The LeBarons

Annika is 4!

2012-01-03T23:18:00.005-07:00

On December 14th Annika turned 4. To Celebrate her big day we had a party! I made a princess cake, and we invited over some friends.

The day was pretty laid back. Annika had preschool so she went to school. Brian took the day off so that he wouldn't miss out on the festivities. Annika came home from school and we ate lunch. We asked her what she wanted and she picked Pizza Rolls.

We ate lunch and then she got to open some of her presents from Brian and me.
This is Annika taking time to model her new dress up shoes.

After that it was time to start getting everything ready for the party. One of Annika's friends got here before she was even in her princess dress. She didn't want me to do anything special with her hair, so she was pretty much just wearing a dress up dress.

When her friends got here we had put out a red carpet up the stair leading into the house, so they could all walk on the red carpet. Once they came in we started decorating crowns. Which they did for a lot longer than I thought that they would. Then we went down stairs and we played a game of pin the braid on Rapunzel.

After that we played a game of Princess Bingo. After princess Bingo they all got to go on a treasure hunt. After the treasure hunt we came in and opened presents, and then we had some cake and Ice Cream.

It was totally crazy with 11 4-year olds running around the house but I think that it went really well.

Annika had been talking about her princess Birthday party since June so I hope that it was everything that she wanted it to be.

After the party was over we changed her clothes, and we got ready to go out to dinner with Brian's family. We went out for Sushi because that is what Annika picked. After dinner we came home and opened the rest of her presents. We also Celebrated Aunt Heidi's birthday and let her open some presents. Honestly by the end of the night I think that Annika was just exhausted. I hope that she had a wonderful birthday.

I asked Annika some questions and these are the answers she gave me.
Favorite Color: Purple
Favorite Toy: Jewelry and Jewelry Box
Favorite Fruit: Raspberries
Favorite TV Show: Caillou
Favorite thing to eat for lunch: Chicken Nuggets
Favorite Outfit: Gray sparkly skirt with a pink shirt
Favorite Game: Play house
Favorite Snack: blueberries
Favorite Animal: pig
Favorite Song: I love see the Temple
Favorite Book: Her princess stories
Best Friend: Morgan
Favorite Cereal: Corn Chex
Favorite thing to do outside: Swing high on the swings, Or ride her bike
Favorite Drink: Chocolate Milk
Favorite Holiday: Christmas
What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Pink flower blanket. and uni her unicorn pillow pet.
Favorite Thing to eat for breakfast: cinnamon sugar pancakes (aka crepes)
What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Sushi (we went to a restaurant called Koi.)
What do you want to be when you grow up? a Doctor.

Annika I am so glad that you are my daughter. You are such a good girl! We Love you!

18 Months

2011-11-14T21:28:00.005-07:00

Holy Cow! Where has the time gone? Seriously I can't believe that Ady is already 18 months old!

Here is some info on our little girl. She is a fiesty little girl. She can kick and scream and throw a fit like a pro. She really likes to pull Annika's hair if Annika takes something away from her or just makes her mad. She loves to follow Annika around and do whatever she is doing. She loves to take whatever Annika is playing with and run away as fast as she can. She loves babies and her baby dolls. She loves to push them in the stroller. She loves reading books, especially the three little pigs book that Brian reads to her. She loves it when he huffs and puffs on her. She also loves to read any book that has animals in it. She loves to see animals. She doesn't like it when the neighbors dogs try to lick her. But she always follows them around and wants to pet them. She is learning so many new words right now. She surprises me everyday when she says a new word. When she likes what you say or wants to do what you are asking her, she raises her hands in the air and says "YAY"! She loves shoes. She is always trying on any shoes that are left out. She loves blankets. It doesn't really matter what blanket, but it has to be soft. The other day our bed had almost a dozen blankets on it that she was snuggling with. She also loves her binky (kiki). It is going to be a bad day when I decide to finally take that away. She takes really long naps, which is nice. She might now be asleep the whole time, but when she wakes up she just plays in her crib. She will grab a book off her dresser and sit in her crib and read it. She really likes to dance when any music is on, and she really likes to listen to the tangled CD. She always makes her finger into a hook, on I have a Dream song. She loves to say "no no no" and point her finger at you. When she is hungry she walks into the pantry and starts climbing on boxes or whatever she can find to reach what she wants. She likes to color and for the first time colored on my wall with a blue crayon yesterday. And she is addicted to the Ipad and our Iphones. She wants to play with them all the time. and she knows how to use them. she can find the games she wants to play on them and if you ask her if she wants to watch a movie she will open the netflix app. (I don't know if this is a good thing or not!) She is such a smart little girl.

I took her to the Dr. for her 18 month check up and she had to get some shots. She cried and kept pointing at her leg where they gave her the shots and said "owie". It was really sad.

She weighed 23.1 lbs. (32%)
She is 32 inches long (61%)
Her head is 46 cm (63%)

Like I said she is pretty much saying a new word everyday. Here are some of the words that she says.
Hi
Hey
Mama
Dada
Puppy
Shoe
Sock
ki ki (binki and blanket)
yay
baby
cheese
Kate Kate (she has a friend named kate)
ball
moo
duck
quack
baaa
Sorry
plate
(and I am sure there are more that I am forgetting.)

She is a fun little girl. I love her so much!

Halloween

2011-11-14T21:01:00.004-07:00

I have been horrible at keeping our blog up to date lately. It seems like time has been flying by. But I realized that I need to do better. Addy just turned 18 months old and I will do a post on that in a minute. But I know that if I don't blog so that I remember all of these things that are happening right now I am going to regret it later.

My calling in Primary has been keeping me busy. I can only think about one thing at a time, or else I get so overwhelmed. So I am just trying to keep things going.

Well Halloween has come and gone, but my girls loved dressing up and we had a full weekend. On Friday night we went to the ward trunk or treat. Annika had a table full of her little girl friends and they all wanted to sit and eat dinner together. It was really cute.

On Sunday night Heidi held her annual Halloween party. we ate some dinner, carved some pumpkin, decorated some cookies, and ate some donuts off a string. It is always so much fun!

On Monday Halloween day, Annika's preschool did a little party. That night we went trick or treating. We only walked down our street, and around the corner to two houses. We hit a total of 8 houses. I think that Annika had just as much fun opening the door for the kids and telling them "take just one ok!" :) Neither of the girls wanted to go to bed that night, I'm sure because of their sugar high. But it was a great weekend full of lots of candy and lots of fun!

OUR LITTLE DUCK

CINDERELLA

Sewing by hand

2011-10-13T11:39:00.004-06:00

I have been sewing a blanket for my new niece. I was sewing the binding on when I decided I didn't like how it looked. I told Annika actually I think I am going to sew it by hand. She then said "Like you'll get under the table and push it?" I was really confused at first, but I understood that she has seen me pushing the pedal and when I said I was going to sew it by hand she thought that I was going to push the petal with my hand. :) ha ha ha! Made me laugh.

Popsicle

2011-09-15T21:56:00.004-06:00

The other day Annika and Adalyn had Popsicles. Ady had a go-gurt, and started crying because her hand was cold.
Annika: Mom, Ady is crying because her hand is cold. But my hand isn't cold because my popsicle is on a tongue depressor.
Me: A what?
Annika: A tongue depressor. Like the dr. uses.

What a funny girl! :)

PreSchool

2011-09-08T11:09:00.004-06:00

On Tuesday Annika had her first day of Preschool. She was so excited. We had been counting down for days. I was nervous because Annika has been going through a phase where she doesn't want me to leave the room. I wondered how leaving her at preschool for 2 hours was going to go.

We woke up bright and early. She got dressed and did her hair. We took some pictures and then headed down the street to preschool.

We got there and she saw her friend Morgan. They started doing puzzles, and I told her I was going to go home. She gave me a big smile and said ok bye. Definitely easier than I thought it was going to be.

(Ady had to get in the pictures too. Don't you love her cheesing face?)

On the way home I think that Ady was already enjoying the alone time with mom. We walked all around the neighborhood and I just followed her. She kept looking back and smiling at me. We came home and I wondered how ady would enjoy her mom time. We played for a minute, then she went and got her blanket so we cuddled and she fell asleep.

(Ady on her first day of being home alone with mom for 2 hours)

While Ady was sleeping I took advantage of the time and did the dishes. It was really weird having the house quiet. And It made me realize how much I talk to Annika or how much she talks to me. It was kind of lonely I am not going to lie. But the time flew by and before I knew it, it was time to pick her up. She had so much fun and is looking forward to going back.

Annika is growing up so fast, she is such a cute little girl and makes me happy.

Annika riding

2011-07-26T22:23:00.003-06:00

Tonight Brian went out to put the chain back on Annika's bike. After a few minutes Annika came running into the house and said mom I am riding my bike all over and guess what I am riding without my training wheels on, with only 2 wheels. I totally missed her first try but Brian said he followed her down the road and she didn't even need his help. I would say she is doing great! Especially for only having the training wheels off for a few minutes! Here are some videos of her first rides!

712011

2011-07-09T18:50:00.010-06:00

On Thursday night as soon as Brian got done with Pack Meeting we were on the road to Portland. It worked out really well I thought, because we were supposed to meet up with Brian's family on Friday morning sometime at the Mt. St. Helens Visitors Center. We were the very last ones to leave. But Heidi, Jeremy, Eric, and Dom were only a couple hours ahead of us, and they were driving through the night to get there as well. I think that Both girls were awake until about 9 and then they were out. I stayed awake talking to Brian and then took the wheel in Twin Falls. As we were pulling into the gas station Annika shot awake and said "I was just going to tell you we are almost to Abe and Henry's house" (Can you tell she was excited to get there) Earlier in the day I was packing and she was sitting on my bed, and she said "This is the best day ever, I can't wait to see Abe and Henry!" Well Annika stayed awake through Boise, and was saying look at that pretty purple star mom, oh you missed it. I guess it was good, laughing at her kept me awake. I drove until about 4:00 and then I made Brian take the wheel again. We made it through the night and we were not to far outside of Portland, which can I just say if you have never driven to Portland, it was beautiful. You drive along the Columbia River, and it is so pretty. Then we got a phone call from Heidi saying that they ran out of gas and were along the side of the road. So we stopped and got them some gas, went to their rescue and then followed them to breakfast.

This is my happy girls after our long drive all night.

(Scott, Allison, Brian, and the kids looking at what we have to climb the next day!)

After breakfast we headed up to the Mt. St. Helens Visitors Center. It was interesting listening to them talk about it blowing up. We met up with the whole family and enjoyed some lunch. After lunch we headed farther up the canyon to a lookout. You could look up into the crater. It is just amazing to see all the ash and dirt, and the huge trees that were knocked over. Any picture that I had ever seen did not do it justice. It was huge and amazing and so pretty!
(Ady and me in front of the Mt.)
(
(Ady loved to kick her leg up, and she was incredibly happy for almost all of the drive.)

Annika enjoying dinner with her favorite cousins Abe and Henry!

After we headed to the lodge that we had rented for the night. Seriously the lodge that Allison reserved us for the night could have slept probably 50 people. We only had 14. So we all had our own room. The room that Brian and our family slept in had at least 12 beds in it. Needless to say there was more than enough room for all of us. Allison had made us a wonderful dinner, and we hung out for a while and then we all headed to bed after setting our alarms for 3:30 am.

Fathers Day

2011-06-21T08:07:00.005-06:00

Fathers Day weekend was a busy one.
We headed up to Logan on Friday night. We didn't get to my parents house until about 10:00, just in time for the girls to be past ready for bed. We stayed up and talked for a little while and then went to sleep.
Saturday morning we woke up and my dad made us a great breakfast! The girls got to see the new lambs that Austin gets to raise and show in the fair. And they spent quite a bit of time jumping on the trampoline. Jen and Mike came up and after they got there Austin, Mike, Brian and I went over to the church and played some basketball. After Basketball everyone got ready and we went fishing. It was a good fishing trip. I am pretty sure that everyone caught a fish. Seriously mine was the biggest.

It was 25" long and guessing it weighed about 5 1/2 lbs. I was sweating when I got it in. I think I was just nervous it was going to get away! We went back to my parents house and grilled up my fish (yes that is right it was so big that it fed all 10 of us! ).

After dinner was over we hopped in the car and headed down to South Jordan. Brian's family had a BBQ to celebrate. We hung out and played some Volleyball. It was a lot of fun. At the end of the night South Jordan even did some fireworks! It was a fun and busy weekend.

On Sunday FATHERS DAY we were pretty relaxed. We went to Church where I got put in as the new Primary President for our ward! let's just say that is all still just sinking in. I am excited and overwhelmed all at the same time. Annika didn't want to go up with the Primary kids and sing the songs to the dad's. So Brian missed out on that. (sorry Brian).

We came home and opened up some presents. Brian got a new golf shirt, and a very cool marble track thing. Which took a long time to put together. But it was a fun activity for the night after dinner. For dinner, we had some steak and lobster tails. It was so good. Have I ever mentioned that Brian is the best cook? (I know kinda sad, he cooked his own father's day meal.... but he did a great job!) It was actually a really fun relaxed night hanging out at home.

While Brian and Annika were putting together the marble track that was his father's day present she was talking to Brian and telling him what she wanted for Big Sisters Day. She asked when it was. Pretty funny. Maybe we will have to invent a holiday at our house for Annika called Big Sister's day!

Memorial Day

2011-06-21T07:31:00.006-06:00

For Memorial Day weekend we went camping with my family! It was a lot of fun. Even though it rained most of the weekend, and even snowed on us Saturday night, it was a fun trip. We went camping at a place up by Coalville. Even though it snowed and rained we still had fun. The girls slept out in the tent with us both nights, and even though it was freezing cold, I think they slept better there than they do at home. On Saturday night when it was snowing, we brought Annika into the tent and got her in her sleeping bag, and all of the sudden she was silent. Brian said "I think someone is finally warm" she looked at him and said "who?" he pointed his finger at her, and she got a big smile on her face and nodded. She looked so comfy all cuddled up in her sleeping bag. Both girls were amazingly happy for how cold and rainy it was. But when there were bits of sunshine we did some really fun stuff.

We went fishing. Then the boys played some Basketball. Then we went swimming. We got a couple games of horse shoes in there, and built a couple of fires. and we sat around and talked and ate a lot of good food! It was such a fun trip.

Goodbye

2011-06-21T07:17:00.004-06:00

I know that this is a funny reason to post, but I keep looking through my pictures of things I need to blog about and I keep seeing this picture.

Funny it really makes me sad. I am no longer the proud owner of a beautiful pink Chevy Cavalier. (sad). And even though Brian has been the proud driver of this pink car for over 3 years ( I passed it to him when I was pregnant with Annika because I needed a car that was easier to get in and out of with my huge belly!) I am still so sad to see it go! The cavalier was such a great car, and has been with me since before Brian and I were a couple! (see I am getting all teary just thinking about it!) Ok I'm done. It was a good car and it was sad to see it go.

We got a new car, and we asked our neighbor to help us look for it. He said we needed to make up a list of things we wanted in our new car and things that we didn't want. He said joking "and I expect to see on that list no pink!" :) So we have a new White Honda Pilot. I love it, and I know that Brian loves driving a silver SUV over a Pink Cavalier. It is just the end of an era. But I can't wait for all of the memories we will have of our family in the new car. :) Good bye pink Cavalier! You will be missed!

Gymnastic Meet

2011-06-16T14:14:00.005-06:00

Annika had her first Gymnastics meet. She did so good and was so cute! They had a cowboy theme and they all wore cowboy hats out at the beginning. She did the spring board, then the uneven bars, then the balance beam, and then some stuff on the floor. I was impressed that she didn't care at all that there were so many people watching. In the end she got a metal and a gatorade (She called it an alligator! Good Job Annika!

Mothers Day

2011-06-16T12:40:00.005-06:00

Mothers Day was wonderful! we just spent the day at home and relaxed. Brian made me some empanadas. ( I am married to the best cook ever! Just if any of you didn't already know.) They were so good! I got a beautiful bouquet of Gerber daisy's and Annika picked me out a very cute Minnie mouse mothers day card! :) So much fun.

Brian also gave me a wonderful little get away. So the next weekend we went up to Logan and left the girls with my parents. It was so much fun! I was so nervous to leave the girls... Ady especially because it was the first time we had left her over night. But they did great! I am sure they were spoiled to death while we were gone, and probably didn't even miss us!
Brian and I spent the night at the Anniversary Inn. They have a bikers Roadhouse room, it has a pinball machine, and a pool table. The description of the room showed a fountain drink machine, and the description said it had soda. I was just expecting to drink my heart out all night long. and we got to the room and there were four little bottles of soda... So we made a trip to Albertsons and stocked up on 2-liters, and we were good. It was a great Mothers Day followed by a great little getaway! So much fun!

The next day after we picked the girls up, my family went to Willow park to look at the animals. Ady liked looking at the birds. (Bird is one of the few signs that she will do.)

Birthday Party

2011-05-31T21:12:00.005-06:00

We had a little party for Ady's first birthday. We had our families over and celebrated. Brian made some really goo BBQ pork. I made a selection of cupcakes, and different frosting, and set out different toppings, so everyone got to decorate their own cupcake. It was fun to see what everyone came up with.
Ady got spoiled by all of her grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles. It was so much fun to have family come over and celebrate Ady!
We gave Ady a big cupcake, and she dug right in and loved it!
Thank you to everyone for coming, it was a fun party!

Ady enjoying her cupcake

Opening presents. Of course Annika was in on all of the action!

My mom, Austin, and Grandma Jarrett

Annika enjoying her cupcake!

Ady is the center of attention! There were so many cameras pointed at her. :)

Ady got a swing from my parents and we had to try it out.

Adalyn turns 1

2011-05-16T15:05:00.006-06:00

Can you believe that a whole year has gone by since we brought this sweet little baby home from the hospital?

In a way it seems like soooo long ago, but on the other had it seems like just yesterday she would curl up and snuggle with me.

Ady has been so much fun to have in our family. She is such a mellow little girl. Most of the time she just sits back and watches what we are doing.

Here are some fun facts about Ady:
-She stood up in the middle of the yard all by herself for the first time on her birthday! (She has been standing up next to things for a while, but she stood up without holding on to anything!) But she still isn't walking.
- She only has 4 teeth, two on top and two on bottom.
- She weighs 20 lbs. 7 oz. which is 40% (as compared to the 95% when she was born. remember 10 lbs 2 oz.)
- She is 29.5 in tall
- She loves her little stuffed puppy and he goes pretty much everywhere with us.
- She loves to play with her ball she will roll a ball back and forth with you.
- When she pats the ball, it means she wants you to dribble it.
- She loves to play outside, she loves her swing and the cozy coupe car.
- She loves to eat dirt and sand
- She loves her big sister, and tries to do anything that she does.
-She waves to the cars out on the road, when she is standing on the chair in the living room.
- She gives kisses, and is really good at puckering up.
- She really like animals, and gets excited to see them.
-She says mama, dada, and when ever she sees her stuffed dog she says dodo.
- She points and the fish and then signs fish, and when I am cooking she puts her hand out and does the sign for hot.
- She climbs on anything that she can. She has been found standing up on top of chairs and tables.

She is such a smart, fun, determined little girl. We are so glad that she is ours! Happy Birthday Adalyn we love you!

Hogal Zoo

2011-05-16T09:16:00.005-06:00

On Monday May 2nd I took the girls to Hogal Zoo. It was a fun little trip. Both girls really liked looking at all of the animals.

I guess whatever was wrong with Annika's finger was much more interesting to look at than the camel!

Ady had been carrying around a little soccer ball the whole time through the zoo. While we were in looking at the orangutang family Ady dropped her ball and it rolled away. The baby orangutang came right over to the glass, and sat and stared at the ball and the girls. It was really fun to have it come right over to the glass.

The girls were having a great time playing on these little tigers.

It was a fun little trip to the zoo!

The Wedding

2011-05-10T12:49:00.007-06:00

Eric and Dominique got married on April 30th! We are so excited for them. Scott, Allison, Abe, and Henry made the trip down, so Annika and Ady got to have some great cousin time. It is always fun to be all together. So here are some fun pictures from the day!

The cake-- Heidi made it. Not only did it look good, but it was delicious!

Eric, Henry, and Annika

Annika preparing for her walk throwing flower petals. Which I guess I should write about was very funny. We had been practicing walking down grandma and grandpas hall and throwing out flowers. Then when she ran out she would run back and pick them all up. Well I was worried that during the ceremony she would want to run back and pick them all up. She didn't but she did only make it half way down the isle, then she turns around and says to Heidi, I don't have any more. Then stops and doesn't move, I tell her just keep walking up to grandpa. then she turns around to pick them up and I pulled her into our seats and that was the end of the flower girl. :) Henry did a really good job, he made it all the way up to grandpa!

Best attempt at getting the grandkids.

The boys and their matching ties.

The Girls and our matching earrings!

My hott husband!

Henry Loves Ady. He is so helpful!

On Sunday we got to together and hung out and celebrated mothers day a week early. We went down by the jordan river and went for a walk.

All the grandkids

Ady and Brian

So long

2011-04-27T15:12:00.010-06:00

Well I am trying to remember what has been going on in our lives lately... It feels like we have been really busy.

Annika has been really into playing with friends. Everyday she asks me well who am I going to play with? The other day we had her friend Shaye over, and they wanted to watch Cinderella and of course they wanted to dress up like Cinderella while watching it. It was really cute.

We went up to Logan to go to Baby Animal days with my mom, and it snowed the whole day. So... instead of going to see the baby animals we stayed at my moms house and made some sugar cookies. We did drive down to IFA and look at the chicks that they had there. The girls loved it.

Another day when it was raining we made some more cookies. Annika decorated them all by herself. She was so proud.

Ady has been into climbing on everything lately. One day Ady climbed into the shoe basket in their closet, and so Annika climbed into their hamper. It was so much fun for them. (It amazes me the things that they find and have fun with.)

One day we went to Monkey Island with some neighbor kids. Annika always loves it. I decided that maybe Ady would like to bounce too. I put her in one of the little bouncy houses and Annika jumped by her. Ady loved it. I think she felt like one of the big kids.

One day we were out in the backyard playing and I looked over and Annika was hanging upside down from the bar. I have seen her hang from it before but never upside down with no hands. I didn't scream I just thought I would see what happened. Well she fell. She came running over to me, and was crying. She was holding her head, when I moved her hand to see the damage, I started laughing. She had a grass stain on her hair! Once I started laughing she started laughing and she was fine.

I found out that I am the only one in our family who doesn't like melon. Everyone else loves it!

We went to St. George with my family. We went out to Snow Canyon and played in the sand dunes. We had a little jumping competition. It was so fun! I am laughing right now remembering some of the jumps. (There were a couple face plants and mouths full of red sand.) So funny. We came back to the hotel and Brian got sick. So The girls and I went to my cousins wedding. On the way home from the wedding Annika asked me if we could go back and play in the sand again. I told her that we could another time. Then she asked me if the builders could put that sand in our back yard. :) ha ha Probably not.

One day I babysat McKell and Kennidee and we went out to play. They all had so much fun playing in the sand pile. Ady climbed right in, and had so much fun with all of the girls. Although Ady's favorite thing to do is eat the sand. (Gross).

Then there was Easter. We went to a neighborhood easter egg hunt. Annika was really fun to watch this year because she knew exactly what was going on. She ran anound the whole yard picking up as many eggs and she could and screamed with joy the whole time!

Ady sat on the ground and picked up an egg, and shook it. She was fine with making it a rattle! She did want the candy in them, but didn't want to pick up any eggs.

Saturday night we had Brian's family over, we had dinner, and colored some eggs. It was a lot of fun.

On Sunday the girls got to wear their matching dresses to church. They looked so cute! That evening we did an egg hunt in our backyard. Annika loved it and ran around and picked them all up, and Ady crawled into the sand box and ate some sand!

And that is what we have been doing.

Toothless

2011-03-30T15:04:00.003-06:00

This semi toothless grin, is about to get whiter...
Yesterday (March 29) Ady cut 2 teeth.

On March 6th Ady cut her first tooth, her bottom left one.
And then on March 20th she cut her second tooth, her top right one.

So for a couple weeks she has had one top tooth and one bottom tooth.
Yesterday the bottom right one and the top left one broke through.

Ady was sick all last week, and I think she had a cold, but I am sure that trying to cut 2 teeth on top of that didn't help. She was a fussy baby last week. She has been so much happier this week and I am so glad she is feeling better!

Lately

2011-03-14T15:57:00.006-06:00

A couple weekends ago, we decided to paint our bathroom! It was definitely fun trying to keep the girls out of the paint. Annika just wanted to paint too! Ady just wanted to be where everyone else was... Well I ended up taking the girls downstairs and Brian did most of the painting. I like how it ended up.
Before:

After:

Ady is getting bigger and older. She turned 10 months old last week. (It is totally crazy that she is 10 months old!) She is such a fun girl, and wants to be right where everyone else is. She wants to see what is going on. She is into everything! The other day I found her looking in the cupboard. I thought it was pretty cute.

She has also figured out how to blow bubbles in the tub! I get scared that she is going to inhale a whole bunch of water, but she does a really good job, and loves the tub! (There is a video below but I can't figure out how to move it up here.)

She cut her first tooth the day before she turned 10 months old. She is really good and gumming her food, and loves to eat whatever we are eating.

She is such a climber, we have a little table that she got for Christmas to stand up next to and play on, but I guess that isn't fun enough anymore, because she just likes to climb up on top of it and then climb down.

She has figured out how to go down the stairs. She just follows the rest of us around all day long. And she loves to be outside, and eat anything that she can put in her mouth. Whenever the door opens it cranks it into super fast gear, and she books it to the door.

This is the girls cuddling in our bed.

She loves Annika and always wants to be playing right where Annika is. Today we went on a walk to look at all the animals around the neighborhood, and she loved having Annika in the stroller next to her. She had her hand on Annika's lap most of the time. (Super cute!)

And after our walk today, apparently she loves animals. We saw some cows, and some goats, and some lambs, and cute little baby lambs. And a cat and some dogs, and a horse. She made noises and pointed at all of them, and kept trying to let the goat nibble her fingers!

And Jordan and Alli went on a road trip for their spring break. On their way home they spent the night at our house, and hung out with me and the girls the next day. We went shopping, out to lunch, and to cabela's. The fish tunnel is always lots of fun!

Annika is getting older and older. She has been getting in trouble alot lately for not listening to me. The other day I told her not to go down to the neighbors, she looked at me, and then took off. I guess she is just testing the limits. But she is also really cute! She makes me laugh alot, and she has her moments of pure sweetness. Today her and a friend were playing and she said to her friend "did you know that baby horses are also called colds?" (instead of colts!) She loves being outside riding her scooter or bike, and her favorite saying lately is "I need a friend to play with" She is a fun girl!

Ady speaks

2011-02-23T15:43:00.003-07:00

I believe that Ady said her first word today. And Although Brian and have I have both been practicing with her, to say our name, I guess my practice paid off first! :) She is so cute, I don't really care whose name she said first. (but I am glad she said mama!)

Presidents Day

2011-02-23T15:03:00.006-07:00

On Friday Brian took off work, and we got to go snowboarding with his family. Brian's parents gave us tickets for Christmas, and a day of babysitting, so the girls played with Grandma and Brian and I headed up to the slopes. I was so nervous to go. #1 I had never left Ady for that long. #2 I have not been snowboarding since Annika was 3 months old. (So 3 years ago!) Crazy. I was sure that I would go to get off the lift and make everyone else crash. We got up there, and it was windy and cold, but it was such a fun day. Eric, Dominique, and Gavin came too so there was a big group of us. It was so much fun! I want to go again soon. Thank you Karen and Gavin it was a wonderful gift!

On Saturday afternoon we packed up and headed to Logan. We spent the night at my parents house and hung out with the family.
On Sunday we went to Church with my parents. After Sacrament meeting I went to take Annika to Sunbeams, and she would have nothing to do with it. I thought she loves sunbeams at home, she will just see the other kids and love it. But she wouldn't even get off my lap. That evening Jordan had his Court of Honor. Annika had already sat still for way to long so she was really noisy. I swear we were the only ones there with kids. Oh well either way it was great! Way to go Jord!

Ady enjoying a huge cookie.

On Monday, we woke up and Brian, Austin, Mike and I went over to the church and played basketball. When we got home my mom had made a delicious breakfast. After breakfast, Annika and my mom went out to build a snowman.

We all ended up going out and getting in a snowball fight. It felt so nice to be outside, and feel the sunshine. The snowmen ended looked great! It was such a fun weekend!

9 Months

2011-02-15T15:58:00.004-07:00

Seriously where does time go? Ady is 9 months old! I don't know where the last year went but it went quick. It seems like Ady has always been here, but when I think about things we were doing last year at this time, I keep thinking about my huge belly!

Ady is such a sweet baby. Brian just said this morning, she is so mello. She is just a content baby. I think she is so content to just watch the rest of us in all of our craziness. She gets so excited when she does something new, finds something new, or does something that she thinks makes her more like us. She crawls all over the house, and our stairs are set up in a way that it is hard to but a gate up. So she crawls over to the top of the stairs and looks down, and when I look at her and say no-no she stops and looks at me and smiles. Her favorite place to stand is right in the kitchen at the top of the stairs. It just makes me so scared. We have had a couple little tumbles, (knock on wood) but nothing from the top to the bottom yet. She loves to stand up to anything that she can. She pulls all of the magnets off of the fridge. She walks all along the furniture, and moves from one object to another. She is a curious little girl, and loves getting into everything she can.

Things I love.... I love when she looks at me, and scrunches up her nose, and smiles her toothless grin and breathes in and out really loudly and fast. (I am going to have to record it.)
I love her big blue eyes!
I love her slobbery kisses.
I love her baby talk, and her squeals.
I love that she finds comfort in my hair. (she likes to pull it, suck on it, and bury her face in it.)
I love when she has a toy and holds it up for me to see.
I love that she wakes up happy, she just stands in her crib and talks, and waits for me to come get her.
I love her chubby cheeks.
Her little hands and feet,
her pokey outey ears,
and her long eye lashes.
Pretty much I just love her so much!
I am so glad that she is my baby.

We went to the dr. today and here are her stats.
She weighs 18.28 lbs 36 %
She is 28 inches long 62 %

Valentines Day

2011-02-15T12:05:00.005-07:00

It seems like Valentines Day has been a week long event! It is fine with me though, I love nothing more than spending time with those I love. On Friday night Brian and I got to go out on a DATE! we went to the movie True Grit. Probably not the most romantic movie out right now, but it was good, and I was with Brian. So it was great! BJ and Neisha kept the girls for us, and on the way home from BJ and Neisha's the girls fell asleep, and we stopped and got some take out, and came home and enjoyed a meal just the two of us!
On Saturday night we watched BJ and Neisha's girls so that they could go out. we decorated some valentines cupcakes and had fun. After they left, the girls were worn out, and fell asleep, so Brian and I got to enjoy dinner for a second night in a row just the two of us!
On Sunday we went to church and then headed up to South Jordan for a family dinner. Dominique and Eric got engaged on Wednesday (Congratulations!) so we got to hear about the engagement and all the fun wedding plans so far! Karen made us a wonderful meal, and Heidi and Jeremy brought delicious dessert!

On Monday, it was a normal day. But I was trying to do some special things. We had pink heart pancakes for breakfast. Later on in the day Annika got to share some valentines with her friends, and we made some chocolate covered strawberries. mmmmmm. Around lunch time we went out to the mail box and my mom had mailed the girls some goodies. They loved them. Ady was sucking on the plastic before I opened it, trying to get her treats out!

Brian came home, and totally surprised and spoiled me with a new piece of Jewelry. :) I love it! Then we got to enjoy our steak and potato dinner! It was a wonderful Valentines Day!

Monkey Island

2011-02-15T11:54:00.004-07:00

Last Thursday we went to Monkey Island with Neisha, McKell, Kennidee, and KC. Monkey Island is a great big building with nothing but inflatable toys inside. It is a great place to take the kids in the winter and let them burn off some of that energy! I think that Neisha and I are rewarded with a nap from the kids, after we take them there. It was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of the girls that I stole from Neisha's blog. (Thanks Neisha!)

At one point I even jumped in the bouncy house with Ady. She thought it was great! It was a fun exhausting day!

Family Fun Day

2011-02-01T19:22:00.005-07:00

Today was Family Fun Day. Brian took the day off and our first stop was the dentist. Annika had her first visit to the dentist. She did really well. I think that it was a really good thing that her aunt Heidi was the hygienist cleaning her teeth. She was so good with Annika and sat down with her and let her see all of the tools and how they worked. It was great! Heidi did such a good job!

Annika keeps telling me that Heidi tickled her teeth.
Annika sat in the chair and had her legs up in the air for most of the cleaning. It was just funny. The great news after the check-up was Annika has no cavities. :)

After Annika's teeth were all clean we went into the toy room, and played while Brian got his teeth cleaned. Heidi turned on Princess and the Frog, and the girls loved sitting in their bean bag chairs.

After Brian was done, we went out to lunch with Heidi, and Karen. We went to Thai Basil. I don't know why but we have been on a big Thai kick lately. mmmm it is so good.

After lunch we headed to the aquarium. We went last spring, and we showed up on a day of spring break, and the place was packed. Today it was so nice. There weren't very many people there, and Annika could move from tank to tank and look at all of the different fish. She was so brave and she touched the sting ray, and the sea star, and an urchin thing. She is just getting so big. Ady loved all of the fish, she sat and kicked her legs and smiled the whole time. We put Annika and Ady by one of the big fish tanks and Annika bent down to help Ady see. I love their sister love!

After the aquarium we headed to Cold stone. Annika picked cotton candy ice cream with white chocolate chips. They handed her, her ice cream, and she walked off and found a table and started enjoying! She is so independent! We sat and enjoyed some ice cream and then headed home.

When we got home Annika decided to draw all of the animals that we saw at the aquarium. This was one of the spiders that we saw. What a great drawing.

I loved our family fun day, and hope we can have another one soon!

Repeat

2011-01-31T14:52:00.004-07:00

We were just upstairs and Annika wanted me to get a game down off the closet shelf for her. All of the games that are up there are not really games that she can play. I said to her lets go down stairs and we will play blocks or candy land. She looks at me and uses her serious voice. (she uses it when she is trying to parent) and she said "Repeat after me" I want to play with that game up there that you used to play when I was a baby. I think she was trying to say listen to me. But it made me laugh that she said repeat after me. So then I asked her if she knew what that meant. she said no, and then preceded to tell me why she needed the game. In the end she got a game and I am still laughing...."REPEAT AFTER ME!"

8 Months

2011-01-11T19:28:00.004-07:00

Ady is now 8 months old! Really.... where did the time go? It is just crazy to me.
*She is mobile. Crawling all over
*She picks up cheerios and puffs, and eats them.
*She has started eating more food. Her favorite so far, is Apples & Cinnamon with Oatmeal.
*She signs milk
*She wants to be playing with whatever Annika is playing with.
*She wants to be right by other people.
*Lately Annika will crawl underneath Ady's chair and Ady watches Annika go from side to side and just laughs every time Annika peaks out on the other side.
*She pulls herself up to stand next to anything she can. The other day she was standing up holding on to my legs, while I was sitting on the ground, and she let go of my legs and stood up for a couple seconds.
*She doesn't like falling over even if she does land right on her bum.
*She is such a cute kid and I am so glad she is mine!

Sunbeams

2011-01-11T17:06:00.003-07:00

I just have to post this because it is crazy to me. But Annika is now in Sunbeams. I no longer have a baby in Nursery, she is a big girl and goes to sunbeams. She has done such a good job being reverent in Primary, and has transitioned really well. It is just so weird that I have a kid that goes to Primary.
This last week I did Sharing time, and I was really afraid that she would want to come stand by me or something while I was trying to teach. But she stayed in her seat and participated really well in the lesson. I just hope she is good for her teachers when we aren't around. But she is growing up so fast!

New Year

2011-01-11T16:52:00.005-07:00

On New Years Eve we went to Brian's parents house and enjoyed the wonderful fondue night. It is a wonderful tradition, and what better meal to kick off the new year of eating healthy than making yourself sick on fried food. Mmmmm.... it was so good. I had seen some sparklers in walmart when I was there, and thought Annika would love them. So at 9:30 we went outside and played with the sparklers and said Happy New Year. It was lots of fun. Gavin was holding his between his toes. It was lots of fun! Not to long after we went out and did sparklers Annika fell asleep on the couch. It was great! Happy New Year!

Santa Clause

2010-12-30T20:30:00.004-07:00

All Season Annika has been telling me how she is a big girl now, and she can sit on Santa's lap all by herself. She would say "I can help Ady because I am bigger!"

Well... It was Thursday December 23rd and we still had not been to see Santa yet. Brian's vacation started and I told him that we really needed to take Annika to see Santa. So we headed out. First we stopped at Costco. I think everyone in Utah Valley was at Costco. We made it out of there, and we were going to go down to University Mall to see Santa. I knew that there would probably be alot of people there (because it was 2 days until Christmas.) but we still went. We headed out of the Costco parking lot, and the roads were packed, so we went a different way. We were driving and ended up in highland. we keep driving on the road and there is the mouth of American fork canyon. I think that I am very good at directions, but I still can not figure out how we ended up so far north. So we start heading south, we get on state street and it is stop and go traffic. They were fixing pot holes on the freeway stopping traffic, so there was tons of people on state street, and then there was a fed ex truck stuck in one of the lanes. So it was down to one lane traffic.

Ok, we get past all that, we get to the mall, and Santa's line is all the way around his little north pole area. Ok. Ady was sleeping, so Brian and Annika went to do a little shopping and I waited in line. So a while later Brian and Annika come back. They stand in line with me for a minute, and we are like 10 feet away from the entrance into the north pole, and Annika starts crying. I ask her what's wrong and she says I want to go home. Seriously? Well she kept crying, so I took her out of the line, got her a better look at other kids sitting on santa's lap, and she kept crying. She didn't want to sit on his lap. I wasn't going to make her So... I told her to stand by the presents in his North pole, and I took her picture. I think it is a hilarious picture because she is totally crying, but trying to smile for the picture.

So we left the line, and came home. 3 hours later, we had gone on our own little Christmas Adventure! The sad thing is that I didn't even take a picture of sleeping Ady or give her the chance to sit on his lap! Sorry Ady. I will make sure you get the chance next year!

Christmas

2010-12-30T18:40:00.006-07:00

On Christmas Eve we went up to Brian's parents house for the evening. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, decorated some cookies for Santa. We sang some hymns, played some chimes, and watched a church movie on the birth of Christ. It was a wonderful laid back evening. We came home and headed to bed. Adalyn and I got up around 7:30, and Annika and Brian slept until about 8:30. When Annika finally woke up she said "we gotta go see if Santa came" she started heading down the stairs and saw her big barbie house and said " I got what I wanted!"

I think she was still trying to wake up because she just stood on the stairs for a while. We walked down stairs and she looked in her stocking, she got a Pez, which she was very happy about and just wanted me to put some candy in it. After she got her Pez figured out, she walked around the living room examining everyone's presents. I really think she just didn't know what to do. So we told her she could open the first present.

After that she caught on really fast, and she was getting presents for everyone else to open. Ady was fun to watch, and it was cute to watch Annika help Ady open her presents. Ady loves the leap frog table that she got. She thinks that she needs to be standing all of the time. And Annika took her unicorn pillow pet with her everywhere. We opened up all of our presents and then we had time to hang out and play.

Brian's family came down to see what the girls got, and then we left and headed up to my grandma's Christmas party. All of the great grand-kids did a nativity. It was fun to watch. After the party there, we headed back to my parents house.

We didn't get back there until about 10pm but we still exchanged family gifts. It was a lot of fun! Christmas was a long day. On Sunday we stayed at my parents house, and made a quick trip in to Logan to visit Brian's grandparents. Then headed back to my parents house to play games, eat lunch, and watch some movies. On Monday we went bowling and gathered everything up and headed home. It was a great Christmas!

Annika turns 3!

2010-12-16T15:15:00.007-07:00

Annika turned 3 on Tuesday December 14th! To Celebrate she got to have 3 different parties. She definitely got spoiled.

The first party was on December 5th. All of the Jarrett family came down to go to the Christmas Devotional so we had a party before! Here are some pictures. My parents gave her a tea party set, and we have sat down and enjoyed some tea every day since.

The second party was on December 12th. We went up and enjoyed dinner with the LeBarons. Annika and her aunt Heidi have Birthdays a day apart so we had a joint party for them. Brian's mom made her an adorable backpack, and Aunt Heidi and Uncle Eric gave her a pack of all the Disney Princess Barbies.

On her actual Birthday we hung out at home. Then later in the afternoon, we got a hold of some of the neighbor kids, and went to a place in Lehi called Monkey Island. It is a big room filled with inflatable slides and bouncy houses. They all got to run around and get out some energy. Brian stopped on his way home and got to watch for a while. On the way home we picked up dinner. For dinner Annika picked out Sausage pizza and broccoli. So that is what we had. We came home and while dinner was baking we opened presents. She got a train set, and never really sat down for dinner. She just kind of wandered back and forth between the kitchen and the living room. Eating a bite of pizza then going back in to drive her train. The night before her birthday we took her to the store and let her pick out the kind of cake pan for the cake she wanted. I thought I had talked her into Tinkerbell but when we got there she just wanted a monkey. So after dinner, we had monkey cake and chocolate ice cream.

I hope she had a great birthday!

Things about our Annika:
-She is such a sweet little girl. The other day we were waiting somewhere, and she leaned over and kissed by arm. Didn't say anything just kissed me. Brian gets little kisses like this all of the time.
-She is such a good big sister. She is always so willing to get me a diaper or toys for Ady. If she hears Ady crying she will say "Oh no she needs a toy" and jump down and get her one. Or "Mom I think that she is hungry." On Saturday morning Ady woke up, then you hear Annika run over to her crib and start talking to her. Then Annika comes running into our room and says in a normal voice... "Dad I need to tell you a secret.... Ady's awake." What a funny girl!
-She makes us laugh all the time.
-She is so smart!
-She is such a great part of our family.

I took Annika in for her 3 year check up and just for my records here are her stats:
-She weighs 35 lbs (89%)
-She is 38.25 inches tall (83%)

Things Annika says

2010-12-15T09:07:00.004-07:00

The other night we were down on the couch watching tv, and Annika was sitting next to me, and Brian was laying on the other side. I moved over to cuddle with Brian, when Annika gets this sad face and says, "now who's going to keep me warm?". Oh she made me so sad. So I moved back over and cuddled with her.

Ady had taken my wax paper out of the cupboard and kindly unrolled it all. Annika ran over and grabbed the cardboard tube. She jumped up on the chair and put the tube up to her eye. She said look mom I have a telescope. She sat there for a minute and said "I can see for miles". Then she said hey there are mountains over there. Then she said "mom come take a look".

I was playing a game on my phone and she was watching me play... then she looks at me and says "Can I have a go?"

This story isn't about Annika but I don't want to forget it. on May 15 Annika and Brian were up playing in her room. Then there was crying, I figured the playing had ended. They stayed up there and played for a minute, and then Annika came downstairs and said where is dad? I just assumed that he had gone to the bathroom. So Annika came down and played downstairs while I was doing the dishes. Then I took Annika and Ady outside, and I came back in to do the dishes. Then the girls started fighting outside, and I thought to my self. really I am doing the dishes and babysitting the kids, while Brian sits upstairs. I brought the girls in, and put ady to sleep. I was taking ady up to put her in her bed, and I open the door and I hear snoring. Seriously... Brian had climbed under Annika's bed trying to play hide and seek and fallen asleep under there! Ha ha :) It was hilarious! I tried to take a picture but he woke up!

Thanksgiving in Seattle

2010-12-07T10:42:00.006-07:00

On Thanksgiving morning we left our house at 6:00 am and headed to the airport. In the car on the way there, Annika was looking out her window and finding planes. Then she would make the comment maybe that's our plane. She was so giddy she was laughing at everything. Once we got to the airport we parked, and then hurried to get on the shuttle. As the shuttle was pulling away I asked Brian if he locked the car. He said no, so he pulled the keys out and was trying to lock it as we pulled away. (It didn't work!).
We made it to the terminal and got our bags checked, then we were getting ready for security. I was nervous Annika was going to freak out. One security dude directed us to a different line, and we walked right up to the front. We got up there and we were not ready. We had missed all of the signs that you normally get to read while waiting, so we had nothing ready when we got to the front. We got through there, and then we only had to walk through the metal detector. But I had packed Chocolate milk, which had to be scanned twice. I think everyone felt bad for us, carrying two little girls through the airport. So none of us had to get frisked which was nice.
Then we walked right to our gate and waited.

Brian and Ady on the plane.

Once we got on the plane, Annika sat by the window, and was really excited. We sat and watched the bags load onto the plane. It was great. We started moving and Annika loved it, she even loved takeoff. And then we got up in the air and she was looking down at everything. Then she read the flight instruction book from the back of the seat, and saw a picture of an airplane in water. Then she started crying and told me she wanted to stop. I told her that we couldn't stop and she was still crying. We moved her to the middle seat and she asked me if we were going to fall. Poor girl. She is to smart. Well the rest of the trip was good. She colored and was a lot happier, she even used the bathroom in the airplane.

Annika coloring on the plane.

We landed and Allison was at the airport to pick us up. First thing Annika said to her was we didn't land in water. We rode back to Allison's house, and Annika had decided that she didn't want to get back on a plane.
When we got to Puyallup Allison had the Turkey in the oven and all we had to do was relax. Annika got to play with her cousins. And we all hung out and talked. That after noon we had a great Thanksgiving dinner, and played some games. Then we headed to bed. In the middle of the night, Heidi had Annika out in the hall trying to get her a drink, but she was crying. I brought her into bed with us, and she wouldn't go to sleep. Well then she threw up, all over Allison's sheets. We stripped the bed down and Annika fell asleep. In the morning she threw up again. I didn't know what was wrong with her. In the mean time I had washed Allison's sheets, only to find out the throw up didn't come out. We threw everything in the dryer, because we also needed a blanket to get dry and soon as possible. I went to check on the load in the dryer and the mattress pad had melted all over everything! (I have never had this happen.) So not only did I ruin Allison's sheets I had melted her mattress pad. The day was starting out great.
Brian and the kids at the Science Center

Then we had decided we were going to go to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, so we got up and ready, and got in the car. On our way there I let Annika eat some goldfish. Which later on in the ride came back up. At this point I couldn't decide if we should turn around or keep going. So we kept going. She didn't throw up again, and the Pacific Science Center was so much fun! It was huge. They had so much to do. I would love to go back. Then we left and headed back to Puyallup. Then we just hung out and let the kids play.
good quality cousin time.

On Saturday Heidi and Jeremy went into the city. So We went with Scott, Allison and the Boys to ride on a ferry. We headed to Tacoma and got on the ferry.
Ady and Aunt Allison on the Ferry.

our family on the ferry.

We watched the cars drive on, and rode to an Island. We didn't even get off the boat, we just stayed on and watched the cars drive off and more drive on. We got off and went and looked in the water. It is so cool, we saw 2 star fish and a crab, just hanging out in the water. It is just so cool to see things like that. Then we walked along the shore for a while and let the kids play.

The kids and Allison on our walk along the water.

After our walk we got some lunch and headed home. The kids had naps and the adults talked. Saturday night we left the kids (minus Adalyn) with a babysitter, and the couples went out on a date. We went and ate Thai food (which I didn't know if I was going to like, but it was delicious!).
On Sunday we went to church and had one last night of talking.z
And on Monday We walked Abe to the bus stop that morning, which Annika loved. (She wants to go to school so bad.) Allison, Heidi, and I went and got pedicures. Brian got to Babysit Henry and Annika. After the pedicures we loaded up the car and headed to the airport. The Seattle-Tacoma airport is really cool. Once you get past security you walk into this area that is a huge glass wall and you can sit and eat and watch the planes take off. It was so cool! Annika loved it. She still didn't want to ride home on a blue plane. So we made our way to the gate and we never let Annika look out the window. We told her that the plane was orange and red, and she was good. We flew home and both of the girls were great. When we got back to Salt Lake we got to dig our car out of some snow, but it was good to be home. What a fun trip!

The girls waiting in the airport

Who let the dogs out?

2010-12-06T16:50:00.003-07:00

The other day we were driving home and Annika asked me if we could sing the song who let the dogs out, then preceded to sing it for me. I have never listened to this song with her. I don't know where she learned it but it was sure cute!

6 Months

2010-12-03T17:42:00.005-07:00

Adalyn is 7 months old now, and we just took her in for her 6 month check up. She is such a good baby.

So here are her stats:
- 17.2 lbs (58%)
- 27.5 inches (89%)
- 16.75 in head circumference (39%)

-She loves to babble. She will talk for hours.
-She loves her older sister. She is always looking for her, and no one can make her laugh more.
-She is sitting up so well.
-She reaches for things and pushes up and gets on her knees and rocks. I think she will be crawling soon. She just hasn't figured out how to move forward, but she scoots backwards and gets stuck in lots of places. (In one of the corners in our kitchen the board under the cupboards is loose, and she pushed herself under the cupboards).
-She is really interested in what we are putting in our mouths, but doesn't really love her baby food.
-She does love Sweet Potatoes.
-She is very curious about everything, and is very fast at grabbing it.
-She is such a good baby, we are so glad she is part of our family!

Halloween

2010-11-01T21:31:00.010-06:00

Halloween weekend was very busy. Scott, Allison, Abe and Henry came into town. We started out having Breakfast on Friday morning. Then we went and got pictures of the Grandkids taken. They turned out so cute!

The boys went golfing while we were getting pictures. After that we hung out for a while and then went and ate lunch at a Japanese Restaurant. They cook the food at the grill right in front of you. (I don't know what that is called.) It was tasty, but Annika didn't like the fire. After lunch we came home and got ready for the Trunk or Treat.

(Annika is already eating her candy. She had pixie stick down her chin.)

I was in charge of this primary activity and it went really well. Right before it started one of the men in our ward came riding in on a black horse, and was dressed up as the headless horseman. He was throwing out candy. Annika really wanted some of his candy, but didn't know what she thought of him.

(Our family all dressed up at the Halloween party.)

On Saturday Heidi threw a Halloween party for the family. It was so much fun! She had a scavenger hunt for the kids. They ended up finding the secret ingredient which made the witches brew bubble and smoke. They loved watching it.

We played a great pin the spider on the spider web. We ate donuts off a string, and listened to a scary story.

It was a great party! After Heidi's house we drove out to surprise Grandma and Grandpa Nye. Then we headed back to South Jordan. We took the kids out trick or treating. We were the only ones out. All of the houses were giving the kids handfuls of candy. They were having so much fun. Abe would run up to the house and put his finger on the door bell. and was told to wait for Henry and Annika. He would look back at them running up the sidewalk and say "is everyone here". He made me laugh!

On Sunday we woke up and were getting ready for church. I walked down stairs to get Annika some cereal and the clocks were an hour ahead of the ones upstairs. I guess that the alarm clock thought that it was daylight saving time. Needless to say we missed Sacrament Meeting. After Church we headed back up to South Jordan and ate dinner with the family. It was a long weekend but fun to hang out with the family.

Pumpkin Walk

2010-11-01T21:12:00.007-06:00

On October 22nd we went up to Logan to Celebrate Austin's Birthday. We started off by going to the pumpkin walk. It was a lot of fun. Annika really enjoyed looking into every pumpkin that was lit up to see what was inside. The theme was animation, it was fun, Annika recognized a lot of the scenes. She really liked the little mermaid one. and the princess and the frog one. The pumpkin walk is such a fun tradition!

Princess and the frog.

(Annika would have opened every pumpkin if we would have let her!)

(Ady all bundled up, enjoying the pumpkins!)

After the pumpkin walk we went to wingers for dinner. Annika was so hungry and tired, she was just laying on the bench and crying. Adalyn had just had a long day and was hungry. Anyways. we ordered our food, and by the time they brought it out, I was headed out to the car. As soon as we got out to the car, Annika said she needed to go pee. So I put Adalyn down screaming, and pulled Annika out of the car, and pulled down her pants and let her pee in the trees in the parking lot. Brian went back into the restaurant and got our food boxed up and we took it back to my parents house. We put the girls down to sleep, and then enjoyed our dinner. Brian commented that we can't go anywhere anymore. Maybe one day we will be able to enjoy dinner. :)
The next day we tried to get pictures of the girls in their matching outfits with the pumpkins. Annika didn't want to cooperate. Oh well. they are still cute girls!

Art

2010-10-22T09:24:00.003-06:00

I bought some canvas' a while ago, and I thought it would be fun to have Annika paint one. So I picked out the colors, and Annika did the rest. It was a lot of fun! I thought her picture turned out great!

The Finished Painting hanging on the wall.

6k

2010-10-13T12:48:00.004-06:00

In August I got an ad in the mail about a 10k/6k at Thanksgiving point. So I talked to my friend Charity about it and we decided that we would start training. We started waking up at 6:00 and running.
Honestly we only had 6 weeks. Last summer when I started training for my 5k I did a 9 week program we only had 6 weeks and 6k is farther than 5k. I was nervous that we weren't going to be ready.
On Saturday Oct. 9th was the big day! We headed over to Thanksgiving point and with over 1900 women we ran the race. I am glad to say that I ran the whole thing. I was slow.... But I did it. I just keep telling myself my goal was never to be the fastest just to complete it. And I did. I love it. It is a good feeling to set a goal and then to complete it. Brian brought the girls over, and because it was an all woman race there were a lot of husbands and kids at the finish line. They even had bouncy houses to entertain the kids while the mom's were running. It was a lot of fun. I am glad that I did it!

Me and the girls after the race!

Annika on one of the bouncy houses.

Thank you, Brian for watching the girls in the morning so I can go!

Birthday Fun

2010-10-08T16:49:00.006-06:00

Last Wednesday was my birthday. Brian's family offered to take the girls so we could go out. It was very fun to get out. We have gone to Red Lobster for all you can eat shrimp for the last 3 years. So this year I decided to mix it up, and we went to Joe's Crab Shack. We had never been there but it was a lot of fun. The Crab was great!

This pan has both our meals in it. I did not eat all of that crab! Just to clarify!

Then on Sunday my family came down and we had a little party and cake.

Thanks for the great Birthday!

Eric's home

2010-10-08T16:44:00.003-06:00

On September 28th we went to the Airport to pick up Eric from his mission. It was great. It is amazing the feeling that you get when the missionary walks down the hall towards their family. I think I would cry even if I wasn't related to the missionary! We are so glad that he is home!

Annika acted just how I thought she would. (Just like she did when Alli came home.) She acted excited and then he came off the plane and she didn't even want to talk to him.
Then after the airport we went out to eat, and at lunch she warmed up to him some more. Then by the time we made it back to the house, I think that she wouldn't stop talking to him. She talks about uncle Eric a lot and we are glad he is back!

Cinderella

2010-09-25T19:19:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, Annika's friend Shaye had a princess birthday party. Oh my goodness... I had so much fun dressing Annika up. I got out a picture of Cinderella and told Annika that we were going to do her hair like Cinderella's. She got so excited. Then we put on her dress and some sparkly shoes and then of course we had to put on some jewelry. She was so excited to go to the party!
I stayed at the party to help out, and it was just so much fun watching these little girls all dressed up! It was a fun party and I just loved dressing Annika up. We might just have to have mom and daughter tea parties and get dressed up!

Bear Lake

2010-09-25T18:54:00.005-06:00

Last weekend my parents rented a cabin in Bear Lake and we got to go relax. We didn't get up there until about 8:30. Annika fell asleep in the canyon and Adalyn screamed most of the way. But we made it. After putting the girls to bed my relaxing began. We watched movies and ate food.
On Saturday morning we woke up and went for a walk and enjoyed the view and the fall leaves. In the afternoon we went down to the beach. It was so nice. The beach was pretty empty and the sun was shining. It was a great day at the beach.

The boys played football and Frisbee.

Alli and Jord built a sand castle.

Annika got burried in the sand.

Adalyn got to wear her swim suit for the first time.

and we all had fun!

After the beach we had to get a shake. Mmmm... it was tasty. We went back to the cabin and played more games and watched more movies and ate more food.

Sunday we got cleaned up and came home. It was a great weekend.

4 months

2010-09-23T18:06:00.004-06:00

(Look how smart she is, she already knows how to tell people how old she is.. 4 months old!)

Adalyn just had her 4 month check-up, and I thought I should give a little update on her. Her stats she was 4 months and 15 days old:

Weight: 15 lbs 6 oz. 75%
Length: 25.25 in 73%
Head: 16 in 29%

I don't know why but my girls heads have always been really small. Adalyn's weight at 2 months was in the 90% so I guess she is slowing down a little bit.
She got shots again, and she has handled them so great! She fell asleep on the way home, and woke up when we got home, and was smiley and happy! She has wanted to be held a little bit more, but I think she has done great!

We tried some rice cereal last night, and it wasn't very eventful. She didn't really like it, but she didn't really pull any really funny faces either. So we will keep trying, maybe she will enjoy it later.

She is such a good baby. She definitely is a mamas girl. She likes to be held by me, and if she is being held by someone else and she sees me most of the time she will get sad. She loves her dad and big sister and always gives them big smiles. I think she is kind of shy, if someone talks to her most of the time she smiles and then buries her head in my shoulder! She sleeps all through the night. She even sleeps through annika waking up and crying. Is it odd that my 2 year old wakes me up more than my 4 month old? She has rolled from her belly to her back but not from her back to her belly. She will roll to her side to get toys, but she just hasn't gone the distance. I think she could if she wanted to. She loves grabbing onto things, and immediately pulls them towards her mouth. And she started sucking on her thumb. It is super cute, but It makes me nervous because you can't take away a thumb. And I don't want it to mess up her teeth. So... I have been giving her a binky and she has actually been taking it.. yay! it is nice to have sometimes! She is a great baby and we love her so much!

Backyard

2010-09-11T21:11:00.005-06:00

The other night we were out in the backyard, and I got some cute pictures of the girls. It is so fun to watch Annika play with Adalyn. (I hope they are always good friends.)
I was pushing Annika on the swing while holding Adalyn, and everytime Annika swang back towards us, Adalyn just giggled. It is so fun!

Annika loves to take Adalyn down the slide with her, and Adalyn loves going down.

Annika showing me how she can go upside down.

Annika making sure that Adalyn gets a chance to talk on the phone.

I love Adalyn's smiles, but I don't get them on camera very often. She is getting so big! It is sad, but fun too! I just love her big blue eyes! What a good baby!

Brian is 27!

2010-08-23T23:15:00.006-06:00

It was Brian's Birthday on Sunday. I hate to say it but I was a bad wife and didn't make it that great of a Birthday. He only got to open 2 presents! my excuse is that we were just so busy. But I shouldn't make excuses. I mean I know when his birthday is and I know it comes every year, I just was not as prepared as I would want to be. So for his birthday He grilled us some ribs for dinner, which were so yummy, and I made him a Turtle cake. It was a nice relaxed day of just being at home, especially after being gone all week, but not a very exciting day.
Brian is such a wonderful husband and dad, and I hope that he knows how much we love him! Happy Birthday Brian!

Xactware Party

2010-08-23T22:54:00.005-06:00

We got home from the Unitas and unpacked and got cleaned up and then we headed out of our house to Sundance. Xactware was having their company party, and we went up for some activities and dinner.
When we got up there, they had a whole bunch of bouncy houses and some pony rides. Annika rode the pony and thought it was great.

Then we ate some dinner.
After dinner we walked up to the amphitheater to watch Ryan shupe and the rubber band. It was fun, but we had 2 little girls that were ready for bed. We headed back to the car, and we rode down the mountain from the amphitheater in a trailer that was pulled by a tractor. Annika loved it. Then we rode up to the parking lot in a shuttle and again Annika loved it. Who needs a pony when you have a tractor and a shuttle?
On the way home we decided to drive the Alpine loop. It was a really pretty drive, kind of scary in some parts but fun. The girls were exhausted and slept on the way home. It was a really fun day!

The Uintas

2010-08-23T15:31:00.005-06:00

On Thursday August 19th we went camping with Brian's family up in the Uintas to Mirror Lake. When we left home on Thursday morning, it was kind of cloudy. As we got closer to the Uintas it started pouring. We got up to the lake and our camping spot at about 1. It was pouring rain. So I sat in the car with the girls. Brian was out in the rain trying to clear a spot for our tent. Brian and his dad dug this huge rock out of the ground so that we could put our tent out. After all of that hard work He was soaked. Annika and I had sat in the car watching the DVD player, and occasionally turning on the car to run the heater. I didn't know if we were going to end up camping or just going home. at about 3:30 it stopped raining. We hurried and got the tent set up, and got settled in. We went fishing and Annika reeled in her first 2 fish. She was so excited, and I feel really bad but I didn't even get a picture of it. We started a fire and enjoyed a wonderful dutch oven dinner, and we had a pineapple upside-down cake for Brian's birthday.

On Friday we woke up and enjoyed a warm breakfast, and some hot chocolate. Annika got to go on a boat ride with Brian. She loved the boat. I was worried that she was just going to stand up and fall out or something. We went for a walk, (After Brian and I climbed the mountain last weekend, Annika has been asking me if she can climb a mountain.) It was just a fun relaxed day. We went fishing again, and Annika got to reel in some more fish. I was sitting down by the lake feeding Adalyn and watching Brian fish, and Annika needed to go potty. So Brian took Annika and I sat there. I thought what the heck, I will just cast out. Well I caught a fish. But I wasn't really in a position to release the fish so I sat there and let the fish swim around until Brian and Annika came back. Annika got to reel it in and loved it. After that Annika was done fishing and went back to camp to play card with Grandma and Heidi.

Brian and I stayed and fished. I caught one more before I headed back to camp, and I really just want to say that I didn't know a fish that little could bite a fly almost the same size as it is. I didn't know that fish that little were even in the lake. Anyways Brian said that we had to take a picture of me and my little fish. His next fish wasn't that much bigger so I took a picture of him too! Adalyn sat in the chair and was so happy. She loved camping and did so well. That night we roasted hot dogs and Annika loved it. I just want to say that both of the girls slept better at night than I did. Annika liked to scoot down to the bottom of her sleeping bag, and then she would wake up and not know where she was and cry. She loved camping.

Saturday we woke up and started cleaning up our stuff. Annika really wanted to go on another boat ride, so Aunt Heidi took her. And she wanted to go fishing again. Then we headed home. It is just amazing how pretty it was. The lake, the trees, everything was amazing. I am so glad that we got to go camping.

Aunt Alli

2010-08-23T15:20:00.004-06:00

When we got home from Camping at Blacksmith fork, Alli was at our house. She had come down to go to a missionary homecoming, and decided to stay the night with us. It was a lot of fun to have her down and just hang out. That hasn't really happened since she came home so we were glad to have her for the day.

We decided to go up to the highland splash pad. It was a lot of fun! Here are some pictures.

Thanks Alli for coming and spending some time with us!

Blacksmith Fork

2010-08-23T14:57:00.004-06:00

On August 14th we woke up and packed all of our camping stuff and went camping up Blacksmith Fork Canyon with Brian's family. It is always very relaxing and fun.
Brian's Cousin has a little girl Kiari that is 2 months younger than Annika. These 2 followed each other around the entire time. They would hold hands as they were walking around camp. It was fun for Annika to have someone to play with.

I was really nervous about Adalyn camping, but I bundled her up and she was happy while she was awake and she slept great. All through the night just like at home. On Sunday morning Brian's dad asked if I wanted to hike to the top of a mountain that was by camp. I say mountain because it makes me feel better, but really it was probably more like a hill. So the girls stayed at camp with their Grandma's and Brian and Gavin, and I hiked to the top. I really didn't know if I was going to make it, I guess I am a little out of shape. (or a lot!) But we made it!

This is me and Gavin, and camp is right under the rocks behind us. You can see a little trailer down there.

This is Brian and Gavin at the top. Brian found a deer antler and thought it was pretty cool.

On the way back down we were sliding on rocks because it was steep and there wasn't a trail. We were heading down and Gavin slid on some rocks and this huge rock started bouncing down the mountain. It bounced all the way to the bottom and landed in the middle of the road. It was crazy. Luckily no cars hit the rock before Gavin made it to the bottom and got it out of the road. It was a good hike, and I am glad that I went. (I wasn't when I was hiking up!) But it was a fun camping trip.

Jack

2010-08-23T14:36:00.004-06:00

On August 13th Brian and I got to go see Jack Johnson in concert. Heidi gave us tickets for our birthdays and babysat for the night. It was so much fun to get away for a night and just go on a date with Brian. Leading up to this night I was so nervous that Adalyn was just going to cry the whole time for them. I wasn't sure that I was ready to leave my baby. And she doesn't want to drink from a bottle, which means if she is away from me, she doesn't have anything to eat. So I was nervous how this night would play out.

It actually was wonderful. We left our house at about 5:00 and went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. After dinner I called Heidi to see how everything was going and she said that both of the girls were asleep. So we headed up to Usana and kind of got lost on the way. The GPS was taking us to some business, but we made it. We spread out the blanket and the opening act started.

It was a lot of fun. The concert ended at 11 and we headed home. When we got home, both girls were asleep! It was a fun night. Thank you Heidi for the tickets and for Babysitting, we had a great night!

Hogal Zoo

2010-08-10T23:08:00.005-06:00

Today was such a great day! Brian took the day off. That is always fun! Well we called it family day. We slept in. Seriously Adalyn slept until 8:30, and Annika was about the same.
While I was getting ready, Adalyn started crying and Annika decided that it was her big sister duty to climb into Adalyn's crib, and pat her head and tell her it was ok. Then we started discussing what we were going to do for our family day. We gave Annika options Swimming, The zoo. And she chose the zoo. Actually she chose swimming and then the zoo, but we decided the zoo would be enough.

We got to the zoo, and Annika didn't want to walk because she was afraid of the train. But yet she wanted to ride the train. We walked in and the first thing that we saw was the monkey's. She really liked them. We walked around the zoo, and eventually found the carousal. She loved it and wanted to ride it all day long. She got to ride it twice. Once with me and once with Brian. We went up and saw the tigers, and I guess they had 3 cubs last year, so they still aren't full grown, but they are big. They were playing with a big barrel that they had hung up in the tree and painted zebra stripes on it. It was so fun to see the tigers doing something other than laying in the shade. Annika didn't care at all. She found some other little girls and they went and watched a pond, with some flies. Brian and I were enjoying the tigers.

Then we made our way to the giraffes. I was taking a picture of Brian and Annika and this giraffe decided to pose for the camera too. Annika loved all of the animals, but was definitely ready to go by the time we were done. We had a lot of fun, and wore both of the kids out. The whole time Adalyn played in the stroller. She liked the zoo too! I should have taken a couple more pictures of her. As we were leaving the zoo, we tried to get a family picture taken. Annika would not put her hands down, but we have a picture documenting that all 4 of us were there. I guess that is all that I can ask for. What a great family day! I wish we could do it more often!
After the Zoo we went to Red Robin and all Annika wanted was a drink like the little boy had at the zoo. (we saw kids that had snow cones.) So she got a smoothie!

Today

2010-08-06T21:56:00.006-06:00

We went swimming yesterday. As always trying to get 2 kids into the car turns into a big production. I made sure we had everything and got loaded into the car. We were backing out of the driveway and Annika says "Can I get buckled too mom?" Oh my goodness. I totally forgot to buckle Annika. I am just glad that she said something.

Just another funny thing lately Annika will be telling me a story and she says... "When I was a little girl..." Like she isn't a little girl anymore. I think she really means when she was a baby like Adalyn. She just thinks that she is getting so big. And she is but she is still little!

I can't leave Adalyn out of this post Today she is 3 months old. She is such a good little girl. Last night I was tickling her and she was giggling at me. I love it when she gives me her big grins. She is getting so strong. She likes to sit in her little chair. She likes to sit in her bouncy chair and grab a hold of the toys that hang down. She is such a happy baby and sleeps so well. She loves all of the hugs and kisses from Annika and smiles and giggles for her the most.

My two girls keep me busy, but they are so much fun!

New Trick

2010-08-06T15:40:00.003-06:00

Last night Brian and Annika were outside playing. Adalyn and I were hanging out inside, and Annika came running in and said "mom I can do a backflip because I am getting bigger". So I had to go outside and see what she was talking about. I went out and got to watch her do her new trick! I really think that she is so strong!

Hair Cut

2010-07-23T14:20:00.006-06:00

After Alli's homecoming talk in church on July 11th, Alli cut Annika's hair. I really can't believe that we waited until she got home, but Alli really wanted to give Annika her first hair cut. It was really good, because I had time to tell Annika that Aunt Alli was going to cut her hair. She did so good. We put her outside on a bar stool and gave her a Popsicle. I think that now with it cut she looks so grown up!
Before:

AFTER:

Annika is such a funny girl and so smart. She makes me laugh everyday! This morning she heard the washer going and said mom is that my sheets getting washed? and it was.

And today she picked up my phone and called Brian all by herself. she just said "I want to call dad"

This morning she was asking if we could make some cookies today, and I said sure, and she said "and we put butter in them."
Me: What else do we put in them?
Annika: Sugar, and Brown Sugar, and flour RIGHT?
Me: That is right!
(Do you think that means we make to many cookies around here?)

But she is such a good helper...
The other day she asked me if she could have a Popsicle and I told her not right now, but she could after dinner. This lead to a break down. Screaming No... Well I was changing Adalyn's diaper and it is Annika's job to get me diapers. So while she was screaming I told her I needed a diaper for Adalyn. She continued screaming and went and got me a diaper. :) She was mad but not mad enough to not help.

2 month check-up

2010-07-23T14:01:00.004-06:00

On Monday we went and had Adalyn's 2 month check up. She got her shots and has been such a happy little girl even with sore legs. They were giving her the rotavirus vaccine and it is an oral one, and she threw it all back up. I asked the nurse what they do and she said "we don't give another dose. it absorbs really fast!" Well I really don't know what they are supposed to do, but I don't know if I think it absorbs that fast. But we came home and she slept a lot that night, and has been back to normal.

She was 2 months and 12 days old at her appointment and here are her stats:
Weight: 13.27 lbs (90%)
Height: 23.5 in (77%)
Head: 15.25 in (35%)

But the dr. said that she is a very social little girl and very healthy! :) Which is all we really want!

At 2 months old she
-is sleeping from 10:30 pm to at least 6:30 am (she is such a good sleeper and I am sooooo lucky!)
-She holds her head up really well
-She is awake a lot more and gives us good smiles
-She loves her big sister. Annika can always make her smile and laugh
-She doesn't want to take a Binky or a bottle

She is such a fun little girl!

Bear Lake

2010-07-12T14:31:00.007-06:00

On July 4th after Adalyn's blessing we sent Annika home with my parents. She got to have a sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa and I am pretty sure she ended up sleeping with Alli. On Monday morning we woke up and got everything packed and headed up to Bear Lake. By the time we stopped at the store we didn't end up leaving here until about 11:00. So we got to Bear Lake at 2:00. It was really windy and I thought it was cold. Adalyn didn't like the wind. Annika loved throwing the frisbee and playing in the water. My family ended up getting a boat to ride, with a tube to pull behind it. They all went out on the boat and our little family hung out on the beach!

Brian and Annika built a sand castle.

We went up to the condo and ate dinner and hung out up there for the night.
In the morning Brian, my dad, my uncle Randy, and my Grandpa went golfing. It sounds like they had a lot of fun.
While they were golfing we took Annika down to the playground. There were a whole bunch of kids on the merry go round. Annika wanted to join in. I put her on and I made her sit down with her legs around a bar. She sat down until they started going and then she saw all of the older kids standing up and she thought she needed to stand up like them. But she couldn't figure out how they put their legs over the bar and hung on. She was trying really hard, but couldn't figure it out.

After the playground we went and did some crafts. Annika colored a shirt that says bear lake on it. She did a really good job! While we were coloring the shirt Brian and the guys came home from golfing.

After finishing the shirt we went and played some miniature golf. Annika seemed to like it alot. She kept helping Brian and I with our golf balls.

After golfing we went up and ate lunch and packed up to go home!
It was a lot of fun, but I wish we could have stayed longer. It was a lot of driving and we were really tired when we got home!

Blessing

2010-07-12T10:36:00.004-06:00

On the 4th of July Adalyn got blessed. It was a wonderful day. Honestly I was stressed before the whole thing but everything went really well.
The big dilema before her blessing was what dress she was going to wear. When Annika was born and blessed my mom made her dress. I was planning on just having Adalyn wear the same dress. Well after a lot of debate, I decided to have my mom make a new dress. So it was only like 2 weeks before the blessing, and we went shopping and bought material. My mom is wonderful. She got the dress done and it looked wonderful. I love how it turned out! There is a seem on the dress, and my mom lined up the flowers perfectly. It really looks so good.
So the night before the blessing my mom brought the dress over, and then drove back up to Midvale where they were spending the night.

The next morning I was worried about getting to church on time. We were right on track and getting ready and I got a phone call from my mom. My dad had forgot his pants. I was so worried they weren't going to make it to the church on time. But they ran to the store and bought him some on their way to the church. They walked into the church right as the bishopric stood up to start the meeting.
We had got to the church and Adalyn was really fussy. I was walking around with her trying to calm her down and get her to go to sleep. I was so nervous that she would cry through the whole thing. She cried all through the opening song, and right up until her blessing. Brian took her and went up to the circle. She cried a little at first but almost as soon as Brian started the blessing she was quiet and I guess listening to her blessing. Brian gave her a great blessing and we are blessed to have family that came to support us on her day.
After we came back to our house and had muffins, and some egg casserole and fruit. I was a very nice day to get to talk to family and celebrate Adalyn being in our family.
Adalyn with her great-grandparents LeBaron and Nye!

Adalyn with her parents and grandparents

Our little family!

Welcome Home

2010-07-12T10:22:00.005-06:00

On June 30th Alli came home from her mission. She served in Texas. Brian took the day off of work, and we drove up to the airport to welcome her home. Annika colored a poster that said welcome home! It was really fun to see her again. And she got to meet Adalyn. I think that all of the missionaries were purposely the last ones off the plane. It took them forever, but she finally came walking out. After the airport we went out to dinner with the family and had a good time catching up. It is funny because as soon as Alli walked off the plane it just felt like she had never been gone. I think that she just fit right back in. When she walked off the plane Alli walked up to Annika. Annika stood there but wouldn't say anything. It didn't take very long, by the time we were at dinner we didn't want to go to the bathroom with anyone but Aunt Alli. We really missed her and are glad she is home.

Father's Day

2010-06-25T21:19:00.005-06:00

Last weekend was a lot of fun! On Friday night we went up American Fork Canyon with BJ and Neisha and their kids, and had a campfire. I forgot how much I enjoy being in a canyon. It is so relaxing! We made some tinfoil dinners and roasted some hot dogs for the kids, and then enjoyed some marshmallows! It was so much fun! The girls all loved climbing around on the rocks, and Adalyn enjoyed the fresh air and slept in her car seat almost the whole time.

On Saturday we went to the parade in pleasant grove. Annika thought that it was great! It was soooo hot. I got a sunburn on one half of my face. Then later in the afternoon my family stopped by and visited for a while.

On Sunday we woke up and went to church. We came home and opened some presents, and enjoyed a day at home. For Fathers day Brian got a smoker box for the grill so he bbq'd us some ribs. mmmm... I am sure that he really enjoyed cooking his own father's day dinner. That afternoon we went out to the swing set and Annika was climbing up a rope that is on the side. (She has just figured out how to climb it if we put our foot on the bottom to stabilize it.) So I was holding Adalyn and Brian was holding the bottom, and she yelled mom look at me. I said "Wow you are a little monkey" and she replied back "no I'm a chimpanzee" :) I guess I needed to be more specific. It was a great fathers day.
I am so glad that I am surrounded by wonderful dad's in my life. I am so thankful for all of them! It is so much fun to watch Brian and his 2 girls. He is such a good dad. Annika is so excited when he comes home everyday from work. She hears the garage door opening and she runs over and opens the door and waves to him as he pulls into the garage. :) She loves him so much! Brian thank you for being such a wonderful dad and husband. We all love you!

Update

2010-06-17T14:24:00.005-06:00

Well we are still alive! Honestly I just feel like somedays I am bearly surviving, and other days I think we can do this. I think that Annika is adjusted to having a little sister around. Somedays are better than others. But now if I tell her I need to do something for Adalyn before I can get up and get her something she says ok. And most of the time is patient. again sometimes are better than others. She has been a really good big sister and is really good at getting me things that I need for Adalyn.

Annika has been having so much fun in the warm weather. She has gone swimming a couple times in the backyard. We have been to the park a couple of times. But most of all she has stayed busy riding her bike around the neighborhood. (I am so glad that we have great neighbors that let Annika play.) Annika loves all of the little girls in the neighborhood. It is so funny. All of the other girls are older than her. They are all at least 5. Annika just thinks she fits right in with them. And she has been coming home and saying things like Oh my gosh. or no way mom. I am going to say that she learned these things from the older girls. But they are all so nice to her.

Adalyn is 5 weeks old now and is still such a good baby. I have decided that she must have some acid reflux. She gets hiccups alot, and she throws up. When she throws up it is projectile and sometimes it comes out of her nose. It makes me so sad for her. Other than that she is a great baby. I really shouldn't even say some of these things because maybe by writing about them it will make them change. But the last couple of nights of nights she has slept for at least a 6 and a half hours at a time. I am still tired when I wake up in the morning, but it has been so nice! She is getting so strong, she is holding her head up quite a bit. She loves going on walks and pretty much always falls asleep. She does not like her car seat. She cries every time I put her in it.
So we are still adjusting, but things are wonderful!

2 weeks

2010-05-28T09:02:00.006-06:00

On Monday we went to the Dr. for Adalyn's 2 week check-up. The Dr. said that everything looked good, but Adalyn didn't like the Dr. she screamed the whole time the Dr. was in the room with us. She was screaming so hard she was turning purple. After the Dr. did the check up we had to let Adalyn calm down. It took almost a half hour to get her calmed down and almost to sleep. Oh it was fun!

Adalyn almost since we got home from the hospital has been throwing up. It always makes me nervous because it seems like she can't breathe when she is throwing up. I asked the dr. about it and she said it could be reflux, or it could be she is just eating too much. So, since the Dr. I have been trying to pay more attention to what I eat. Since the Dr. she hasn't thrown up. Let's hope that we can keep that up.

Annika had been such a good girl during the whole appointment. But as we were leaving the Dr. Adalyn was still crying and I was trying to get Annika in her car seat. Well Annika decided that it would be more fun to ride in the seat in between the 2 car seats. She would not get in her seat. So after trying to reason, I held her down and strapped her in. So in the back seat I have 2 children screaming their heads off. Honestly it is moments like this that I just want to cry. Thank goodness they don't last very long. They calmed down and most of the car ride home was quiet. I am still trying to learn how to take care of 2 kids! It isn't like that majority of the time, but I would be lying if I said we didn't have moments like that!

Adalyn's 2 week stats:
Weight: 10 lbs 7 oz (95%)
length: 21.5 inches (84%)
Head: 14.13 inches (41%)

The Dr. said she is definitely eating good. She was back up to her birth weight and had gained more. She is a good baby, and we really enjoy having her. She hates having a dirty or wet diaper. She likes to be nice and dry. She likes to sleep with her head on your shoulder, and she grabs a hold of anything she can grab.

week one

2010-05-17T12:59:00.009-06:00

Well we have had two kids for a little over a week. Honestly it has gone really good. We were lucky enough to have Brian home all last week, and my mom came down and helped out on Friday! we are so lucky to have such wonderful families that everyone is willing to help us out! With Brian home last week it was nice, we both could take a kid, and we had it under control.

We made a couple of trips to the hospital to get Adalyn's biliruben checked. we went in on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. My poor baby has prick marks all over her little heals. but on Thursday they told us that we didn't need to get her tested anymore. Other than that we have just been adjusting to life as a family of four.

Annika loves to be right by her sister all of the time. She loves touching her head and giving her kisses, but she has been a really big helper. She loves to help me check Adalyn's diaper.
So we haven't really gone anywhere, we have just been hanging out at home. But It has been wonderful!

And just for fun... here is a comparison of Annika and Adalyn. They are even in the same outfit. What do you think.... Do they look alike to you?

Adalyn Marie LeBaron

2010-05-08T11:44:00.001-06:00

Adalyn was born yesterday at 6:00 PM. She weighed 10 lb 2 oz and was 20” long. Alisha and Adalyn are both doing very well (the nurses are convinced that she is hiding something in her cheeks ;)).

Adalyn the morning after. She’s very content and a good eater.

Annika was a lot more excited than she looks to see her little sister.

Baby Update

2010-05-04T11:55:00.004-06:00

I went back to the Dr. this morning. He said that all of the labs I did last week came back normal. So that is good. My blood pressure was still high 132/90. I guess it wasn't really bad. He wants me to go to the hospital tomorrow so that they can check it again, and then they are going to induce me on Friday! Wahoo! I guess that gives me a couple more days to relax, and get things ready. He also said that he thinks my body is getting ready on it's own so we should have no problems getting things going on Friday! I am nervous, 2 kids will be a change, but I am excited to not be pregnant anymore! It is kinda hard to believe that it is all going to be over in a couple days. But what better way to Celebrate Mother's day, than by having a new little baby!

Church

2010-05-02T19:48:00.004-06:00

Today we were sitting in Sacrament meeting and Annika was singing I am a child of god. She was walking up and down our bench and got to where my bag of lesson supplies and coloring books was. She stopped still singing and started looking in the bag. This is what she sang while looking in the bag. "Lead me guide me walk beside me, help me find the fruit snacks". :) She made me laugh. What a great singer!

And.... I got a new calling today. Keep in mind that I am hoping to have a baby by the end of this week, I got called to be the 2nd counselor in the primary presidency. Honestly I am really excited, but I am kinda nervous about juggling a new calling and a new baby!

And just so there is a picture to go along with this post, this might give you an idea of the things me and Annika did this week on rainy days. (We sat and read princess books while wearing crowns!) So much fun!

Fish

2010-04-29T11:33:00.004-06:00

We made a deal with Annika when we started potty training her, that if she could go 10 days without an accident she could get a new fish. Well she achieved this a while ago, but we haven't made it a priority to get to the store and get more fish. Well the other night while we were at Walmart, we got Annika some new fish. A gold fish and a black fish. She loves them, and asks all day long if she can feed them. We had our last beta fish for a long time, I hope that these fish last for a while.

Yesterday Annika asked me for a piece of bread. I got out the cutting board the knife, and cut her a piece, when I went to hand it to her she says "actually I'm probably not hungry". Really?

Today I went to the dr. My blood pressure was high 138/88. Like I said before I really don't know what these numbers mean, but that is what they said. So, right now I am getting to do a wonderful urine test at home, and I have to take it to the hospital tomorrow. I wasn't supposed to go back to the dr. until next Friday, and now I get to go back in on Tuesday. He said if my blood pressure is still high they will either be starting me on Tuesday or next weekend. When he said Tuesday it really kinda scared me. That seems so soon, but I guess really next weekend isn't very far away either. I am really ready to be done being pregnant my back and hips ache. But I don't want to have this baby come because it has to. I just hope whatever happens that I will still be able to have this baby vaginally and that labor will go ok. He did say that I was dialated to more like a 2 this week, so I guess that is good. Maybe things are moving along on their own. He also said to just take it easy this weekend. No yard work or shoveling snow. I guess we will just wait until Tuesday and see what he says.

Miss Independant

2010-04-19T09:21:00.008-06:00

Annika is getting so big. It is so much fun! The other night we were cleaning up dinner, Annika went upstairs and went to the bathroom. She came back downstairs and her pants were on backwards. Then she sat down on the stairs and put her shoes on, which ended up on the wrong feet. After she was all dressed and ready to go, she walked over to the door and said bye I'm going to Costco. She walked out the door and went and sat on the sidewalk in front of the house for a while.

She loves putting on my chap stick. Most of the time I let her while we are in the car, keeps her happy for a while.

She loves to help me fold laundry. and she does a pretty good job. She is such a good helper. Hopefully that will be nice when the baby comes.

(This is the latest picture of my belly that I have. Taken on the 10th of April.)

On thursday the 15th I went to the dr. My blood pressure was a little higher than it has been through the rest of the pregnancy 130/70. I really don't know what that means, but they said it was higher than my normal. Throughout my pregnancy my due date has been May 17th. But I have been pretty consistent in measuring about a week ahead. So at this appointment I asked if he thought I was really going to go until the 17th. Well we actually set an induction date, and if I haven't had this baby by the 13th of May, he will start me. I was really excited. There is a definite end date in sight. He said that right now he thinks that the baby weighs about 6 1/2 lbs. so if I go until the 13th she will probably be about the same size Annika was when she was born. Almost 9 lbs. I was only dialated to a 1 and that was fine with me. I am getting ready to have this baby, but I don't know if I am ready right now. We still don't have a name picked out. So there are still things we need to figure out before she can get here.

On Friday we went up to Clearfield and celebrated Jen's Birthday with the family. We went out to eat and then went back to Jen's house to open presents! Happy Birthday Jen!

On Saturday we did yard work and then Jen came down and babysat while Brian and I got to go out on a date! We got something to eat and then went and saw How to train your dragon. It was a pretty good movie.

On Sunday we went had a BBQ with some of Brian's friends from High School. It was so much fun to get together and enjoy the nice weather. I loved the sun, and the company.

Living Planet Aquarium

2010-04-07T08:39:00.002-06:00

Our original plan for this weekend was to go down to St. George. We decided not to go down after all and we just stayed home and had a relaxing weekend. But Brian had already taken Monday off work, So we decided to use the day to go do something fun as a family. We were so proud of ourselves getting out and doing something, and we thought we were so smart because it was a Monday there wasn't going to be any crowds. Well we were wrong. It is spring break and the Aquarium was packed. It was still a lot of fun, just really busy. Annika said that her favorite part was the penguins. I was very impressed, I thought that it had a lot of fun things. They have a little touching pool and there were sting rays swimming around that you can touch. Annika got a little scared but Brian and I got to touch the sting rays. It was a very fun day!

The other night we had Chinese for dinner. Brian brought home some chopsticks and Annika loved eating with them. We just kept them connected at the top making it easier for her to grab her food. Well she thought it was so much fun that the next day when she was eating a hot dog she wanted to use some chop sticks. Is there such a thing as a Chinese hot dog? Either way Annika had a lot of fun!

Conference and Easter Weekend

2010-04-04T14:35:00.011-06:00

The other night I was laying in bed with Annika and I told her that the prophet was going to be on t.v. and we were going to listen to him. Then she asked "What a prophet do?" I told her that he tells us the things that Heavenly Father wants us to hear. then she said "What a prophet do?" After many more attempts at telling her what the prophet does, I told her she would just have to watch and find out. Then she laid her head down on her pillow and said "I'll just watch and find out!" What a silly girl.

While we were watching conference, she kept pointing to the t.v. and saying the prophets on.

On Saturday we enjoyed just sitting around and watching conference. After the morning session was over our neighborhood had an easter egg hunt. It works out so great, there aren't a million kids and it gives Annika the chance to hunt for eggs with other kids. She really enjoyed finding the eggs. Every time she picked one up she shook it and then asked me what was inside. Once we got home we opened them all up and she really enjoyed eating some candy. Later we went to dinner with Brian's family for Matt's birthday. Then Brian went to Priesthood Session with his dad and Matt and Heidi, Karen, Annika and I went shopping.

On Sunday we woke up to a couple inches of snow. Annika had been visited by the Easter bunny, and got some new toys to play with. Since there was snow outside, the Easter bunny hid her eggs throughout the house. Annika would walk into a room see an egg and run over to it, pick it up and shake it. It was actually a lot of fun. I think the egg hunt lasted all day. She kept finding more. At one point she decided she would open them up, take the candy out and put it back so the Easter bunny would come and refill it. I don't think that ever worked out. We went up and ate dinner with Brian's family and colored some Easter eggs. It was quite a relaxing weekend!

On a totally different note but just so I remember this. The other day I took Annika to reading time, at the library. The whole time at the library while the librarian was reading the story to the kids, Annika was turning to the little boys sitting next to her and said "cute shoes" and would turn to another boy "what you doing today?". She talked to these little boys the whole time. I really don't think she could tell you the story that we read. It made me laugh her telling a little boy his shoes were cute. Like he even cares.

It just made me think about Annika and what she says. She pays so much attention to the things that Brian and I say. Everyday when Brian comes home from work I always ask him "how was work?" It is so funny to hear Annika walk up to Brian when he gets home and say "how was you work a day?" She is such a caring little girl.

Easter Dress

2010-03-28T13:58:00.004-06:00

Annika and her friends Faith, and Hadley got to wear their matching Easter skirts to church today. Valerie, Charity and I made their skirts together. It was so much fun to make them, and I think that they turned out so cute! The girls looked so cute in their skirts and they loved that they all matched.

While we were out taking pictures of the girls we decided to take a family picture. Look at that cute family, and that huge belly. I am on the countdown. I decided the other night, I would be fine if the dr. said he wanted to start me in 2 weeks. :) ok I know he won't but I think I am at the point that I am ready to be done being pregnant. I love being pregnant, and feeling the baby move around, but I am at the point where moving around is getting harder. I wake up in the morning and my hips ache because I have slept on them all night, because I can't lay on my back and I can't lay on my belly. Anyways, I am getting ready for this baby to be here.

Little Sister

2010-03-24T09:32:00.003-06:00

Annika has been going with me to the Dr. I tell her that she is going to get to listen to her little sister. She gets really excited, and she knows that the dr. and nurses give her stickers and suckers. Last week the nurse let Annika help her with the machine that listens to the heart beat.

The other day we were watching a show on TLC about Quints and all of the babies were crying. Annika doesn't like to hear babies crying. I asked her if her little sister was going to cry. She got a sad face and said yes. I then asked are you going to help me make her happy. Annika then got all excited and told me she would share her strawberries. Then we had to have a talk about how her little sister will only drink milk.

The cutest.. We were riding in the car, and she asked if we were going to my dr. I said nope not today. We will go again in a couple days. And then she asked. Can we go get my little sister today? I had to explain that we couldn't today but that she would be here soon.

She is going to be such a good big sister!

For your Musical Enjoyment

2010-03-22T09:59:00.003-06:00

Annika loves playing the piano and singing. This is the latest song we have been learning. Hope you enjoy. (Just try not to pay attention to the big belly behind her.)

Anniversary Celebration

2010-03-08T09:12:00.004-07:00

This weekend Brian and I got to Celebrate our Anniversary. It isn't until tomorrow, but Annika's grandma and grandpa offered to have her spend some time with them. So Friday night we dropped Annika off and we went to see Alice in Wonderland. After the movie we went to eat at Texas Roadhouse. mmmm... It was good. It is always fun to spend time alone with Brian. I don't think we left the restaurant until 10:00. After dinner we just came home and enjoyed sleeping in on Saturday morning.
On Saturday we decided to go bed shopping for Annika. So we bought a bed and went home and got it set up. We went and picked up Annika and told her that we had a surprise for her at home. When we got home we brought her up to her room and she ran over to her bed and jumped in. She said this my new bed and pointed at her crib and said that bed for my sister. She has done really good sleeping in her big bed. It was fun to surprise her with her new bed, and it was a lot of fun to spend some time alone with Brian. Thanks Karen and Gavin for letting Annika spend the night. It was a great weekend!

Brian unloading the mattress.

The room before.

This is the first time Annika got in her new bed.

The room with the crib and Annika's new big girl bed.
Now we need to convert the crib from a toddler bed back into the crib, and move it up, so it will be ready for the new little baby. On Friday I went to the dr. and they set all of my appointments until the end of my pregnancy. I think it made me think about getting things ready a little more seriously. After I left the dr. Annika and I went to Walmart, and I bought a pack of newborn diapers. I guess slowly but surely we are getting ready.

2010-03-05T08:34:00.003-07:00

Everytime we go outside wether there is snow on the ground or not, Annika wants to ride her bike. Last fall she couldn't pedal and this spring she has gotten pretty good at it. On Wednesday I walked and followed her around the neighborhood while she rode her bike. I just watched her and thought, she is getting so big. She did so good!

Hobbies?

2010-03-01T15:49:00.004-07:00

Well If you asked Brian what I did this past week, his answer would not be anything to do with the house. It is a mess. I have been trying to catch up today, but I am still working on it. Anyways... just so that I can say that I did accomplish something last week I am posting some pictures of my latest projects. I had so much fun...
One of my room mates from College is having a little girl, and she had a baby shower yesterday so I made her this. I loved the bright colors and the back is striped. I thought it turned out cute.

Then I made this one for me... I started it thinking it was going to be a car seat cover... Now I am wondering if I want to just keep it as a blanket. What do you think I should do?

Then I made some burp cloths with the left over's from Carissa's car seat cover.
Then I sewed a little something for the baby, I am making one for Annika and hopefully that will be done later this week. So stay tuned and I will let Annika be my model. But be excited!

Teachers

2010-02-24T14:56:00.004-07:00

Annika loves her gymnastics class. She talks about going to gymnastics all week long. Her favorite thing to do is hang on the bar. In class on Tuesday there was older girls jumping off the spring board and grabbing onto the bars. Annika ran over there and wanted to jump right in with them. We aren't quite ready for that yet. She doesn't ever want to let go of my hand while she is walking on the balance beam, but she has mastered the somersault. She has been doing somersaults all over the house. I think the class has been really good for her.
I think that she was confused for the first couple of classes. She kept asking me where her teachers were. After a couple weeks of this, I decided that she thought her nursery teachers were supposed to be her gymnastics teachers. Silly girl. I think she has figured it out now. This week before gymnastics she really wanted Brian to go, and since he was at work we decided to take some pictures and videos for him.

Potty Training

2010-02-22T16:35:00.004-07:00

On Monday February 15th we went and bought Annika some new Underwear. On Tuesday we started potty training. She has done so well and loves telling everyone that she is wearing underwear! Honestly we have only had a handful of accidents ( I am knocking on wood right now.) She has done so well. The other night we were driving home from the store and she had on a diaper, and she told us she needed to go potty. We asked if she could hold it and told her we would be home in a minute. We got home and ran up to the potty and her diaper was dry and she went in the potty! What a big girl! She has really impressed me, and I just hope she continues to do as well as she has.
We decided that if we wanted her potty trained before the baby was here we needed to start now! Let's hope this continues. Hopefully later we can say she is truly potty trained.
We are just so proud of our Big Little Girl!

On a totally different note, Annika is getting really excited for her little sister to get here. We have been talking alot about sharing with her little sister. Annika just can't wait to share her room. The other night, Annika came and crawled in bed with Brian and I. I got up and was laying her back in her bed and she said "my sister here?". I said not yet, and she rolled over and went to sleep! What a cute little girl!

Valentines Day

2010-02-22T13:02:00.004-07:00

What a busy weekend. But Annika and I still had time to make some yummy cupcakes!
My Family was down here Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for Jordan. He was wrestling in the State Wrestling Tournament. Annika and I went and watched his first match on Wednesday and then came home.
On Thursday we went up to Brian's parents house and Brian's little Brother Matt opened his mission call. He is leaving June 9th and going to Puebla Mexico. We are really excited for him. He will be a great missionary. After he opened the call we went out to eat. That night my family slept over at our house.
On Friday Brian and Annika were both sick. We hung out at home, and me and Annika went and shopped a little bit with my family at Cabela's. Later that night, Jordan got an award "Academic All-State" at the Wrestling tournament. We went and watched him get this award, and the Championship matches.
On Saturday we pretty much hung out at home because Brian and Annika were still sick.
On Sunday we went to Church and Annika came to class with Brian and I. We came home and we made a great dinner of Shrimp and Steak. Mmmm... it was delicious. Annika really liked that we had candles burning during dinner.
On Monday we rearranged Annika's room to make room for the baby and went to home depot to finish up some projects. We went out to dinner at Olive Garden and came home.
It was a great Weekend. The best part of Valentines Day was just being able to spend the weekend with those I love the most!

Gymnastics

2010-02-02T12:22:00.004-07:00

A couple days a week 2 of my neighbors and I have been going to the local gym and walking around the track. It is a lot of fun to get out and socialize for a little while. While we have been walking around the track, Annika likes to watch all of the little kid classes they have going on. One of the classes is Gymnastics. I got this "brilliant" idea, to sign Annika up for a class. (It would be great she could run around and get exercise in the winter.) Well last week I signed Annika up for the class, and today was her first day!

We walked into class, hoping we were in the right spot. They have all the kids do stretches to start. Annika wanted nothing to do with the class. She didn't want to do anything. At this point I started to get worried. What did I just sign us up for? Well we made it through stretches and then they called roll. We were in the right place. We got to fly like airplanes to our first group. Annika got to do a obstacle course. Climbing over things and under things... She loved it. Then we drove like cars to the next group. The kids got to hand on the bars, and swing on a rope. Then we moved like a train to the next group and we got to walk on the balance beam. Annika warmed up and loved it, and didn't want to leave. She keeps telling me she wants to go back! I think she is going to have fun in this class!

Recent Projects

2010-01-29T14:04:00.003-07:00

A couple weeks ago I decided that I needed to do something for this new little baby. I made Annika a couple of blankets before she was born, and I want this little girl to have some blankets too. I went to the store and bought the fabric and I fell in love with it. I liked it so much I bought extra. I just have to figure out what I am going to make with it. But I finally finished the rag blanket, and here is. I am happy with how it turned out.

Then I have been working on a bow holder for Annika for a long time, it wasn't a hard project I just haven't sat down and finished it. But This week I got it done. Here is what it turned out like. I thought it was kind of fun!

Then I was looking on my friends blog last night and she made a heart wreath for Valentines Day! So last night I made this wreath. Brian is so good about letting me work on my projects. He even cut the heart out of foam for me! What a great husband! Anyway that is what I have been working on lately. There are many more projects that need to get done before this baby gets here!

Lesson Learned

2010-01-27T16:32:00.004-07:00

Last night Annika and I were making rice crispy treats. Annika loves to help me cook, and was sitting on the cupboard helping me mix. Well After we had successfully mixed everything together. I turned off the burner and then I took the pan off the burner to dump the rice crispies into the pan. Well while I was doing this, Annika touched the burner. Ahhh ( I know it makes me cringe just thinking about it). Poor kid she was so brave, she cried, and we ran her hand under cold water, and only minutes after it happened, she was holding back her tears and said "I'm okay mom!" Just thinking about this makes me want to cry! I guess I learned my lesson don't put kids on the counter.

You can see the 5 blisters on her fingers!

Well She is such a brave and tough little girl and has been so happy today!
Today We went with some friends and got pedicures, and I think that was a great way to feel better!

Don't Shut the Door!

2010-01-15T13:05:00.006-07:00

Last week Annika showed me that she can open the dead bolt on the door. So she will randomly tell me through out the day that she is going to work, or going out to get the mail. It is pretty cute, (but I don't like the fact that she can unlock the door!). I decided to take some pictures today of her on her journey!

So lately I will ask Annika a question and she says well actually. Today I asked her if she wanted to get in the tub, and she said "well actually I'm fixing it."

Today I was telling Annika to stop it. She was touching my sewing machine. She told me she was fixing it. As I am telling her to stop it she is singing "we are a happy family".

We have been having bedtime issues. I think that the holidays threw us off, I think finally this week we are now getting back in the swing of things. But the other night Annika was laying in bed and I told her I was leaving and she said "come check on me mom". Just another way she can get me back in her room.

Another story.... Bedtime had seriously turned into a game, we would put Annika down and she would stay in bed for a while and sneak downstairs behind the couch and then say mom. So we decided that after she got out of bed 2 times the door was going to be closed. It only happened one time and now she stays in bed, but every night as we are leaving she says "no shut the door mom". Or "Don't let dad shut the door". Poor kid, hope we didn't traumatize her too bad.

Random Things

2010-01-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well I have been a really bad blogger lately. So I thought I would just post some pictures of what we have been doing. Which really hasn't been a lot.
First here is a picture of Annika in her Christmas dress.

Lately she has been really into me taking pictures of her. On Sunday we were sitting in Sacrament meeting and she did something and she says "mommy take a picture". The lady in front of us started laughing and said you know she is an only child. Great!

The other day I was downstairs putting in some laundry and Annika was upstairs coloring. I was downstairs for a minute, and Annika didn't follow or yell for me. That is when I know she is into something. I just didn't want to walk upstairs and find coloring on the walls. Well I walked upstairs and this is what I found. I guess I should just be glad it wasn't the walls, it washed off her hands pretty easy.

This is a cute picture of Annika playing Memory with her great-grandma Nye at their Pizza Party on New Years Day!

Over Christmas break Brian and I worked on some puzzles. I took pictures. I know I am dumb but that is part of what we did over our Christmas break.

And My belly has just been getting bigger and bigger. I really don't enjoy taking pictures of myself when I am pregnant because I feel like such a blob. But I didn't take very many pictures of me pregnant with Annika and I swore I would do better then next time around. Well Here I am 22 weeks along, and I am just taking the first picture.
The baby moves around a lot. Last night Brian and I just sat and watched my belly move around for quite a while. I don't remember being able to see my belly move this early with Annika. But it is a fun experience. Annika got to feel the baby the other day, and now whenever I am laying down she comes over to feel my belly, and then feels her own belly and says feel the baby. I also don't remember being this big this fast with Annika, and I am really nervous with how much father I have to go. I just keep hoping I will have this baby earlier than my current due date. Not to early just a week or so.

Ultrasound

2009-12-30T18:36:00.003-07:00

Well today we got to go in for our 20 week ultrasound. Everything looked great! It was so fun to see the baby again. The baby wasn't very cooperative for some of the things that they needed to look at but she gave us a great view to find out she is a girl! We are really excited and I think that it will be fun for Annika to have a sister!

Our Christmas

2009-12-29T15:07:00.000-07:00

Christmas was wonderful!
On the 23rd we drove up to Hyde Park. We spent the night with my family and tried to go see Santa. On Christmas Eve, we woke up and we got a phone call from Alli or should I say Sister Jarrett. It was great talking to her. She sounds like she is doing so good. After Alli's phone call we had a couple errands to run, and then we met up with the family and got to see Santa. Annika was so excited to see him, and then the little girl in front of us in line decided to cry. So Annika thought that is what you do. She wouldn't even look at him. So we got a great family picture with Santa.

After Santa we went home and opened our gifts to each other. After opening a lot of presents we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Jarrett's house in Brigham City. All of my cousins and their kids were there. It is amazing how many of us there are. We ate some great food, and then everyone headed downstairs. We had the usual talent show. Annika even sang her ABC's for everyone. Then the Great-grand kids put on a great nativity. Annika was a little angel, it was so cute. After the nativity came the presents. It was a wonderful night, and it is always good to see the family.

Annika got a cute new pair of Christmas pajamas from my parents, so we put them on before the drive home. We didn't get home until about 11. I think that I am thankful we only have one kid. Anymore and it would have been a really long night!

On Christmas morning, Annika woke up early and acted like she didn't feel good. I was really worried because I didn't want her to be sick on Christmas. She asked for some cereal so I was bringing her down the stairs and then she saw all of her presents. She was just fine after that. She was so happy and just wanted to open her presents. It was a lot of fun, and we didn't have anywhere to be until 12 so we let her play with her toys as she opened them.

It was fun to see her get so excited to open another one. She kept picking up the presents and saying "this one for me mom?". We finally finished opening presents, and we ate some warm sticky buns. We sat around and played with our new toys for a while.

Then we headed up to Brian's parents house. We got to call Eric in Chili at noon. I think it is so funny to talk to him. He will be talking to you and in the middle of the sentence slips in a como. It sounds like he is doing great and it was fun to talk to him for a minute. After the phone call we opened some more presents and then just hung out. Brian got a new wii game so we all played some wii. Then we enjoyed a wonderful dinner. Later played some games.
It was wonderful to see so much of our family. I have to say that after all of the fun, I was just exhausted. I think I need a couple days of just sleep to recoup.
It was such a wonderful Christmas!

My Baby is 2

2009-12-15T15:49:00.005-07:00

I can not believe that Annika is already 2! I decided this year that kids celebrate birthdays so that their mom can remember the day that they were born all day long.
Annika had a great Birthday. (Well I hope she did)

On Sunday we celebrated with the LeBaron's we had Gavin's yearly Swedish dinner followed by presents and cake for Annika. She was spoiled and got lots of new toys.

On Monday my parents and Austin came down and we had dinner, and opened presents and had more cake. I made her an Elmo cake and she got an Elmo balloon. Again she got spoiled and got even more presents.

She is so funny, My mom gave her an outfit, and she opened up the box saw it was clothes and pushed the box away and said I want toys! We had to laugh at that. She was just being honest.
She has been playing with all of her toys today and I think she has told me at least once that each one is her favorite.

My mom also gave us an early Christmas present it was a nativity that Annika can play with. It is so cute and she loves the baby Jesus. Today we were laying down for a nap and she brought baby Jesus with her and she laid down and said "I am going to take a nap ok" to baby Jesus and then held him in her hand and took her nap. It was so sweet!
We went to Annika's 2 yr check up today and she did great!
she weighs 26 lbs. which is the 48%
and she is 34.25 inches tall which is the 72%
The dr. said she is skinny and tall. Maybe she will play Volleyball when she gets older.

Annika is so much fun.
Here are some of the things she can do..
~ She is constantly singing.
She loves to sing Twinkle Twinkle little star
Her ABC's
Head, Shoulders, knees and toes
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
And anything she can make up to twinkle twinkle little star tune.
~ She loves to spin in the Living room with Brian
~ She loves to play catch
~ She loves to watch Elmo and My friends tigger and poo
~ She loves Animals
~ She loves to play with her baby and push it in her stroller.
~ She says really good prayers
~ She knows lots of colors
~ She loves to count things
I could probably go on and on,
But she is so much fun, and I am so glad that she is my daughter!
I love her and and I love it when she tell me or Brian she loves us too!

A B C D…

2009-11-30T20:53:00.001-07:00

Annika really loves singing. She’ll make up a song about literally anything, they include the Grandpa song, the Bur Freezing Outside song, the Family Names song, the Body Parts song and the Any Word That Pops Into My Head song. It’s amazing that they all go to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

She has been watching Elmo on youtube lately and has picked up the ABC’s. Here is Annika’s version of Elmo and India, which she has watched a millon times, singing the ABC’s.

Annika Sings the ABC's

Really?

2009-11-17T08:16:00.004-07:00

So lately Annika loves to climb up on the vanity in the bathroom and "wash her hands". She just loves playing in the water so much. She has figured out that in one drawer in her bathroom there is some antibacterial hand gel. She thinks that this is lotion. When ever she leaves and goes up stairs and is quiet, I know she is up in the bathroom putting this "lotion" on her nose. What a funny girl.

Well yesterday she wanted to "wash her hands" and she had just gotten out of the tub so she really didn't need to play in the sink. So I told her she had just washed her hands and I led her out of the bathroom. When we got out of the bathroom she got mad at me and said "mom's rude!". What? Where did she even learn that word! Someone must be telling her I'm rude when I'm not around. I really don't know. But anyways my 23 month old thinks I'm rude.

Annika doesn't really like to sit and watch a lot of TV. She loves tigger and pooh, and lately she has really liked Elmo. I have been getting on you tube and we watch little 3 minute videos and she loves it. Well I have recorded a couple of episodes of Sesame Street on the DVR and I turned one on yesterday afternoon, while I was cleaning up toys. She sat by me and watched it for a minute and then she stood up grabbed the remote and said "me no like this one" and changed the channel. I thought it was hilarious. My little girl has quite the personality.

Little Addition

2009-11-09T09:02:00.004-07:00

Last Wednesday we got to go in and have our first ultrasound. It is always amazing to see the little baby moving around. I wish that they would just give you the video of ultrasounds because it looks a lot more like a baby than the fuzzy black and white picture that you get to bring home! It was so much fun! Here is one of the fuzzy pictures that we got.

I have been feeling a lot better than I did in the beginning, but there are still good days and bad. It is a whole new experience because I wasn't sick for one day with Annika. As of right now my due date is May 17th. The dr. hasn't changed it but at the ultrasound on Wednesday I measured a little bit further along than that. So we'll see. But we are excited to add this little baby to our family. I think Annika is going to be a great Big Sister.

Video of Annika talking about her candy

2009-11-03T17:18:00.002-07:00

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T10:06:00.004-07:00

We had a wonderful Halloween! Annika got way to much candy.

I think Brian and I will have to help her eat it! We had a lot of fun. I thought that Annika made a really cute piglet!

She had a lot of fun and by the end she had figured out to say trick or treat. But it sounded more like tricktreat. Our ward had a trunk or treat and we went to that on friday night. On Saturday we took Annika to see her Grandma and Grandpa LeBaron, then we came home. She went to 3 of our neighbors houses, and that was about it. Annika loved passing out the candy to the trick or treaters. Every time the door bell would ring she would run to the door saying I wanna see em too! She would grab the candy bowl and I opened the door. She loved seeing all of them and giving them candy. It was a lot of fun to watch her. We had a great Halloween!

Pumpkin Walk

2009-10-27T17:25:00.006-06:00

We drove up to Logan on Saturday afternoon. When we got to my parents we hung out and talked for a while, then we headed out to go miniature golfing. There is a great golf course in Logan that does a haunted golf course. The whole family went and it was so much fun. I didn't know if all of the haunted stuff would scare Annika but as we got up to it, she would say "touch it?". She just wanted to touch it all and most of the time she laughed at it. After golfing we went and got something to eat and then headed to the pumpkin walk.

The pumpkin walk was a lot of fun. Annika got all bundled up and sat in her stroller for about 10 minutes. Then she wanted out and just wanted to run around and look at all the pumpkins. It was cold but a lot of fun!

This is one of my favorite pictures, Brian was sticking his head through the mickey mouse and Annika went over and gave him a kiss! I love it!

On Sunday Austin got ordained to a teacher. He turned 14 on Thursday!

We had a great dinner, and after Annika got to go Trick-or-treating. She just went to my mom and dad's house and one of their neighbors. Maybe with enough practice by Halloween night she will understand what she is doing. We had a great weekend.

When we got home, Monday morning it snowed. Annika wanted to go outside and walk in it. But she didn't want to stay outside for very long. It was fun, and now it is all pretty much melted.

Holiday festivities

2009-10-20T13:04:00.007-06:00

On Sunday Heidi had the family over to her house for a halloween get together. It was a night full of fun activities. When we got there we all ate dinner.

Following dinner we carved pumpkins. Annika stuck her hand in a couple of times, but I don't think she liked it. So Brian and I did most of the work. All of our pumpkins turned out really good I thought.

After Pumpkin carving we decorated some sugar cookies. Annika loved this, then she figured out she could just lick the frosting off of the spoon. She liked that even more!

After decorating cookies, we had a eat the doughnut off the string contest. Heidi, Matt, and Elise went first. Matt pretty much won by a long ways.

The second set was Brian, Karen, Me and Gavin. Brian won. I just couldn't swallow mine fast enough, and at the end Karen inhaled doughnut and was choking. What a dangerous game. It was so much fun! After all that fun, I was worn out and needed to go home to sleep. It was such a fun night and thanks Heidi for having us all over.

P.S. I heard that eating a doughnut off the string was one of Abe's favorite games. I put in lots of pictures just for him!

Keith Urban

2009-09-11T08:16:00.004-06:00

For Brian's Birthday I gave him tickets to the Keith Urban concert. Brian had never been to a concert and I thought it would be fun. Honestly it never crossed my mind that it might be a concert full of girls. There were a lot of couples there, but there were a lot of screaming girls! It was so funny, they were all trying to touch Keith and it reminded me of my sister Jen and NSYNC! It was a great night and a lot of fun. Our Neighbors across the street volunteered to take Annika for the night (they are such great neighbors!) I know she loved it. Brian and I drove to Salt Lake and ate at Crown Burger, then headed to the concert. Little Big Town was the opening act, and then we got to hear Keith. A couple of times in the concert he walked down through the crowd. He is crazy for doing that. Everyone was trying to touch him, he walked to the back of the arena and these girls were leaning up against the rail to touch him, and the rail broke and they all fell on the floor. It was crazy. They put on a great concert and we had a lot of fun!

Wahoo A New Car

2009-09-02T20:02:00.003-06:00

We are so excited! We just thought we would share it with all of you!

Xactware Summer Party

2009-08-30T09:33:00.006-06:00

Yesterday Xactware held their Summer Party for Employees and their families. It was held in Park City at the Olympic Park. They rented out the whole park, and we could ride any of the rides we wanted. I have been really excited about this for a long time. Jennifer came down and babysat Annika for the day. (Thanks Jen!) I am sure that Annika had more fun at home playing with Jen, than waiting for us to ride rides all day long. Brian and I got up there a little after 2 and we went straight up the lift and headed for the Bobsled. We got to go Bobsledding. It was soooo much fun! We loved it! What an experience. I don't know if we will every be able to go bobsledding again. But it was amazing. The sled that they use in the summer has wheels, because obviously there isn't ice on the track. There is a trained driver and then they can take up to 3 passengers. It was just the driver and me and Brian. There are 15 turns on the track and we got going over 65 mph. It was amazing.
This is us in the Bobsled.
This is part of the track!
This is us back at the top after our ride!
This is Brian standing at the top of the Big Ski Jump!

After Bobsledding it was pretty hard for anything else to be as exhilarating, but we went down the Xtreme Zipline, and then the alpine slide and then the Zipline a couple more times. I am really glad that we went early, because by the end the line to get up the lift was so long and it took forever. They did this thing called Xtreme Rafting and they took a raft like what you would float down the river in, and then they turned on the sprinklers on the huge olympic jumps and they got to ride down the hill in the raft. It looked like so much fun. We didn't get tickets to do it, but it was fun to watch.

When we were done with the rides we walked through the Olympic museum. It was interesting to look at all of the things from the Olympics. That is where we took these great pictures!

After the museum we went to eat dinner. Then after dinner they had a show, the flying aces. They are Past Olympians and future Olympian hopefuls and they did a show for us. They went down the ramps and flipped into the water. It was amazing how high up they get. One of the skiers in the show is 13 years old. Crazy! They had some fireworks, and the whole thing was amazing!

Needless to say we were exhausted when we got home, but we had a really fun day!

Fresh Fruit

2009-08-27T14:46:00.005-06:00

Annika loves eating the strawberries off of our plants. She has even been found eating a white strawberry that she picked for herself. (ew gross!) She will walk over to the plants and lift up the leaves and look for any strawberry she can find. This is how she reacts to any fruit she finds out she can pick.

Within the last couple of weeks our Raspberries are getting riper and riper. At least once a day we walk over and pick them. Most of the time they are gone before we even make it inside. I am so glad that Annika loves her fruit, but I like Raspberries too. I just want her to share a couple of them with me! I decided to take some pictures of her enjoying her Raspberries, because it is so fun to watch her inhale them. The fresh berries are a Summer favorite and I am so glad that we now have them in our yard for us to enjoy!

The LeBarons

Annika is 4!

18 Months

Halloween

Sewing by hand

Popsicle

PreSchool

Annika riding

7*1*2011

Fathers Day

Memorial Day

Goodbye

Gymnastic Meet

Mothers Day

Birthday Party

Adalyn turns 1

Hogal Zoo

The Wedding

So long

Toothless

Lately

Ady speaks

Presidents Day

9 Months

Valentines Day

Monkey Island

Family Fun Day

Repeat

8 Months

Sunbeams

New Year

Santa Clause

Christmas

Annika turns 3!

Things Annika says

Thanksgiving in Seattle

Who let the dogs out?

6 Months

Halloween

Pumpkin Walk

Art

6k

Birthday Fun

Eric's home

Cinderella

Bear Lake

4 months

Backyard

Brian is 27!

Xactware Party

The Uintas

Aunt Alli

Blacksmith Fork

Jack

Hogal Zoo

Today

New Trick

Hair Cut

2 month check-up

Bear Lake

Blessing

Welcome Home

Father's Day

Update

2 weeks

week one

Adalyn Marie LeBaron

Baby Update

Church

Fish

Miss Independant

Living Planet Aquarium

Conference and Easter Weekend

Easter Dress

Little Sister

For your Musical Enjoyment

Anniversary Celebration

Hobbies?

Teachers

Potty Training

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