What We've Been Up To, Pt. 3

I promise this is the last part of these postings. I mostly just have a couple random topics and pictures, so on with the show.

First I want to mention that I've lost a total 10 pounds. I'm excited and hopeful that I'll lose the last 15 before the pictures in 2 1/2 months.

I also want to mention that Kaelie was weighed and charted today and she weighs 15 pounds 10 oz and is 25 3/4 inches long. Both of which put her in the 50 percentile. She is average for her age and the complete opposite of Ize. I love how unique both of them are already.

I had a great mother's day. I got terrific gifts. I also got to rest, which was awesome. Mostly I was reminded of how blessed I am to be a mom. It was three years ago this month that I got pregnant with Izebelle. I cried so hard when the test came back positive because I couldn't believe it. Joy overwhelmed me and it still does every time I see her smiling face.

I am so in love with my little family.

Lastly I wanted to post some pictures of the girls swinging together.

Kaelie's first time swinging

My little piece of heaven

I know that this post will show before the others, but I want to thank those of you reading for hanging in. We love sharing our lives with you and I hope everyone has a great week.

What We've Been Up To, Pt. 2

As I mentioned in Part 1, we went to Utah on an extended weekend. We left Thursday, drove most of the day and then returned home on Tuesday. Its about an 8 hour drive. Unless you have two little ones. Then it becomes a 9 1/2 hour drive. The driving was brutal, but totally worth getting to see all of our friends. We hung out with so many great people and Izebelle made so many friends. It was an amazing vacation. My only regret is that we didn't take more pictures with everyone we saw. We did take some good ones of Ize at the mall and her with Colin (he's the son of the friends we stayed with).

She wouldn't walk across this bridge. She would only crawl. What a goof.

I love those dimples

Riding with Colin

We had so much fun. I can't wait to go back.

We went to the Zoo this past friday. I love going there. Except this time it was so crowded. There were four school districts and a ton of families. Way too many people for us. Luckily we had our own private Zoo viewing in our neighborhood. There was a full grown male fox in our neighbor's yard hunting as we were getting ready to leave. He just stood there and stared at us, then he killed a rabbit and took off. It was awesome. Marty decided his name should be Jasper and we agreed it suits him.

On the fake Oxen

The elephants. The animal Ize was most excited to see.

What We've Been Up To, Pt. 1

So I wanted to briefly tell everyone what we've been doing the past month but the post would be super long so I decided to break it up into parts.

I want to briefly mention that on April 14th, Cara and I celebrated the fact the we have been LDS Church members for 10 years. We are very excited and most of all we are both happy with where it has taken us in life. I am very proud that it has given me the chance to know my Savior better and given me the opportunity to be with my family forever.

Then Easter came around about ten days later. I enjoy Easter. It gets better and better each year. I loved watching Ize look for eggs. I loved taking pictures of them together. I also love having an excuse to buy candy. Instead of dying eggs and dealing with the mess, we bought plastic eggs and put some M&M's inside and hide them a few times for Ize. She loved finding the eggs, but I pretty sure she loved eating the M&M's more.

What? No more!

We've also been working on our lawn. We started a little before Marty's mom came into town and after she left we really hit the ground running. We wanted to get the majority done before we left for Utah. This gave us about two weeks. I happy to say that we did it and we are proud of the results.

Before

After

So, Marty tore out the bushes, tilled the ground, dug the dirt out for the path, then we worked for hours (some in the rain) leveling the pavers, I dug for edging, we laid weed barrier, he planted the plants and an aspen tree, and finally spread rock. I also spray painted the railing, Marty made the flower box area in front of the patio, and my mom is bringing over solar lights for the path. I'll try to put up a better picture where you can see the house from the street. We are so excited. Its really coming together and it feels great to work hard and make it our own.

Five Day Weekend

Marty's mom, Terri, came into town on the 7th and left the 13th. Marty had a five day weekend. It was great. It went by really fast though. Isn't that how it always goes when you're busy and having fun? We met him for lunch on Friday when he had to work. We had Five Guys. Amazing!!! I love that place. If it wouldn't bankrupt me or kill me before I turn 30 I would eat it everyday.

We basically hung out, played with the kids, and watched movies. We also went to the Zoo on Monday. We had a lot of fun. I don't mean to brag, but I took some pretty awesome pictures. Enjoy!

Izebelle is getting so big. Compare the above picture to the picture below taken 7 months earlier.

I love this face.

Waving to dad

If you look at the pole you'll see the baby orangutan. He kept moving so much. This is the best picture.

This flamingo came right up to the glass.

I love cheetahs

Just two brown bears chillin'

We absolutely love our little baby bear and her big sister too.

Kaelie is growing so fast. Already 5 months. I can't believe it.

We are working on our lawn this weekend. I'll try to post pictures.

Have a great weekend!!!

Oh the wonderful world of two

The two in the title refers to both the number of children we have and Izebelle's age. Both things are fun and both leave me exhausted. Izebelle has an insane amount of energy. Luckily there are times when I can harness that energy and use its powers for good. Like having her help me do things around the house. I love it when she picks up and helps with Kaelie. Unfortunately Izebelle has turned her cleanliness into somewhat of a negative by throwing away things that we actually use/need. Lately we have found toy storage bags in the trash and I know its only a matter of time before its something important, like Marty's wallet or my wedding ring. I just hope we continue to catch it and that it doesn't escalate into her flushing things once she's potty trained.

I absolutely love watching the girls interact. Today Ize was dancing and jumping around on the couch and Kaelie was just laughing at her. It was so cute. Its definitely moments like those that make all the hard times seem pointless.

Speaking of times that are somewhat difficult. I mentioned in an earlier post that Izebelle learned the word "no" (side note: she is starting to talk so much- YAY!). I was ok with hearing "no" especially when I would ask her what she wanted for lunch or what movie to turn on, but then "no" become a way for Ize to start lying to us. She doesn't know she is technically lying. She thinks she is just being funny and if you know Izebelle at all you know she is full of personality and that she is absolutely hilarious. Still though, it is lying and we are trying to nip it in the bud. Its simple things though, like we ask if she has a dirty diaper and she says "no", but we can tell that it is. I know they aren't big lies, but I think no matter their age, it is never too early to teach the importance of being honest. I'm a realist and I understand that she might not always be honest with me, but I hope that she understands that she can be and should be.

Look at this little stinker. She always looks this crazy. I love it!

(Her hair looks short because its in pig tails)

Here is a better shot of her hair

Sorry these pictures are a little blurry. Its hard to get her to stay still

So happy!!!

You know sometimes people say that they think your baby is so cute and they say to the baby, "you can come hang out with me." Kaelie is such a great baby that I actually think they would want to keep her. Its really amazing how wonderful she is and laid back. I love both girls so so much, so don't interpret this as me saying I love her more, I'm just saying that she has a great temperament and we are so lucky that she is such a terrific baby.

So Kaelie tried solids for the first time the other day and she did ok. She spit a lot out, but ever since then she sits on the couch and moves her mouth like she is eating. I hope she starts actually getting most of it in her tummy.

I guess I should have tried to explain that the objective is to actually keep it in and not all over the bib

Happy its over.

I should mention that Ize was eating vegetables and pointed at Kaelie's food and made it apparent that she wanted some. Despite us telling her it wouldn't taste good she kept insisting so Marty gave her a bite. Needless to say she didn't like it.

I had to include this picture because I love it so much. Izebelle is starting to accessorize and I absolutely enjoy it (note the necklace and hair barrette)

We just submitted plans to the HOA for landscaping our front yard. Hopefully they get approved tomorrow and we can start to really renovate it. I'll post pictures soon.

Marty's mom comes in Thursday, so I might post pictures next week of things we do.

Have a great week!