Perspective

This is Claire wearing the same swim suit as below ;) My mom sent it to me- it makes Livs attempts even funnier!

Are we ready for another?

We found out today we are having another...

GIRL!

Although I wanted a boy sooner then later, I'm not too terribly disappointed. I just figure a boy would do better if he didn't have 3 or 4 older sisters ;) But, it is what it is, and we are still excited. I am happy for my girls. It would be so much fun to have lots of sisters to stay up late and talk with and have girl parties. They will be lucky to have each other!

Here is Livie- who came running out front the other day in her sisters OLD swimm suit. This is a size 12 month suit! Oh my... did I mention it was only 50 degrees? She wanted me to spray her with the hose... I think not!

And here is Claire. She has been doing speech therapy for about 3 months now and is improving a LOT. She is really really trying hard to talk. Her words are mumbled and hard to understand, but we are doing sign language with her also and it is helping lots. She loves it! Now you may be wondering why there is duct tape on her diaper. She has a new LOVE of being nude. She pulls off that diaper every opportunity she gets. As soon as its off, she runs. She hates the duct tape... although she is starting to figure out how to get that off too! Oh boy... guess we'll have to potty train again weather she is ready or not! We can't have pee all over the house!

Visitors

This is Claire and Calvin last night. Calvin is a cousin. We've actually had 2 of Bretts brothers and their families over in Utah to visit the past week. It's been fun. It was funny to see Cal and Claire in matching polk-a-dot pj's. Calvins parents say these are his favorites (even though they are girl pj's that once belonged to his sister ;))

Here is another picture of me. I am trying hard to actually take pictures this time. I'm not doing so well. It is hard when the photographer of the family is ME and I won't lie... 4 year olds just can't take a great photo. At least most of me is in the photo ;) I'm thinking about asking someone to take maternity pictures this time around. I don't know though, I always feel like I don't look right when I'm pregnant. We find out next Tuesday (the 19th)what we are having. ;)

Super Hero

Almost every day the girls are dressed in SOME thing other then every day clothes. Today it was swimm suits, yesterday it was princess outfits, and pictured here a few days back it was super hero attire. They ran and ran around the house. Olivia tried jumping off the furniture a few times. But my favorite part was Claire running around with her mask on saying "MARCO! MARCO!" She thought it was a blind fold and she was playing 'Marco Polo'!

Sweet Girls

The other day Olivia was watching TV on my bed. We actually don't have a TV out in our living room anymore. We just have the projector for movies and big sports games down stairs and then we have a small TV in the master bedroom. I never planned on having a TV in our room, and to be honest was against it at first... Anyway, it has actually worked out great though! We hardly ever watch TV anymore! Brett and I do not watch TV before going to bed, so for us it works. The TV is out of the way and we only watch when we really want to.
So- back to the story! Claire came in and snuggled right up against Liv. It was so sweet! Then later Claire had her arm wrapped around Liv and was scratching Livs back as she fell asleep! It was just so sweet!

Sunday Best

The girls wanted to dress alike this last Sunday. It was so cute when I went to take their picture Claire had to copy Olivia exactly. She would look at Liv, copy, look at herself to check, look back at Liv, and so on. She wanted to get it just right! She even put on a big smile like Livie a minute later, but Liv was off running before I could catch them both smiling...

Sunshine and Pigtails

The last few days have been BEAUTIFUL outside. It is just what we needed after such a long long winter.

Claire let me put her hair in pigtails! I know it won't last long- she pulls EVERY thing out of her hair, but it sure is cute for a few minutes!!
Here is my belly at 15 weeks and 3 days.Yes, a reflection in the window is as good as it is getting right now ;) I thought it would grow bigger faster this time. No, it is still on the slow track. Anyway- I am very surprised with this baby. I can feel it kick a LOT! When ever I hold the girls against by belly I usually always feel it kicking and I always get freaked out and jump. It scares me every time. It just doesn't seem like I should be feeling that yet. I am scared for when this baby gets bigger... it may be a kicker!! Oh and I suppose I will answer the question every one asks "Do you want a boy this time?" Yes, we would like a boy this time, but I will be fine if it is a girl. We love girls and I wouldn't mind having more.

Winter in the house

It just won't stop snowing. Not that I expected it to stop in March... or even April. We have been in the house SO much and can not wait to get out and go to the park, etc. We've been playing, cleaning, growing a baby, and trying to potty train. The training officially stopped today. Only 2 days in. She had a LOT of accicdents with absolutely no successes. Well, one time the poop made it in, mostly. But... I didn't see enough progress to continue right now. So, maybe in another month we'll have another trial. I do think she learned a lot, she's just not quite there yet.

Claire has been walking on her tippy toes a LOT lately. It's cute.

Olivia loves to play dentist ever since they saw the dentist a few weeks back. Claire doesn't even mind! They are funny!

The girls still love to get their nails painted... Olivia is very into pretty designs on her nails and loves to show them off! I have fun doing it, so it is a win win!

(Claire looking at her pretty nails)

The other day I was putting up a shelf and coat rack in the laundry room (yes, I am very handy!) The girls took the opportunity to get out a snack on their own. It made me laugh.

Claire wants to go!

This is little bear bear this morning. She wants so badly to potty train. She rips her clothes off frequently and goes to sit on her potty all by herself. Sadly she doesn't ever get anything out, but she loves it! I am really contemplating letting her try for 3 days. But if she doesn't get it fast... then its OVER! After what we went through with this girl...

Yes, Olivia, you were a PAIN to potty train! Thanks for letting me learn all the mistakes the hard way though!

2nd trimester=best trimester

this picture is how I feel... my body is a memory.. and its getting blurrier as I get larger!
My thin figure is quickly turning chubby. Although- there is nothing to show in a picture. It always begins with chub everywhere! I wish it were only the belly... oh-well. I'm not worried about it ;) My morning sickness is nearly gone. Although there are still many things I could complain about, I won't because I'm in the 2nd trimester now. This is the BEST time in pregnancy. I get to find out the sex of the baby, there are minimal body aches, I can still sleep pretty well (besides the multiple bathroom trips..) and I will start to LOOK pregnant soon enough! YAY!

and here is a random picture of Claire for my mom. So she has something to look at! I will try to be better at pictures... the winter time and gloomy dark days don't make me want to take pictures!

A sad day

The story starts with my friend Rocio. I worked with her at a salon a few years back. We get together from time to time to catch up and do hair trades. She has 3 little girls- so it is also fun for our girls to play together. Anyway- a few months back I cut her hair into a pixie (really short). Rocio is gorgeous, so with her new hair cut it makes everyone want a pixie cut!
A few weeks ago Olivia had a church project that involved cutting. I got out her special scissors and let her cut. Well, I had to use the restroom. I left the room for about 3 minutes and heard giggling coming from the kitchen. I walked out into the kitchen to find Olivia with scissors to her head and Claire laughing hysterically at her. I was in shock.
I walked over to Liv and started crying. Then I was sobbing and too scared to take a close look at what she had done. Olivia kept saying "it's okay mom, I will eat lots of food and it will grow back!" Finally I said "Olivia, WHY would you cut your hair!?" She replied "I wanted to be beautiful like Rocio!"
So, in the end I fixed her hair and I was so happy that she didn't butcher it too bad. She lost about 3 inches from the front. It really isn't too bad considering what it could have been ;) And yes, she is happy with it. She thinks it is beautiful.

a few days before the incident..


the damage Olivia did before I fixed it



The after pictures..

Happy 50th Birthday

It is my mothers birthday today! We can hardly believe she is 50. She looks no older then 29! Really though, she is so beautiful both inside and out. We hear it all the time when she comes to visit "that's your MOM!? She's too young to be a Grandma!"
We love her so much. She is the most sensitive person to your needs and is always there with a listening ear. She is forgiving and has endless love for us. She is everything you could want and need in a mother and Grandmother. Thank you Ma, we love you ;)

Girls just wanna have fun

1+1=

3!
Yes, we will be adding yet another baby to our family!
Due Date: Aug. 31, 2011

A quick Story

The other day Claire was sad (I can't remember why... something to do with just being 2 I guess) Livie loves to be the "mother" if I am not around. I was in the other room doing something of importance I'm sure. Anyway- Claire was crying, so Liv climbed the shelves in the pantry to get to the chocolates hidden in the back on the top shelf. She pulled one out, gave it to Claire who immediately stopped crying and smiling instead. Olivia happily came running to me proclaiming that she helped Claire stop crying and she is such a GOOD big sister!
Now how I am I suppose to discipline such a sweet act of kindness!? I didn't, but told her not to climb because it is so DANGEROUS!!

2 years old!

Claire turned 2 on the 30th of December. She is growing so fast! Here are her stats:

Weight: 26 lbs (51%)
Height: 35.5 inches (89%)
Head: 18.5 inches (36%)

Claire is such a joy to be around! For the most part she is pretty mellow and is pretty good little girl. She sleeps and eats well. She laughs a lot and loves to help out with anything she can to make us smile. For example the other day she was taking any trash she could find and throwing it away for us. ;) She is a little behind on speech. She is on track with communication (meaning she understands well and can communicate well) She just can't speak well. She only has about 10 words or phrases. She will be going to a speech therapist next week. I don't think it will put her behind since she is a very smart girl. Hopefully she will catch up with her speech soon!

Last Pictures of Christmas and New Year

I made the girls aprons for Christmas

Christmas Eve in their matching jammies

Olivia loved to pull down ornaments and wear them as earrings. She convinced Claire to do it too ;)

Christmas is over and the decorations are put away. The new year is here! We have set a few new goals. #1 I will wake up early every day to read my scriptures and read the Ensign, and any other reading I need to do to prepare for my Primary lessons. I've set a goal of 1/2 hour a day. Which is a big goal for me since I really don't enjoy waking early. I will though. I think that having the spirit with me at the start of the day could possibly change everything. I am hoping to be blessed with more patience!
Goal #2- Have Olivia sleep in her bed ALL night every night. I know she should have been doing this years ago, but bad habits are hard to break ;)
2010 has been a good year and we've been blessed. I hope 2011 will be even better and I can grow spiritually.

December Activities

Here in Utah every Christmas you have to go see the lights at temple square. It is tradition, and pretty much every one does it! It is always beautiful. Olivia took a nap on the way over this year and if you know Livie, you know she turns into a BIG crab if she takes a nap. It takes her about an hour to snap out it. So- pretty much the whole time we were walking around looking at lights Olivia was a crab. She was pushing her sister, giving people crusty looks, and complaining all the way. Other then that, the trip was nice ;) The weather was perfect that night and Claire was sweet as a peach. We've had quite a lot of snow the past few days. We had a couple feet to shovel off the drive way. It is beautiful, but cold and wet!

Merry Christmas

This is a thank you letter to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. It was Olivia's idea to write them a letter to say than kyou for what they did. The pictures are of Mary on a donkey, Jesus in the hay, and Joseph just standing there. I love her art work! She is just so sweet.

Cindy... WHO?

We were told Olivia looks like Cindy Lou Who from the Grinch... What do you think? I say of all the who's I would definitely want to look like Cindy Lou!!