BUNCO

I wanted to shout out to my bunco group and say how much I love these girls. It started out as a bunch of girls who lived in the same neighborhood, and now a year later we have become such great friends I debated about whether to leave the group when we moved but am glad I decided not to. We have such a fun group, each girl offers something different and we always have such a blast each month! I am glad I have made such great friends and will be able to keep in touch with all of you after I move!

Swing into Spring

With spring approaching we have had some warm days here and there. We have taken full advantage of them and playing outside as much as possible! I set up a play date for Dallin with his little friend Cameron, which was tons of fun! Claire enjoyed her time with a litte swing action (her first time by the way and she loved every minute)

Weekend Getaway

We ventured down to St. George with Andy's parents a couple of weekends ago for a quick getaway. It ended up raining most of the time, but it was still nice to get out break from the normal routine. We ate lots of yummy food, went swimming, miniature golfing and of course, shopping! The kids were great in the car and Dallin thought the hotel was the greatest thing on earth... especially his "big bed, the same size as mommy and daddys!"

The first night we drove around to find a park for Dallin to play at. We ended up at Dixie State and found their soccer field. The gates were open so we took full advantage of that and went and played on the field. Oh boy, was Dallin in HEAVEN. He was running around like no tomorrow, and was so excited to be able to play on a real field and kick into a real goal.

After playing soccer we noticed there was a baseball game going on across the street so we went and watched Southern Utah University play against Utah Valley University for a bit! Again, Dallin lovin his life!

Miss Claire being adorable as usual!

Dallin showing off his mad mini golf skills. Boy does this kid love all things sports! Like father like son!

An answer... maybe?

I have posted before about Dallin's sleeping issues, how he wakes up 2-3 times every night. Well, about 6 months ago I took him to an ENT specialist to get his tonsils checked out because we thougth maybe he had obstructive sleep apnea. This condition causes them to stop breathing, and gasp during the night often waking them up. They are usually restless all night, and rarely enter the deep REM sleep. Well, the ENT visit left us with no answers because he said that Dallin's tonsils didnt look enlarged. I basically never thougth much about it again, and just figured him waking up was just behavioral. Now we will switch modes for a minute and talk about another issue that we have noticed with Dallin lately. We started noticing that he talks quite loud and is ALWAYS asking us to repeat what we are saying. Again, I never thought much about it, just figured it was a normal 3 year old behavior to always ask "what?" Lately, however, Andy and I have really felt that it was a problem, and we really feel like he has a hard time hearing. So yesterday I had to take Claire to the Doctor because she had an ear infection and I decided to mention this probelm to her. I was quite shocked when she told me that kids who have excess fluid behind their ears often times have difficulty hearing because sounds tend to be muffled due to the fluid. She looked in his ears and sure enough he had fluid behind both of them. She told me that the solution for this problem was to remove the tonsils and adeniods because this helped with the drainage. I went on to remind her of the sleep issues we were having with Dallin and how he snores and often gasps, is restless and wakes up mulitiple times during the night. She assured me that he truly must have sleep apnea, even though his tonsils aren't enlarged. Hello? Is this seriously happening right now? Is this the problem we have been dealing with for over 3 years now? Anyway, she wants us to get his tonsils and adenoids out and hopefully we can cure his hearing problem and sleeping problem... kill two birds with one stone. HOORAY! I am nervous though, like any mom who's child will be undergoing surgery would be.

8 months baby!

It seriously breaks my heart that Claire is 8 months already. I think what makes me most sad is I cant say for sure that we will have more children. I just want her to stay little so I can really soak in this phase in her life. Claire, however, has other plans in mind. Here are a few milestones she's made in the last few months...
-she started crawling YESTERDAY
-she can pull herself up in her crib (I about had a heart attack the first time i walked into her room and saw her leaning over the edge.. phew.
-she weighs a whopping 18 lbs 11 oz
-she has four top teeth and two bottom teeth, and cutting two more
-she can say "da da" and "ba ba"
-she loves clapping and waving
-she eats anything, and would much rather have regular food than baby food
-I finally suceeded at weaning her from her 2 am feeding.. sigh
-she LOVES her daddy and makes the cutest scrunchy face when she sees him
-but she is definitely a mommas girl all the way
-bath time is pure joy to her
-she thinks Dallin is the greatest, and laughs all day long at him (BTW Dallin is pretty fond of her too)
-her hair has finally grown to pony tail capacity!

My sleepy kids

Claire's cheeks get SOOO rosy when she is tired! She is so cute, and this is what she looks like when it is way past her bed time....

This picture was taken when Dallin was sick last week. He didnt really move from the couch for two days, which is sooo unlike him. He was fighting so hard to keep his little eyes open. I told him, "You can just close your eyes if you are tired". His response was, "but I cant see with my eyes closed". Adorable.

Our new chapter begins....

So long our lovely home....

I am happy to say that we found renters for our home. Although it will be sad to leave I am very excited for this new chapter in our lives. We decided a few months ago after hearing of an amazing deal on apartments through Andy's work that we would rent our house out and move. We knew it was risky, and there was no guarantee that we would find a renter, but we went the first day and put a deposit down on the apartment anyway, knowing we had to take the chance. It has been a very stressful few months for us, money has been tight, and things were so unpredictable. We took the house off the market during the holidays and reposted it the end of January. We had a bit of interest, but nothing serious. Knowing that the move-in date for the apartment was rapidly approaching, we made a price reduction to try and generate more interest. Well it worked, and we had two applicants in two days. We debated between the two and ended up picking a nice professional couple with two teenage children. We feel really good about our selection, and will be signing the lease with them on Saturday. We will be moving out on March 18! I am excited that we will be saving hundreds of dollars each month, money we can finally start putting away! i can finally feel good about having gone part time at work, and Andy can feel less pressure as well. All and all it will be a good thing for our family! So with that said... Bring on the packing.

Sick little dude

Our weekend consisted of....

-Two visits to the doctor
-One vistit to the hospital for a chest xray
-Lots of medicine
-refilling the humidifier
-wiping and enless dripping nose
-listening to non-stop coughing (poor thing, had hardly a voice left)
-lots of cuddling with mom
-3 days of kids shows/movies
-constant use of hand sanitizer

Basically, we had one poor sick little dude, and he is still not doing too hot.
Luckily (for Andy's sake), Andy's parents volunteered to come sit at the house with Dallin on Sunday so we could go enjoy watching the superbowl with Andy's brothers. What great in-law's I have, right? Dallin really enjoyed the time with Grammy and Granddad (as usual). I thought Dallin was getting a bit better as of last night, but when he woke up in the night with his fever/chills and oh so awful sounding croup cough I was quickly reminded that he was not better yet. Poor thing, I have never seen him like this EVER, he usually handles sickness very well and his hardly phased. I know he is not feeling well when he stays cuddled up in his blanke on the couch for the majority of the day. Now I just pray that my little Claire doesn't catch it... but I know that is wishful thinking.

Splish Splash

I love that Claire is now old enough to bathe with her brother. Dallin sure thinks it is the coolest thing, he loves helping me wash her hair.... so cute. I am so lucky that Dallin just thinks the world of his sister. He is soo sweet to her, and always is kissing and hugging her. My favorite thing is sometimes in the mornings when Dallin wakes up and come in our room if Claire is awake I will tell him to go say hello to her.... and then I just lay in bed and listen in the monitor to him talking to her. Its the freaking cutest thing ever, and he always crawls into her crib and is lying down next to her. Gotta love these two, I mean how could you not?

Time for a change

Well for those who may not be down with the latest and greatest Sylvia business, here is some news.....

We are renting out our house

........because.......

a) we got a sweet deal on a cheaper place
b) we need the extra money so we can save more
c) the market is lousy so we definitely dont want to sell
d) it's time for a change

So, there you have it. If anyone knows of anyone who needs a 3 bedroom townhouse in Sandy let me know!

I AM IN LOVE...

WITH THIS CUTIE PIE. SOMETIMES I STILL CANT BELIEVE I AM AM MOM TO TWO KIDS, AND FEEL SO LUCKY TO HAVE A BOY AND A GIRL. CLAIRE HAS BECOME A BUSY BEE LATELY, SHE IS ON THE VERGE OF LEARNING TO CRAWL AND PULL HERSELF UP ON THINGS. SHE HAS TWO BOTTOM TEETH AND HER TOP 4 ARE CUTTING THROUGH AS WE SPEAK. POOR THING I CANT IMAGINE HOW PAINFUL THAT MUST BE. SHE IS STILL OUR HAPPY BABY, LEARNING TO SAY "DA DA" (OF COURSE, NEVER "MA MA" FIRST). SPEAKING OF HER MAMA, SHE IS A MAMAS GIRL 100%. SHE CRIES WHEN I LEAVE THE ROOM AND CRIES IN JOY WHEN I COME BACK... MELTS MY LITTLE HEART. SHE IS 7 MONTHS OLD NOW, AND I AM GUESSING WEIGHS ABOUT 18 LBS (MOST OF THAT IN HER CHUBBY BUBBLY LEGS, CUTE AS CAN BE). LOVE HER!

2010

This year WILL bring me:

more memories
more laughter
more vacations
more date nights
more bonding with my kids
more energy
more money
more romance
more opportunities
more spiritual experiences

less sitting
less fast food
less soda
less worrying
less health problems
less weight
less spending
less trials
less clutter


Let's get this party started!

Can someone say "teething"?

Claire is teething so bad, so I decided to let her have a biter biscuit. She was in teether HEAVEN! I tell ya, I never knew a 6 month old could throw a tantrum but oh my... when I tried to take that thing away she was not a happy camper. It was pretty funny actually. They are the messiest things ever though, pretty much requires a bath after. She started out clean, but as you can see by the last picture, she was a complete mess by the end. Oh, and can you even stand those eyes, I mean seriously.

My three favorite people

My world would not be complete without these cuties in my life.... I am one lucky girl.

Sledding

New Year's Day we headed out for some fun family time sledding. It was a blast, and Dallin sure had fun. We even bundled Claire up for some fresh air and I pulled her and Dallin around in one of the sleds. Unfortunately, I fell pretty hard on the hill when I tried walking down it to get Dallin and landed right on my butt. OUCH it hurt so bad, and now my tailbone is bruised. No fun for me. I cant wait for antoher snow storm so we can get some fresh powder on the hill. We had to drive around to find a hill that had enough snow on it. Next up... Skiing. Cant wait to get Dallin out on the slopes!