ok, get off your brother now" when Ethan said to Teigan, "Copper, you're my very best friend." Teigan didn't respond. Obviously. Frustrated by this, Ethan said, "Tei-GAN, you're SUPPOSED to say 'and you're mine too, Tod." I choked on my water. It was sooooo funny!

In case you didn't know, these lines are compliments of Fox and the Hound. Tod (fox) and Copper (hound dog) are playing when these lines take place. My little genius memorized these lines to use at the perfect time with his best friend. How much do I love my baby boys?? Thiiiiiiiiiis much!!!