Moments of Us

Funny Funny Reese...

2012-01-28T01:23:00.000-07:00

This is a game Reese lovingly calls "Anni fishing". She stands at the top of the stairs and throws her jump rope over the gate. Then she calls to Anni, "Anni...come over here Anni...come get me Anni." Then when Anni make it over to the stairs and grabs the rope Reese proclaims, "I caught her, I caught her...I caught you Anni." The first time she did it I said, "What are you doing?"...she said, "I'm Anni fishing."

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Random...
Me: Reese what do you want for breakfast?
Reese: Ummm...maybe something green.
Me: something green? what would that be?
Reese: Uhhh...you know, like last night...green things.
(When Reese say's "last night" or "yesterday" that really means anytime within her span of memory.)
Me: I'm sorry sweety but I don't know what green things you're talking about.
Reese: oh yea...they adacado's.
Me: Avocado's?? You want an avocado for breakfast?
Reese: yea mom...those adacado's are so elicious!! (delicious)
Me: I'm sorry but we don't have any avocado's sweety. You'll have to have something else. How about some cereal.
Reese: Oh man...I really want a adacado. Not fare we not have adacado's.

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I clearly have one sweet deprived toddler on my hands. Since Arnold and I started a diet 3 weeks ago there has definitely been a lack of sugar around here. This morning I started making cupcakes for my nephews mission farewell on Sunday. (Trust me...I'm going to be good and not eat any.) I've been mixing and whipping in the kitchen for the last 45 minutes with no attention from Reese, until I make one little comment...

Me: Hold one one second Anni, I'll get you out of your high chair as soon as I put the cupcakes in the oven.
Reese: (totally engrossed in her cartoons) What you say mom?? Cupcake??? You say cupcake?? You have cupcake?? (now on her feet in the kitchen) We make cupcake? I have a cupcake? When we have cupcake? I get to eat cupcake?? I want cupcake!!!
Me: What's that Reese? Did you say you don't like cupcakes?
Reese: No no no no mom...I lOVE cupcakes! I really really want cupcakes?
Me: (laughing) clearly! You can definitely have a cupcake as soon as they come out of the oven.

Poor girl camped out in front of the oven for almost 15 minutes waiting for a cupcake.

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Talking to Reese today about facial expressions...

Me: What do you think this face means? (making happy face)
Reese: Happy
Me: What does this face mean? (looking sad)
Reese: So sad
Me: And what do you think this face means? (looking surprised)
Reese: freaked out!
Me: (laughing)
Reese:(starts laughing too) That's your so so funny face mom :)

When I turn my back for 2 minutes...

2012-01-28T01:08:00.003-07:00

...this is what can happen...

Dishwasher dancer.

happy-sad day

2012-01-25T20:08:00.001-07:00

Logan went into the MTC today. I can hardly believe it. I've felt a little sad tonight. I remember my first night in the MTC and I remember how scared and homesick I was...and how hard a mission can be. It's not easy to think of someone you love so much, possibly feeling the same way. But I also know what an awesome experience is in store for him...and how life changing and wonderful a mission can be... and that makes me happy and excited. Many mixed emotions.

I can't even imagine what my sister must be feeling today. The first of her babies to leave the nest. I'm kind of glad I have many many years before I'm standing in those shoes. But I also know the time will pass much more quickly than I would probably like.

It feels like only a short time ago that I got the call that my sister was in labor and that little Logan was making his way into the world. I rushed to the hospital to be the first, besides his mom and dad, to hold him. It was love at first sight. It was the first time in my 18 years of life that I knew what it felt like to instantaneously feel such an overwhelming and unconditional love. Over the years he grew and he was my little buddy. He would run into my arms the second he saw me and would cry when I had to leave him. There was rarely a day in the first two and a half years of his life that I didn't see or talk to him, until I left on my mission. On that day he gave me a big hug and said, "I go wif you mimi?". I cried for the first hour of my flight, at the thought of not seeing him for 18 months.

Many years have passed and now it's his turn. I know he's not a little boy anymore. I know he's ready and I know it's one of the greatest things he'll ever do. All that said, I can't help on this night think of the innocent little eyes on a sweet little boy, and pray with all my heart that what ever emotions he's feeling tonight he'll be strong and know how much he's loved. And know by this great service he'll have the opportunity to share that love with many who so desperately need it.

We will be praying for you every day Logan!

And to my big sister who's feeling a little like her heart got ripped out today...thank you for having such amazing kids. And thank you for letting me love them like they are my own. When I think about how I made it through my twenty's and half my thirty's being single...I can't help but credit these three little munchkins who could always bring a smile to my face...even on my darkest days.

Finally!!! SNOW!

2012-01-24T16:50:00.002-07:00

It's the end of January and we finally got some snow to play in! Reese was so excited when she woke up and looked out side this morning. I told her that we could go out and play as soon as Anni went down for her morning nap. The next two hours were the longest of her life! At one point, after she had asked me at least 20 times "is it time yet?" she said...

Reese: Mom let's just put Anni to nap time.
Me: I've told you several time's Reese, it's not time yet.
Reese: But mom...her don't know. Let's just do it and then we can play outside. It's taking sooooo long.

Well after soooooo long we finally made it outside, and the snow was still there.

When we first went out the snow was pure powder. I had to break the news to Reese that this was not good "snowman" snow. But as we stayed out for awhile, it started to warm up and the snow got a little stickier. It still wasn't "big" snowman snow...but we managed to make this little lady. Reese was thrilled.

10 months...not possible

2012-01-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

Has decided that she hates baby food...but loves spagetti! She would eat it every meal. Has also decided that she should be able to feed herself everything. Meal times are still very stressful for mommy.
Loves to climb and walk along furniture. Now makes it up the stairs in the blink of an eye.
Will stand at the back door and bang on the glass while talking to herself.
Squeals with delight if she can get her hands on a cell phone or TV remote. It's like she knows she's gotten a hold of something she shouldn't...and she's thrilled with herself about it.
Is still very much a mommies girl, but to her grandma's delight she was a grandma's girl this last weekend.
Loves her big sister. Her face lights up and the mere sound of Reese's voice.
Is already a master at the straw sippy cup.
Has halfway transitioned to a forward facing car seat. I still put her in her carrier car seat if I know she might fall asleep or if I need to keep her contained in a store. It's nice to have a van so we can do both for a little while longer.
Loves to read books...and loves to turn the pages. Just like Reese used to, she will give you the evil eye if you try to do it for her.
Provides us with hours of smiles, laughter and pure joy.

Farewell

2012-01-22T22:22:00.003-07:00

I can't believe today was Logan's farewell. I feel like it was yesterday I was snuggling with him on the couch watching Dumbo.

The Nordfelt side of the family is being taken over by girls! Go girl power!

Who can give Uncle Kit the tightest hug contest...

...Crew won.

I'm not sure what to think of this new high tech generation...good? bad? Crazy to me that my 3 year old knows how to use my phone better than I do.

Overheard...

2012-01-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

Reese: "Anni I just love you soooo much! I so happy we sisters. We be best friends forever and ever and ever and ever!"

First bubble bath...

2012-01-14T20:14:00.002-07:00

"You should try this Anni...trust me it tastes really yummy!"

Let's Dance!

2012-01-10T17:08:00.001-07:00

Reese started her first dance class today. She was so excited she could hardly stand it...or mom could hardly stand the constant, "Is it time yet? Is it time yet? Is it time yet?" all day long!

She was up and dressed in her dance gear by 9 a.m. Too bad class wasn't until 3:30 p.m. This is what she did for most of the day.

Until it was finally time to go...

Reese's friend Rowan saying, "look Reese, your mom is taking your picture."

Valentines

2012-01-08T17:34:00.000-07:00

Reese and I were bored yesterday, so we decided to make a fun Valentine's door hanger. We went to Hobby Lobby and got the X & O letters for $.99 each (on sale). Then we used scrap fabric and ribbon. I thought it turned out pretty cute for $2.

Princess Super Hero's...Saving the Day!!

2012-01-05T12:47:00.001-07:00

Me: Wow...look at you two.
Rowan: We're princess super hero's
Me: Princess super hero's hu, well you both look awesome.
Reese: We are awesome mom.
Rowan: We're saving the day!
Me: Can I take a picture of you guys.
Reese: Just hurry mom...we gotta go save the day soon!

Guess whats new with Reese...

2012-01-04T22:52:00.001-07:00

Can we say Sunbeam!!

When I broke the news to Reese a month ago, that her Nursery days were coming to an end, she was immediately concerned about the "toys" and "snacks" that Sunbeams would offer. Needless to say, the truth came out and our initial conversation did not end well. I've been trying to talk up Sunbeams ever sense; which is no easy task. In a 3 year olds head there's really not much of an "up" side to leaving Nursery.

But after one Sunday, she was so happy to be a sunbeam! Mom however, was a lot more emotional than she ever expected to be.

I just hope she was able to sit still in a chair for 2 hours. I could hardly get her to stand still for one picture.

Reese & Rowan on their first day of sunbeams. They are so excited to be in the same class. (We have 3 sunbeam classes in our ward.)

Guess what's new with Anni...

2011-12-30T22:56:00.002-07:00

It's kind of hard to see. I need to take a better picture. But little miss Anni got her ears pierced. Yep...she's a little lady now.

I forgot my camera on the big day, but my mom was nice enough to send me the pictures she took...

Eagerly anticipating her new bling...

She was so brave. There was about 3 seconds of crying before she got her sucker...then it was all good!

With Mycol and Riley...please excuse her stickyness.

One Awesome Daddy!

2011-12-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

"They" say that with each passing year of marriage you love your spouse more and more. And I'm so happy to say that "they" have been right so far. Even after a year and a half of dating, I knew I didn't know everything there was to know about Arnold. It's always a bit of a gamble when you choose to say "I do". Lucky for me there have been many moments since I got married that I've realized just how lucky I am. Sometimes they've been pretty major things, and sometimes it's just the little things.

Tonight was one of those nights...

It may not seem like a big deal, but it's one of those small characteristics that I love so much about my husband. The fact that he wanted to make Reese's doll house truly the "best" doll house ever, by wiring the whole thing with lights. He was worried that it was too dark, and he was sure that she would have so much more fun playing with it, if it was well lit.

Now that's one awesome daddy!! And one awesome doll house!

Mommy Reese

2011-12-30T22:30:00.001-07:00

Me: Reese why are you growing up so fast? It's like you've gone from my little baby to a big girl over night. Can you just stop for a while and stay little?
Reese: I just can't mom. I getting so big and gonna be a mommy too.
Me: What!! You're going to be a mommy too.
Reese: Ya mom. I go potty myself. I get dressed myself. I do all things myself, so I gonna be a mommy myself too.
Me: You are very good at doing things all by yourself, but I hope it's still a while before you become a mommy. You have to be my little girl for just a little while longer.
Reese: ok mom.

....or a very very lot longer :) I'll take "pretend" mom for now.

Reese Says...

2011-12-25T19:54:00.001-07:00

Out delivering neighbor gifts today, we'd gone around ourcommunity loop twice. On the way back up the hill for the second time Reesesaid, "mom, are we almost going home yet? I'm running out of powerhere."

Reese watched the movie "Night at the Museum" the other day for the first time. Her new favorite word is Sacajawea. She finds ways to squeeze that word in any time she can. Only when she say's it, it sounds a little more like "Secondaweeda".

Reese snugged next to me as we started one of the movies she got for Christmas...
Reese: I love this mom.
Me: You love this movie?
Reese: No, this Christmas time. I just love all Christmas!

At Costco I was looking at the seafood display...
Reese: I smell something mom...I smell something.
Me: It's the seafood. Does it smell stinky?
Reese: (while holding her nose) Ya mom...we gotta get outa here...something trying to hurt my nose!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T15:46:00.001-07:00

Today is the "Real" Christmas Day, and I have to say...we made the right choice. It has been a wonderful perfect day. We had so much fun yesterday playing and hanging out. Today we slept in, church was beautiful and now we're home, Reese is happily playing (she's playing "church" with her barbies...too cute), I'm making a delicious Christmas dinner and we are just so grateful to be together as a family.

I love Christmas. I love the spirit of service, togetherness, love, compasion, and joy that Christmas brings. I'm actually a little sad that the season is coming to an end. But more than anything, I'm just so grateful for my Savior, for the Gospel, for my family and for all the blessings we have in our life!

Merry Christmas!

The Lego Story

2011-12-25T15:38:00.004-07:00

While Arnold and I were Christmas shopping we walked down the toy isle with all the Lego's. Arnold sighed and I said, "what's wrong?" He then lamented how, although he loves his girls, he was sad that he'd never get to play with Lego's. I assured him that girls love Lego's. I told him that I loved playing Lego's with my brothers growing up, and that we could definitely buy the girls Lego's.

His response, "Ya, I'm sure they'd like it, but it will never be at the top of their wish list. It will always fall far behind, dolls, barbies, dress ups, and all things girl."

I knew then and there exactly what the girls could get their daddy for Christmas...

...and it was a perfect gift. They spent hours playing with them yesterday afternoon and into the night.

Christmas Morning 2011

2011-12-25T15:28:00.002-07:00

I wish we'd gotten a picture of the girls coming down the stairs, but instead Arnold took video and I was carrying Anni. Maybe next year we'll have two sets of hands.

Reese's first words from the top of the stairs, "mom I see a bean bag chair...a purple bean bag chair!!!" As she rounded the corner she said, "Where's my doll house?"

Reese has been asking and talking about a doll house for months. Every night she has talked about the awesome doll house that Santa is going to bring her. We knew she would want to play with it right away, so we had Santa put it together, ready to go, in her play room. The thing is huge! Tall and heavy and needed to be anchored to the wall. But Santa did wrap the box and leave it upstairs with a fun note.

When Reese asked were her doll house was, I asked her if maybe is was wrapped in that big box. But we still made her unwrap all her other presents first.

The girls had so much fun unwrapping everything!

Movies and Wii games from Uncle Kit! Barbies and barbie clothes from each other.

New snuggly blankets from Grandma & Grandpa Thiebaud.

This little Xylaphone that I picked up on clearancce for a couple bucks has turned out to be a favorite!

Just look at that crazy happy face.

Reese picked out a pink rocking horse for Anni. She had to show her how to use it.

Anni loves it!

Check out that those splits. Anni was determined to get in on the unwrapping action!

She loves her stand and play music station from Grandma & Grandpa Nordfelt.

They both love it!

After all the presents it was finally time for the doll house!

As soon as Reese saw the picture she started to get really excited!

The note tells her that it's all put together and waiting for her in her in the play room. As soon as I read that part, she took off. She didn't even wait for me to finish the note. I should have known that would be the case.

Her first words, "Wow!! That's Awesome!! The most awesome doll house ever!!" Then she said, "I play with it right now. Mom go get my barbies!" Which I did, as soon as she said "please".

Next to the doll house she said that her Scooby Doo hoppity ball from Grandma & Grandpa Nordfelt was her favorite.

I love it when my girls can share.

Anni likes her toy standing too.

I'd say Christmas morning was a huge success!

Santa Came!!

2011-12-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

Yep...he came!

Christmas Eve!

2011-12-25T14:42:00.004-07:00

Although today is only the 23rd of December, it's actually Christmas Eve here at our house. Mom and Dad made special arrangements with Santa to come a day early. Many have asked why, so I thought I'd explain.

Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, and I actually love it when Christmas falls on Sunday. I love that we get to dress up and go to church, take the sacrament and be reminded of why we celebrate Christmas to begin with. That's why Arnold and I decided to make sure Sunday was a peaceful, non stressful, spiritual day. We knew that wouldn't happen if we had to get up, see what Santa brought, open presents, eat breakfast, and get ready for church all within a couple hours. Since both our girls love to sleep in, and being woken up early only causes grumpy irritability we knew that moving Santa and presents was our only option. We considered waiting until after Church...but then we knew we'd be dealing with an hour long wine fest and possible tantrums. We couldn't do Santa gifts before church and open presents after, because they were kind of tied together this year and we wanted the "big" gift from Santa to be last. Anyway, way too long of a story, but that is why tonight is Christmas Eve and all preparations are under way to welcome the "big" guy tonight.

We always start out our Christmas Eve with a very special Family Home Evening. We watch the Nativity and talk about Christ and why we celebrate Christmas. Then we sing Christmas songs and open a few little presents. They always include new pj's and something fun to do for the night. Tonight it was a new movie.

Seriously, is there anything better than clean little babies in new snuggly pj's?? I think not!

Reese got some new slippers to go with her new pj's.

After our movie and snack we make sure and put out a very special and magical key for Santa. We don't have a chimney...so he has to get in somehow.

Then we put out cookies, milk and a carrot for Rudolph.
Reese putting the final touches on her special cookies, just for Santa.

When I got the carrot out for Rudolph I didn't wash or peel it. Reese said, "Mom, we need to make it all nice and clean for him." I explained the reindeer liked the skin left on their carrots.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #23

2011-12-25T14:42:00.002-07:00

Let's make cookies for Santa!

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #22

2011-12-22T14:53:00.005-07:00

Daddy is home for Christmas break and so excited to play with you in the snow!

...but since there is no snow...a bike ride on this sunny, blue sky, winter day will have to do.

2011 Christmas letter, sent to family and friends

2011-12-21T23:39:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

We know, we know…we’ve been a little naughty the last couple years and neglected to send out any
Christmas cards or holiday updates. What can I say, since being married, while we’ve had wonderful
holidays, I’ve been either recovering from a miscarriage, sleep deprived with a new born, or sick and
pregnant. This is the first year that I feel totally on top of my game...and I couldn’t be happier.

Reese is definitely a full fledged toddler. At 3 years old she is feisty, stubborn, strong willed, determined,
sassy, funny and super sweet… when she wants to be. She gives us a run for our money some days, but I
wouldn’t change a thing about her. She’s just like her mommy, and while that scares me a little…it gives
me great reassurance that she is going to be one strong little lady; as long as we do our job right as
parents.

We were thrilled to welcome little Anniston Sophia (Anni) to our family this last March. She has really
completed our family. She is such a good baby. She has a sweet temperament, she sleeps well, and puts
up with a lot of abuse…I mean aggressive love from her big sister. Since she will most likely be our last,
I’m trying to keep her my baby for as long as possible. But I know my efforts are in vain. She is growing
and changing so fast. I’m just trying to savor every minute.

Arnold is still working at the Utah Valley Convention and Visitor Bureau as the Marketing Manager. He
really enjoys his job and he amazes me with his knowledge of Marketing and Communications. His
specialty is in Social Media and Websites, but he really knows so much in all aspects of marketing.
Recently he’s been invited by several outside companies and city government agencies to train their
employees with some of his expertise. At home he’s an awesome daddy and wonderful husband. There
really are no words to express how grateful I am to have such a helpful, supportive, and loving husband
and father to our girls. I know the estrogen around here can run wild sometimes and Arnold deals with it
like a champ.

As for me…I am absolutely in love with this full time mom gig! Having spent almost 15 years in the
career world I can say with out a doubt that for me there has been nothing more fulfilling or rewarding
than spending each day with my two little munchkins. Along with Arnold, they are the greatest blessing I
have ever received. I’m trying my best to soak up every minute of the time I have with them. That’s one
of the reasons I haven’t really kept up on my food blog, or done very many appearances on Studio 5 this
year. I know there are only a few precious years that these girls will both need me and want me, and
there will be many years in the future in which I will be able to do all the other things life has to offer.

As we reflect over the last couple years, we know our little family has experienced several challenges.
But we also know that every challenge has brought us closer, not only to each other, but to our Savior.
We are so grateful for the knowledge and comfort the gospel brings to our lives. This Christmas season
we hope and pray that each of you are happy and doing well. We are grateful to have you in our lives.
We are also grateful this time of year to celebrate the life and atonement of our Savior. We wish you a
joyful holiday season and a happy new year.

Love,
Arnold, Mindi, Reese and Anniston Thiebaud

9 Months

2011-12-21T23:07:00.001-07:00

Today Anni is 9 months old. Stats:

Weight - 18.5 lbs 40%
Height - 29.5 in. 95%
Head - 17.2 in 38%

A few things to note about 9 months...

Anni is fully mobile and all over the place! She has started climbing the stairs a little but doesn't venture past the third or fourth step. She also pulls herself up to things, but isn't quite sure how to get down without just plopping backwards. Sometimes this works and sometimes in ends with a bonk on the head. Shockingly she doesn't bother the Christmas tree too much. She likes to crawl to it then play with the extra lights at the bottom but that's about it. I've been so surprised how little both my girls have cared about the tree as babies. I always stress about it, but Reese never bothered it either. This is actually the first year that Reese has even payed attention to the tree. I have more problems with her moving around the ornaments then Anni.
Anni is our calm laid back child...right now. We are amazed at how well she puts up with Reese's "aggressive" love and attention. She's also not as "into everything" as Reese was at her age. Even though Anni can now get anywhere and everywhere, she just doesn't get into things. She plays with toys and wanders around looking and touching things but she doesn't pull stuff off shelves or destroy anything. I've wondered if that has something to do with Reese. Usually Reese is playing with her or she's following Reese around. Who knows. Let's just hope it stays that way. I'm not holding my breathe though. If there's one thing I've learned about kids...it's that they can change in the blink of an eye.
Anni has started babbling and talking quite a bit. Her first word "mama"; not surprising for anyone that knows her. She is a mama's girl if there ever was one!!
She can also click her tongue and razzz.
Anni can give kisses. They're full on, open mouth, slobbery kisses...but kisses none the less.
Anni has graduated from her baby bath tub and now has free rein of the tub...that she shares with Reese. I'm not sure who's been more excited about this change...Reese or Anni. They have so much fun together in the bath tub.
Anni no longer thinks it's necessary for me, or anyone, to feed her. She is definitely an independent eater. Meal times are frustrating for mommy.
Anni is still our little thumb sucker. But she usually only suck it at bed time or when she gets hungry. And sometimes not even then. So I'm encouraged that it may not be a long term habit. We shall see.
If there's one trait that Anni shares with her big sister, it's their high pitch squeal or scream. My girls have the Nordfelt lungs...and they use them.
Anni has started singing with me. I usually sing her a couple songs each night before I put her to bed. She now joins in, and it's the cutest thing ever!!

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #21

2011-12-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

Dress extra cute today...we get to go to the mall and get your picture taken with Santa.

Unfortunately the dumb girl running the camera did not know what she was doing and the pictures were terrible...so I did not pay the money to buy them. Hopefully Reese and Anni will not be scarred in future years because they don't have a picture with Santa for 2011.

On the upside, we got to meet up with Cindy and go to CPK for lunch; just like old times, except with me trying to juggle and feed two children.

Cindy was so sweet to buy the girls cute new pj's. Sorry Cindy, Reese ripped the present open as soon as she walked in the door. She loves loves loves the Princess pj's!

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #20

2011-12-20T20:48:00.001-07:00

Today is a very important day...Christmas is days away and Santa will be arriving soon with new toys for both you and Anni. Today we need to clean and organize your play room and bed room so we have a place to put the new toys. You can also help mommy clean the house to get ready for Christmas.

When I read this to Reese her response was, "Awww man!" But she actually loves to help me clean. However, she does not enjoy sorting and organizing her toys. Oh it got done though :)

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #19

2011-12-19T08:58:00.001-07:00

Watch a very special video for FHE and then do a surprise craft activity.
The surprise craft...home made snow globes. They turned out so cute.

Please know that I don't dress my children in tank tops, in the middle of winter. She spilled water down her shirt...so we were down to her undershirt.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #18

2011-12-19T08:55:00.003-07:00

Read the book "Snow Angels" and then be Snow Angels ourselves with some small acts of sevice.

Kissy face...

2011-12-17T22:35:00.001-07:00

I seriously love this little face so much. I have a hard time not just kissing it all day long!

Anni loves to play with the extra lights from the Christmas tree. She just waves them around and squeals with delight! Seriously love this little bananni!

2011-12-17T21:35:00.001-07:00

I know I'm bias...but bias aside I think I have the most beautiful neices and most handsome nephew in the whole world :)

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #17

2011-12-17T21:21:00.002-07:00

Go see the lights and the reindeer at Thanksgiving point.
I'm pretty sure this is one of Reese's favorite things to do...and I'm also pretty sure that has more to do with daddy letting her drive than it does with seeing the lights.

This was Anni's first year seeing the lights and I'm pretty sure she loved it as well...also more to do with getting out of her car seat in the car, than actually seeing the lights.

I couldn't resist this picture...I love that shocked little face.

We caught a funny little picture of Santa's reindeer...doing his business.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day # 16

2011-12-17T21:12:00.002-07:00

It's play group day! Have fun with all your friends!

Unfortunately 2 of her friends were sick, one had a school program with her sister, and another was out of town...so we only had 4 girls for playgroup this week. It was super fun though...and way easier on mom.

We made Christmas wreath tree ornaments with beads, buttons, and bells. We also made fun bead bracelets, ate the yummy cupcakes, and then we played dolls.

Brooklynn Wood

Brynn Tate

Brea Wild

We made little "we missed you" packages for the friends that couldn't make it.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #15

2011-12-17T21:04:00.001-07:00

Make pink candy cane cupcakes for play group tomorrow!
Then...of course...test them and make sure they taste as delicious as they look.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #14

2011-12-14T22:27:00.000-07:00

Have a beauty day with mom...pedicure and manicures.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #13

2011-12-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

With mom's help, make gifts for all our neighbors and friends!
We had so much fun making cinnamon ornaments for all our neighbors and friends...and the house smelled sooo good all day!

I was so impressed with how much Reese was able to do. She helped roll out the dough, cut out the ornaments, string the ornaments with ribbon, and put all the ornaments into bags. She was such a great help. I can't believe how big she is getting. She is growing up way too fast!

When all was said and done...we had over 50 ornaments for all our neighbors and friends.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #12

2011-12-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

Have a Christmas music dance party for family home evening!
...we had a great time. Reese has some smooth moves.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #11

2011-12-11T22:13:00.001-07:00

Play a fun Christmas game as a family. Talk about giving service to others.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #10

2011-12-11T21:53:00.001-07:00

Go see the lights at Riverwoods and ride the carousel at Provo Beach Resort!

This was our favorite tree...

Anni...so cute bundled in her stroller. Look at her poor chapped cheeks. She's cutting a couple more teeth and all that slobber combined with the cold weather has caused some sore little cheeks.

This little crazy girl had the time of her life running from lights to lights.

Anni thought she was in heaven riding the carousel. She bounced and squealed the entire time...and surprisingly held onto the bar like a pro.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #9

2011-12-09T21:47:00.001-07:00

Go on a fun daddy-daughter date tonight. Daddy will let you choose anywhere you want to go.
They went to McDonalds, then to Target to pick out a present for me...and look at the toys.

Colored up!

2011-12-08T13:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday as we were leaving the neighborhood to run some errands, we were stopped in front of the Gardner's house waiting to turn....

Reese: Look mom Tyler Gavin all colored up!
Me: What??
Reese: Tyler Gavin's house all colored up!
Me: (looking at where she's pointing) You mean they have Christmas lights up?
Reese: Ya mom. They got all colored up. Clair Lucy all colored up, Tyler Gavin all colored up. We got to get colored up too mom. We gotta do it!
Me: (trying very hard not to laugh)...I guess you better tell your dad...we gotta get our color on.

Having a conversation with her dad...

Arnold: You know what I think Reese?
Reese: That I'm a genius!

Arnold and I couldn't stop laughing.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #8

2011-12-08T13:33:00.001-07:00

Make a fun Christmas craft with mom...Popsicle stick snowflakes.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #7

2011-12-07T16:28:00.001-07:00

Send a Christmas card to your favorite Disney Princess...they will send one back to you!
At least that's what the Disney website say's. I'll post a picture when we receive a return.

Artistic Tree

2011-12-06T21:22:00.001-07:00

Just a little fun...playing with my camera.

Christmas Advent Activity - Day #6

2011-12-06T21:21:00.001-07:00

Open your second present of the season; another fun Christmas book.
We had to get the books out of the way in the beginning...so we can enjoy them all month.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day #5

2011-12-05T20:57:00.001-07:00

Surprise daddy and make him his favorite caramel popcorn while he's at work. Then have a special Family Home Evening about Faith and watch the "Polar Express" while eating caramel popcorn.

Snow

2011-12-04T15:04:00.001-07:00

There's nothing like the fist taste of snow in winter!

Christmas Activity Advent - Day 4

2011-12-04T14:58:00.001-07:00

With mom's help, write a fun letter to Santa and let him know what you want for Christmas!

All is not lost...

2011-12-03T20:05:00.001-07:00

...fortunately my sister came through with a couple pictures of our Thanksgiving weekend.

You'll notice the nice little shiner that Anni has...courtesy of her big sister. We're still not sure what happened. I was in the shower, Arnold ran downstairs to get something out of the pantry...the next thing we know there's crying, Reese is claiming innocents and Anni ends up with a shiner.

On another note...my sweet little niece Kendy is like a female clone of her daddy. It's almost a little crazy how much she looks like him when he was little. Who knew my brother would have made such a beautiful little girl.

Mycol was definitely a favorite of all the little girls.

Reese, Kit and Crew. Next year Reese wants to dress up as Uncle Kit for Halloween. She's giving the look a test run.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day 3

2011-12-03T19:52:00.001-07:00

Go shopping to pick out your special 2011 Christmas tree ornaments.

It must be the year of the snowman. After Reese picked out this cute glass snowman, she picked out a cute little one for Anni. It fittingly say's "I love mom"...after all Anni does love me most.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day 2

2011-12-02T14:09:00.001-07:00

Open your first present of the season; a new Christmas book. Get out all the fun Christmas books and read all day long.

I don't keep the Christmas books out all year. I put them away and add to the collection each December. It's so fun to have new books that we haven't read a million times.

P.S. These girls have the patience of a thumb tack. They wouldn't wait for me to get the lighting set right on the camera. Sorry the pictures are way bright!

Thought we'd show off those cute little teeth!

I can't get enough of those blue eyes!

Grandma Woolf

2011-12-01T14:43:00.001-07:00

Thirteen years ago when I was home visiting my parents in Idaho, my Grandma gave me a bag of Christmas ornaments with the following note inside.

Dear Mindi, 22 July 98
Use these decorations. The bird - please use. I love birds on my tree. The horse I love, so I share one with you. The bell and cane I made. I love them. So if you use the flakes etc...be reminded of me. I love you.
Grandma Woolf.

(I love this note. It's totally how my grandma used to write; short sweet and to the point.)

At the time I didn't think much of it. I was still single and living with roommates, so I didn't want to put them out where they could get ruined. I packed the ornaments and the note away in a box.

My grandma passed away when Reese was just 2 1/2 months old. Last year as I was going through some old boxes, I found the ornaments and the note. We got them out and put them on our tree. This year I read the note to Reese and told her all about my grandma as we were putting them on the tree. They have quickly become my favorite ornaments and a wonderful reminder of my sweet grandma this time of year.

Christmas Activity Advent - Day 1

2011-12-01T12:17:00.001-07:00

Make a fun Christmas light garland to hang in Reese's room!

She was so excited, I couldn't get her to stand still long enough to take her picture!

Christmas Time

2011-12-01T12:15:00.001-07:00

Christmas time is my favorite time of year!! Especially this year. Feeling good and happy to have a healthy little family. Reese, Anni and I have been enjoying each morning, just sitting on the couch and enjoying the lights of the Christmas tree.

Reese & Anni update

2011-12-01T11:26:00.001-07:00

These two little monkeys are growing and changing faster than I can keep up.

Reese:
Has a few new friends that showed up a few weeks ago. You know...the imaginary kind. Their names are Doddy, Lala, and Marker. She plays with them all the time. It's too funny. Doddy even has a job which he goes to every other day or so. Lala is always playing hide-and-seek, and Marker loves to play dollies. Just yesterday they had another friend come to play; Jade. We'll see how long she sticks around.

They say imaginary friends are a sign of a very creative mind. Reese is off the charts. (As a side note, I also had several imaginary friends when I was Reeses age. Two of them even had the same name; Eric and Eric.)

Reese has definitely entered the "terrible 3's". She is testing her boundaries daily. Thanks to the movie Elf, Reese's favorite song right now is "Santa Clause is Coming to Town". We've probably sung it about 1000 times in the last week or so. Unfortunately, based on her behavior, she does't quit grasp the meaning of the lyrics...otherwise I'd think she'd be a lot less naughty and a little more nice.

Reese was grounded from Cartoons one afternoon after biting her sister. About one hour into her grounding she comes to me and says...

Reese: Mommy Anni really needs to watch cartoons. Her not in trouble. Her needs to watch cartoons.
Me: Did she tell you that?
Reese: ya mom. Her so sad that you not let me watch cartoons. So sad mom. You make Anni so sad.

Me: Reese where is your pink flower hair clip?
Reese: I not know mom.
Me: You wore it the other day. Did you take it off somewhere?
Reese: I say I not know mom.
Me: Reese, mommy isn't going to be happy if you've lost it.
Reese: It's ok mom, we find it later and you be happy again.(as she skips out of the room)

Reese while playing with Anni:
"Anni I love you so much...I just want to squish you."
Unfortunately, some days, I'm not sure she realizes that's an expression...not something she should actually do.

Reese is going through a "there's a monster under my bed" stage. Tonight we had this conversation...
Reese: Mommy there's a monster under my bed. It's going to get me.
Me: No monsters live in our house. It's monster free. Mommy put a force field around our house that keeps monsters and all scary thing out. They just can't get in. You are totally safe.
Reese: (looking very sceptical) Mom, you not a super hero. You not have powers.
Me: I am a super hero. I'm super mom. Like super man, but super mom.
Reese: (laughing) that's funny mom.
Me: What's so funny? I am a super mom. All mom's are super moms.
Reese: You so funny mom. You not a super hero. you so so funny.

I still don't get what's so funny...mom's are super hero's!

Reese: Mom I want play games on your phone.
Me: If you play a game on my phone I'm turning off the cartoons.
Reese: Nooooo mom!
Me: You can't play games and watch cartoons at the same time.
Reese: Yes mom. I watch cartoons with mine eyes and play games with mine fingers.

...she's already a multi-tasker!

Anni:
Is now 8 months old and quite the mover and shaker. She's been somewhat crawling for about a month or so. It's been more of a wiggle, scoot, headstand, flop, wiggle, scoot, headstand, flop thing but in the last two days it's progressed into a full on crawl. I've been saying for weeks that the day we put up the Christmas tree, she would start "full on" crawling...and I was right. I guess she just needed some bright-light shiny-object motivation.

She now has two full teeth with a couple more that have been trying to break through for a few weeks. They keep coming up and then receding back. Poor girl. She's also caught a little cold, I think from her cousins that were here for Thanksgiving. Poor little thing is miserable right now.

Anni loves bath time, especially playing with Reese. They like to splash each other and laugh and laugh and laugh.

She's babbling more and more these days and loves to watch my face with great interest, then try to mimic my movements.

She loves "real" food. She still eats her baby food, but if anyone else is around eating "real" food...forget about it. She knows there's a better option, and she's all over it.

She's definitely a "mommy's girl". There are very few people that Anni will let hold her, and if I'm anywhere near by, it only takes one glance and she knows what she wants...Mommy is best!!

Anni has also overcome her dairy intolerance. She no longer insists on eating the most expensive formula known to man. It's so nice saving $200 a month on baby formula.

She still sleeps through the night and still takes 2 naps a day. She even puts herself to sleep...which I love. All she needs is her blanky and her thumb.

Over all Anni is just a sweet little baby girl. We have been very lucky to get two wonderful babies. Anni is always happy and content. She loves to play with her sister, but also plays by herself really well. She loves her jumper, or hanging out on a blanket with toys. I'm sure now that she's crawling there will be a lot more adventures in her future. We look forward to every one!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T11:09:00.001-07:00

I've been a very naughty mom...ok so maybe not naughty...but definitely a slacker in the picture department. This is the only picture I have of our Thanksgiving weekend. It' was Reese's first apple pie. She helped do everything from mixing the dough, rolling it out, stirring the apples, creating the lattice top and crimping the edges.

Sans pictures we did have a wonderful Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving day it was just us with Uncle Kit, but the next day Uncle Brady, Aunt Erika, Crew, Kendy, and Sydney all showed up. Reese was in Heaven for 3 whole days having fun and destroying the house with her new best friends. It was seriously a mad house around here. We decorated Gingerbread Houses, went to Kangaroo Zoo, out to dinner, and played played played. Aunt Jen, Mycol, Logan and Uncle Kit were with us too. Unfortunately Riley and Uncle Steve were in California at a soccer tournament, but Riley made it home on Sunday morning so she could see everyone before they headed home.

My brother Brady got a new job at BYU Idaho, so we are excited to have them living closer. We hope to see them a lot more often. Reese and Anni are especially excited to have some girl cousins to play dolls and barbies with.

Juicing with Daddy!

2011-12-01T11:04:00.001-07:00

Arnold love to Juice, and with the bounty of fruits and veggies we get each week from out Bountiful Basket...Arnold doesn't let anything go to waste. He's introduced Reese to his love of Carrot juice. I think she had more fun juicing than drinking the juice, but she did drink it.

Kangaroo Zoo

2011-12-01T11:00:00.001-07:00

Kangaroo Zoo is Reese's new favorite fun place. One Saturday we took her with on of her BFF's Rowan Tate. These two crazy girls are fearless. They must have gone down the "big" side about a 100 times; head first on belly, head first on back, together and even a few time with me.

Give Thanks Month

2011-11-07T21:11:00.002-07:00

For FHE tonight we made this...

Our "Give Thanks" tree on the door to the garage. Now every time we leave the house (well for this month), we will be reminded of all the things we are thankful for!

Some of the things that Reese was thankful for:
ice cream
coloring crayons
stuffed animals
sisters
friends
toys
cartoons
Jesus (yep...he eventually made it on the list)
treats
mommy & daddy
books

(One thing I'm thankful for...creative friends who let me steal their idea's. Love you Chellese!)

Our "Give Thanks" tree, with the two things Arnold and I are the most thankful for!!

In the news...

2011-11-01T14:49:00.002-06:00

Reese had her first dentist appointment! The report; no cavities, perfectly beautiful teeth with great enamel! She was such a big girl. She sat perfectly still while the dentist examined her. He was shocked when he found out she was only 3. He thought for sure she was 4, because she was so grown up about the whole experience.

Arnold and I also went to the dentist...for the first time in a very long time. What can I say, we've been slackers in the dental department. I guess the health care of our children's teeth was enough to motivate us. Neither one of us had any cavities, however we both had to have a couple old silver fillings replaced because they were just getting old. It was not a pleasant experience. I remembered why I hate going to the dentist...sshhh...don't tell Reese.

In other news, my church sabbatical has come to an end. They finally decided I couldn't use pregnancy or a new born as an excuse to not have a calling anymore. I was called as a Relief Society teacher. I am actually thrilled with the new calling. Teaching RS is seriously my all time favorite calling in the church...so...life is good. The best part...I don't have to teach until January. I was called to teach the fourth Sunday, General Conference talk lesson's, and the fourth Sunday in October was skipped because of General Conference. In November the RS presidency has something special planned for Thanksgiving, and in December it's Christmas Day, so we're only having Sacrament meeting. I guess my January lesson better be really good, since I'll have 3 months to prepare it.

Arnold is still the Ward Mission Leader. He's doing a great job, but I think he'd love a change. I keep telling him to be careful what he wishes for...they could always put him in nursery..ha ha ha.

And as for the littlest member of our family...Anni is growing and changing way too fast! Although, I'm grateful she isn't flying through all her milestones as quickly as Reese did. I was reading back through my blog the other day and realized that when Reese was the same age as Anni, she was full on crawling everywhere, climbing the stairs, pulling herself up to things and walking along furniture. She was only a couple of months from walking. She had 4 teeth and she just looked so grown up. I'm glad Anni has decided to stay my baby a little longer. If she were doing all those things, I think I would be devastated. However, I don't think Anni will be too far behind Reese. I did watch her crawl forward a little today and she tries to pull herself up to things all the time. Sometimes she's successful, but then she just falls down. It's pretty funny to watch. As far as I'm concerned she should just stay my baby forever :)

Halloween in the hood...

2011-10-31T21:17:00.002-06:00

Girl power!! We are not lacking for little girls in this neighborhood. This isn't even half of them.

from left to right: Harper Tate, Rowan Tate, Lucy Nuttall, Clair Nuttall, Brynn Tate, Reese, & Brea Wild

Sneaking some candy!

Trunk-OR-Treating...

2011-10-31T21:11:00.000-06:00

Our little princess and lady bug getting ready for our ward Trunk-OR-Treating party! Reese was so excited to be a princess this year and Anni...well Anni was just excited to have so many ruffles to suck on.

Watch out or she will cast a princess spell and make you disappear. Anni and daddy were disappearing all night.

Handing out candy with daddy! My favorite thing about this picture is Anni's little face in the corner.

The count down to Halloween continues...

2011-10-27T20:53:00.003-06:00

...with pumpkin carving.

There's something about the smell when you cut into a fresh pumpkin; it's like I'm a kid again and I'm gathered with my brothers and sister around our old kitchen table, we're all elbows deep into pumpkin guts, "It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is on in the background, and my mom is preparing pumpkin seeds to roast. I love the nostalgia of holiday traditions.

I hope both these little munchkins have the same good memories one day. I know I will.

It's official...

2011-10-25T20:37:00.001-06:00

...we have a thumb sucker...

The minute you give Anni her night time blanky, she grabs it and immediately puts her thumb in her mouth. I have mixed feelings about the whole thumb sucking. But I was a thumb sucker, and I turned out ok...right? I never had braces either. I just remember how hard it was to stop. I loved my little thumb. Oh well, in the mean time, I do think it's adorable.

...and p.s. those eyes and that face...they melt my heart!

Halloween Caramel Apples

2011-10-25T20:30:00.000-06:00

I realized the other day that this is the first holiday season since Arnold and I have been married that I haven't been either pregnant or sleep deprived with a new born. In past years I would think about all the fun things I would be doing if I weren't puking my guts out or tired as death. So this is the year! We are doing everything we can think of the celebrate every holiday.

I haven't made caramel apples for years...and it turns out I haven't forgotten how. Caramel can be tricky. But how could I go wrong with the worlds best sous chef. Reese did just about everything but make the caramel. She especially like the decorating part. The orange white chocolate was her favorite.

Washing the apples...

drying the apples...

putting in the sticks...

I wish I'd gotten a picture of her decorating, but I was too busy trying to control the chaos...or mess...

Reese was so proud. She couldn't wait for daddy to come home and see her masterpieces. He was very impressed...and they were delicious!

The count down to Halloween...

2011-10-24T20:29:00.003-06:00

...started with a fun Family Home Evening Halloween activity. Reese is so excited about our new pet spider. I'm hoping he'll scare off any real spiders that may be lurking!

7 months...

2011-10-23T20:51:00.000-06:00

It's passing too quickly...

Anni is growing up so fast. She changes and learn's new things almost daily.

At 7 months Anni...

has 1 tooth with the second one breaking though right now.
sucks her thumb at nap time and night-time. Any other time of the day she sucks and chews on anything and everything else. She is not content if she is not chewing or sucking on something. Nothing is safe from Anni slobber.
can't quite crawl, but it's not for lack of trying. She loves to get up on all fours and rock back and forth until she gets so frustrated that she can't propel herself forward.
is an excellent sleeper. She goes to bed at 7:30 p.m. and sleeps until 8 a.m. Then naps from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and again from 2 - 4 p.m.
loves eating "real" food. Carrots are her favorite baby food. Now that she's tried pretty much every kind of baby food, when I can I've started giving her what ever we're eating for dinner. I just grind it up. The other night she had homemade roasted chicken stew and she loved it!
can give her sister a run for her money in the squealing department. She loves to hear the sound of her voice, that's for sure. With Reese I used to have a binky I could stick in her mouth when I needed her to be quite...like at church. But not Anni, she doesn't take a binky. I have a feeling she's going to get taken out a lot more often than Reese.
loves to have mommy sing to her. If I sing to her she smiles and stares into my eyes. If I sing long enough...she'll drift off to sleep.
has the most beautiful blue eye's. People comment on her blue eye's everywhere we go.

Piecy update...

2011-10-23T19:59:00.001-06:00

Everything these days is..."cool". It's Reese's new favorite word. "Cool dinner mom", "Cool shirt dad"...everything is "cool". I should cherish this phase...because I'm almost certain that one day nothing mom and dad do will be "cool".

Reese got a new dolly for her birthday and a new hand-made dolly cradle from her Grandpa N. Every night when we go to bed Reese has to put "her" baby to bed as well. She feeds her a bottle, burps her, reads her a story, has me swaddle her, then puts her in her cradle and rocks her to sleep. It's so sweet to see her little mothering instincts. It is also so sweet when I realize how much she's mimicking me in what I say and do as a mom. Example: Some mornings Reese gets up before Anni. We'll be sitting on the couch and I'll hear Anniston up, so I'll say..."Anni's awake, I better go get her." Reese will respond, "Oh...my baby wake up too, I go get her." When I walk into Anni's room I always say, "good morning sweety." So Reese walks into her room, head to her baby and say's, "good morning sweety."

In other dolly news, the other day I came down stairs to find Reese trying to put a baby supository in her dolly's bum. After quickly stopping her, I asked her what she was doing. Her response, "my dolly can't go poop, her need help." Crazy kid!

Every night Reese likes me not only to read her a bedtime story, I also have to make up a bed time story. I used to tell her all kinds of story's about frogs, snakes, princesses...you name it, but ever since her 3rd birthday she likes me to tell her the "story" of her 3rd birthday party. It goes a little something like this...

"One upon a time there was a girl named Reese and she was about to turn 3 years old. Her mom asked if she wanted to have a birthday party and she said she wanted to have a water balloon fight party. So they designed invitations and delivered them to all her friends. On the day of the party her dad got up really early and blew up 600 water balloons while her mom got everything else ready for the party. When it was time for the party all her friends arrived. They had lunch, then sang happy birthday, ate cake, opened presents, and then they had the biggest and best water fight ever! After all the balloons were gone, her daddy got out the sprinklers and they road their bikes, scooters, and plasma cars through the sprinklers. They played and played until they were all so tired they had to go home and rest. It was the best 3rd birthday ever! The end"

She has had me tell her this story every night since her birthday...until last night. When I started to tell her the story of her birthday she said, "no mom, not the story of my birthday tonight. Now tell me the story of Reesey at Cornbellys."

Today at church I told Reese she needed to be reverent and think about Jesus during the sacrament. She folded her arms and sat quietly for a few minutes, then she turned to me and said, "mom, why Jesus want to give me food?"

Mom: Reese will you please go pick all the toys down stairs?
Reese: (while running in circles in the living room) I can't mom, my leg hurts.
Mom: If your leg hurt you wouldn't be running in circles. So please go pick up your toys.
Reese: (she's now stopped running and has her hand on her tummy.) I can't mom, my tummy hurts.
Mom: Well if your leg and your tummy hurt we better go to the doctor.
Reese: (Reese hates the doctor.) No mom, no doctor. I can't go to doctor.
Mom: Then I guess you better go pick up your toys.
Reese: Mom, I watching TV. I do it later.
Mom: Reese I want you to go pick up the down stairs right now.
Reese: But it's dark. I can't see.
Mom: Then I'll turn the light on for you.
Reese: No mom, you feeding Anniston. You can't get up.
Mom: I'll stop feeding Anni for a second and turn the light on for you.
Reese: No mom, Anni will be sad.
Mom: Reese stop giving me excuses. Please do what I ask.
Reese: (with her finger over her mouth) Shhhhh...just stop talking mom.

Mom: So Reese what did you learn in nursery today?
Reese: Mom we don't do learning stuff, we just play and do fun stuff!

Cornbelly's

2011-10-23T19:59:00.000-06:00

Cornbelly's has become an annual tradition for us, mainly because Arnold always gets free tickets. Usually I always say that I'm glad our tickets are free because I don't think it's worth the money they charge. But this year it would totally be worth every penny. It had about 4 times the amount of activities then it's had in past years. Reese was in heaven. She would have stayed there all day! Some favorite's include; every slide she got to go down...are there were quite a few, the bouncy pillows, trick-or-treat kiddie corn maze, pumpkin princess playland, and cornbelly mountain.

We have a sitter...

2011-10-15T01:18:00.001-06:00

It's official, Anni can now sit up all by herself for long periods of time.

My little helper!

2011-10-15T01:16:00.003-06:00

Reese is such an awesome big sister. She loves Anni so much and always wants to do anything she can to help me take care of her, including feeding her. And she's not that bad at it.

Box Fort

2011-10-15T01:14:00.001-06:00

Growing up as a military brat, we always had big boxes hanging around. I loved making big "box" forts. Sometimes I would join up to 4 or 5 boxes and make "box" mansions. I could spend hours playing in my box forts. So when we got a recent online purchase in these two big boxes, I couldn't help but introduce Reese to the awesome world of box fort making. She, of course, thinks it's the coolest thing ever!!

One Ring Circus

2011-10-15T01:08:00.001-06:00

Arnold got some free tickets to the Piccadilly Circus that was in town. Reese wanted to take her friend Rowan and Brynn. All I can say is...thank goodness it was free. It was definitely a "one" ring circus. I think the kids had a pretty good time, so it wasn't all bad.

Excited for the show to start...

...Reese thought the Kangaroo was pretty cool...

...they were laughing and having a good time, but at one point I looked over and this is what I saw. It must not have been a very funny moment.

The closing act was probably the coolest part for Reese. She loves Elephants. They were really fun to watch, but I kind of felt sorry for them.

Lately...

2011-10-15T00:59:00.001-06:00

I grew up sleeping in sponge curlers every Saturday night for cute curly "church" hair. So one night I decided to try it out on Reese. Unfortunately they had all fallen out by morning. But she sure looked cute in the curlers.

These two love to watch morning cartoons snuggled under blankets in the "big" chair.

Little Anni is growing up so fast. If I blink, I feel like I might miss too much.

2011 Family Photo's

2011-10-07T20:31:00.000-06:00

Once again Chellese managed to capture great shots of our little family. There are 30+ photo's. Here's are a few of my favorites...ok, maybe more than a few.

You know why I love this photo?? I love it because I painted those finger nails about 2 hours before we left for family photo's. Hard to believe hu?? I don't know how she does it...but all the polish manages to disappear so quickly.

3 years feels like a lifetime...

2011-09-27T11:57:00.000-06:00

And for Reese it has been. I can't believe how quickly the last three years has gone. My little baby is a full grown little lady and she reminds me daily that she's "so grown up mom".

Stats:
Height - 39 inches 91%
Weight - 33 lbs. 79%

Smarts:
Knows her alphabet
Can count to 13
Knows all her shapes & colors
Can spell her name
Can read (or recognize) a few small words

I'm always writing down the cute and funny things that Reese says, and I think they paint a pretty good picture of her personality and fun little spirit, but I didn't want her her third birthday to pass without also writing down a few of my thoughts and feelings about my little Reese.

At her 3 year doctors appointment Dr. Wynn asked if Reese can dress herself. I almost burst out laughing. Can she dress herself?? She insists on picking out her own clothes and dressing herself and doing just about everything else you can think of for herself. If she had her way, she would would be cooking, cleaning, doing her own laundry and working at the mall by now. That is until she stubs her toe, falls out of the bath tub, or has a nightmare, then she's wants her mommy. Ok, so maybe I'm being a little extreme, but Reese is definitely one independent little lady. And for the most part, she is pretty successful at anything she tries or sets her mind to.

For example...

When we moved Reese to a "big girl" bed, a couple months before her 2nd birthday, we of course put a safety railing on the bed. Well a few months ago Reese decided she didn't want the railing on her bed anymore. I'm not sure why she was so bugged by it, but she would throw a fit every night. I was so worried that she would fall out of bed so I insisted that she keep it up, but after I would leave Reese would get out of bed and put it down. (stubborn and determined) However, I would still put it back up when I would check on her before I went to bed. Then one day I found her trying to rip it off her bed. She almost had it taken apart and I was afraid she was going to brake it, so we finally gave in and let her sleep with it down for a few nights. She did great, so we let her take it off. It's been several months and she's only fallen out of bed once and that was at the beginning. Now she's a pro at staying in bed.

There really are no words for how much I love this kid. She makes me laugh, smile and want to smother her in kisses daily. She's the best big sister. She's so helpful and loving with Anniston. I feel so blessed to have two little girls and I'm so glad they have each other. I've said this before, but I really feel with all my heart that I was meant to be a "girl" mom. I think Heavenly Father really knows what he's doing when he sends us the children that he does. Reese is so much like me that sometimes I have to verbally remind myself that she's her own person and not a carbon copy of me. I know through out her life she will continue to bring us so much joy, as well as give us many challenges and frustrations, but I will gladly lead her or walk beside her through the storms of life as long as she'll let me. If the time ever comes when she doesn't want me there, I'll just follow and be two steps behind to help lift her when she falls.

I love you Reese! Never doubt it!

Reese through the years...

Reese 2 weeks

6 months

1 year

18 months

2 years

3 years

3 year interview:
What's your favorite...
food - carrots...oh oh oh..and broccoli
drink - water
treat - chocolate, like daddy
surprise - lots of presents
T.V. show - Micky Mouse Club House
movie - Gnomeo and Jet (Gnomeo and Juliet)
book - Wacky Wednesday
color - yellow and pink
song - twinkle star
place to go - park
thing to do - play outside
friends - Roro and Brynny
thing to do - play toys
thing about mommy - just everything mom
thing about daddy - when he plays toys with me
thing about Anni - holding her and play with her

What's your favorite thing about...."I gotta go mom. No questions. I gotta play..."

6 months

2011-09-25T22:06:00.003-06:00

...and what does that mean???

Real food baby!!! Anni's a big fan so far!

Stats:Weight - 15 lbs. 31%
Height - 28 in. 98%
Head - 16.5 in. 34%

I love 6 months! It's a good time in a baby's life, especially our little Anni.

She's eating like a champ. Food she's tried so far include, green beans, peas, graham crackers, apple juice, rice cereal, and otter pops.

She sleeps 11-12 hours a night and takes 2-3 long naps a day. She also puts herself to sleep. She wakes up happy and fills our day with lots of giggles, smiles and just like her sister...some serious squealing! That's right, she has the Nordfelt lungs!

She rolls both directions and manages to get just about anywhere she needs to go with her own unique little rolling system. I've seen her get up on all four a couple of times, but I still think crawling is a little far off for her. But who knows, maybe she'll surprise me.

She sits up on her own for very short periods of time, but doesn't seem too interested in it. She always goes for her feet and falls over.

She loves her play jumper, and playing with her big sister. Even when I'm sure Reese must be hurting her, Anniston just squeals with delight and laughter when ever Reese is paying attention to her.

She no longer has a Binky. She never would latch on to one, so we decided to just get rid of it instead of trying to force it on her. She just loves to suck her hand and fingers and something tells me she may turn into a thumb sucker when she gets a little older, but again...I could be wrong.

In the last few weeks she's turned into a real mommy's girl. She'll go to just about anyone, as long as she can't see me. If she gets any glimpse of me or hears my voice...all bets are off.

Bottom line...we love this kid and wouldn't change a thing about her!

Reesy Piece...

2011-09-23T09:09:00.003-06:00

Reese was watching me get dressed one morning. I was putting on my bra...

Reese: Mommy why I not have one of those.

Me: Because they're for big girls.

Reese: I a big girl.

Me: You are a very big girl, but they're for even bigger girls with big boobies.

Reese: I not have big boobies??

Me: No sweetie, but when you grow up you will and then I'll get you your very own bra.

Reese: (With total elation) THANKS MOM!!! You're the best! I love you mommy!

Reese and I were looking through some old photo's. She found one of me at Disneyland with some friends, before she was born.

Reese: Mommy that you at Disneyland castle.
Yep: Yep.
Reese: (with a total look of confusion) Where me at mommy?
Me: You weren't born yet sweetie.
Reese: awww...not fair mom!

One morning I was very tired, because Reese had woken me up in the night several times with night mares.

Me: (yawning)

Reese: you tired mommy?

Me: yes, I am very tired! A little monkey kept me up all night.

Reese: (laughing) that me monkey?

Me: yep, you were the monkey.

Reese: you should take nap mommy.

Me: yes, I should take a nap. Maybe I'll go do that right now.

Reese: (with panic) Nooooo!

Me: but you just told me I should take a nap.

Reese: but I just teasing you.

I was sitting in the living room feeding Anniston when Reese appeared from the basement totally naked...

Reese: Hi mom. (as she plops herself on the couch)
Me: Ummm hello. Where are your clothes?
Reese: downstairs. I naked.
Me: I can see that. Why are you naked?
Reese: I pretending to be baby.
Me: babies don't walk around naked my love. See, Anni has clothes on.
Reese: no, I pretending to be naked baby.
Me: Well as much as I hate to squash your creative spirit. I'm not running a nudist colony, so I'm going to insist that you go downstairs and put your clothes back on.
Reese: PLEEEASE mom!!!! No squash me!!

Tricks...

2011-09-15T14:20:00.001-06:00

...what kid doesn't love them.

Have I mentioned how much I love these two! I especially love how much they love each other...

The big 3 Party!!

2011-09-15T05:25:00.006-06:00

When I asked Reese what she wanted to do for her 3rd birthday there was no hesitation. She wanted to have a water balloon party and she immediately started listing all the friends she wanted to come.

Reese was excited to pick her birthday cake and to my surprise she picked Tweedy Bird. I thought for sure she'd pick a princess or Mickey Mouse cake, but the second she saw the Tweedy Bird cake, she was sold.

The crew: Harper Tate, Rowan Tate, Addy Hart, Reese, Cohen Vohs, Brynn Tate, Claire Nuttall, Lucy Nuttall, Austin Messmer, Gavin Messmer, Gavin Gardner, Kyson Sumpsion. (Friends that showed up a little late and didn't make it into the photo, Brea Wild and Blake Baker)

The aftermath...

After the water balloons were gone, we got out the sprinklers and all the kids rode their bikes through the water.

These two little best friends...are trouble on wheels!

Reese and I both owe Arnold a big THANK YOU for her awesome party. He took the day off work and spent several hours filling over 600 water balloons and he even cleaned up the aftermath. He is the best daddy and husband ever!

If your wondering where Anniston was in all of this...she cooperated perfectly and slept through the whole party.

The big 3!

2011-09-15T05:13:00.002-06:00

Originally we were going to be in Idaho for Reese's actual birthday, so we planned her "friend" party for the day after we would be getting back. But at the last minute our plans changed so we were home on the 10th. We couldn't let her actual birthday pass without a little celebration so we decided it would be fun to spend the day together as a family having some fun.

We started the day by going to get donuts. Reese loves donuts and we don't get them very often. She got to go to Day Light Donuts and pick out which ones she wanted. Then we opened her presents from Mom, Dad and Anni. I love the intensity in which she open's presents. She loved everything she got. Then we surprised Reese and took her to Chuck E Cheese. She's only been to Chuck E Cheese one other time in her life, but she asks all the time to go again. I'm not a huge fan of Chuck E Cheese, but I figured I could sacrifice and let her have some fun. It was a success. We all had a great day!

Build A Bear

2011-09-15T04:31:00.002-06:00

Reese's cousins Riley and Mycol, and her Aunt Jen wanted to surprise her for her birthday and take her to Build A Bear to make her very own personalized friend. They picked her up the Saturday before her birthday for a special "girls day out". As I was getting her ready to go that morning, she kept saying, "mommy, you and daddy can't come...just Reesy." She loves Riley and Mycol so much and had so much fun. Honestly they could have taken her anywhere and done just about anything and she would have been thrilled to be with them.

Girls!

2011-09-15T04:24:00.002-06:00

I love my girls so much! Everyday I realize more and more that I was meant to be a "girl" mom. I wouldn't trade these two for the world. I hope as they grow up they love each other and have as much fun together, if not more, than they do now.

Reesy Piece...

2011-09-03T21:00:00.012-06:00

And it continues....

I came upstairs one morning after running on the treadmill. I was dripping in sweat...

Reese: Mommy? You take a shower in your clothes?

Mom: No, I was excising and this is just sweat.

Reese: What sweat mean mom?

(After an obviously too complicated/too complex explanation of sweat...)

Reese: What ever mom...it's just yucky!

After running on the treadmill for 40 minutes Reese looks at me and says, "Good job mom, you getting so big." ...ummm..."big"?? Some times the encouragement of a 3 year old leaves a lot to be desired. Fortunately I think she's just reflecting what I always tell her; that she's growing so "big" and strong.

Mom: Reese, let's go get dressed for the day.
Reese: Why mom? Where we going?
Mom: (as if we need to go somewhere to get dressed) To the moon, for lunch.
Reese: (with a very puzzled look) you got a rocket mom?
Mom: yep, I borrowed one from NASA.
Reese: (an even more puzzled look, followed by a big smile) you teasing me mom?
Mom: yep, I'm teasing. You're just too smart for me kiddo.
Reese: (while laughing) yep, I very too smart for you mom.

I love the way Reese says certain words incorrectly, and while I know I should correct her and help her learn to say them properly, sometimes I just like the sweet innocents of her cute little baby language. Some examples include:

Reese trying to say my name: "Your name minkama mommy?"

Bubble gum is "gumble gum"

A bath tub is a "pad pad" (this one baffles even me)

Chocolate Milk is "choco milk"

Old Navy is "Old Lady"

I call Anniston "Anni Banani" sometimes, Reese calls her "Bany Anni"

Delicious is "elicious"

Cereal is "c-low"

licorice is "lick-o-lis"

I know I should change this, but I often use the phrase, "oh crap" when something goes wrong, I drop something, etc... When Reese hears me say this she always responds, "Oh crap what mom?"

I'm really careful not to talk about loosing weight in front of Reese. I never tell her that I'm dieting or exercising to "loose weight" or because I'm fat. I always tell her that I exercise to be healthy or I'm trying to eat healthy. The other day she came up the stairs carrying one of my weights. I asked her what she was doing... "I'm being healthy mommy. Exercising being healthy."

Reese: Mom, help me with my puzzle.
Mom: Ok, (I sit down and start working on puzzle, but then Reese stops working on puzzle.)
Mom: Aren't you going to help me?
Reese: I tired mom
Mom: I thought you wanted me to do the puzzle with you? We don't have to do the puzzle if you're tired.
Reese: No mom I want you do the puzzle. I just watch.
Mom: What, do you think you're management around here? I do all the work and you just watch?
Reese: What "magment" mean mom?

I have a hard time waiting for surprises...

2011-09-03T20:51:00.002-06:00

I'm really good at keeping secrets. Ask any of my long time best friends. I'm a vault. But I really suck at surprising people. I'm a terrible liar, and I just want people to know what awesomeness is headed their way.

I was super excited about our "big" birthday surprise for Reese. She's wanted a plasma car for quite some time, and quite frankly we were tired of her borrowing all her friends when we were outside. So, once is came in the mail we couldn't resist just giving it to her early. I say "we" because Arnold was just as excited as I was. After all there are only so many days of summer left. We figured she might as well enjoy it for as long as possible.

I think we definitely made the right decision. She's only had it for 3 days and it's already warn in. It looks like she's been riding it all summer.

Bridal Veil

2011-09-03T20:44:00.002-06:00

We realized last week that we hadn't been up to Bridal Veil Falls yet this summer. By this time most years, we've been up the canyon more times than we can remember. I guess baby Anni has put a small crimp in out ourdoor style.

So last Sunday we took an evening drive. Reese had a blast playing in the water. It didn't matter to her how cold it was.

I just hung out on the bank with this little cuttie, who flashed these baby blues at everyone who walked by.

Anniston 5 month and counting....

2011-08-22T22:44:00.002-06:00

...and getting cuter by the day!

Anni is finally eating a little more. She now downs about 5 oz. at every feeding.

She can roll back to front and front to back, but she still does't do it too often. She would much rather be sitting up in her bumbo or in her bouncy play gym.

She has the cutest little laugh and is incredibly ticklish.

She's had a sudden interest in real food lately. She's still a little too young, especially with her food allergies, but I do let her suck on a Popsicle from time to time. She loves it...SHHH...don't tell!

Reesy Piece...

2011-08-22T22:43:00.007-06:00

After getting dressed the other day I walked out of my bedroom and Reese, unsolicited, shook her finger at me and said, "No, no, no mommy. I don't like it. Not cute." She then went into my closet and picked out two different shirts and told me I should wear one of them.

Driving in the van...
Reese: I have to have the window down mom.
Mom: why, I have the air conditioning on. Let's keep the windows up.
Reese: But I need the sun mom. My body needs sun, so good for me.

I left the room for 1 minute, when I came back I found Reese attempting to change Anni's diaper. She had her completely undressed and diaper off. It's a good thing it was only a wet diaper.

After asking Reese to do something multiple times... with no response...
Mom: Reese, what is it you hear when I open my mouth? Do you hear my words or just noise?
Reese: Quacking mom, like a duck. Quack, Quack, Quack Quack!
Mom: I guess that explains it.

Reese was playing with Anniston on the floor, but it was time for Anniston's morning nap so I picked her up and said...
Mom: Say night night to Anni, Reese. It's time for her nap.
Reese: No mom, Anni doesn't want to take naps. Her not tired.
Mom: She looks pretty tired to me. I think she does want a nap.
Reese: No mom, she told me her not tired. She wants to stay and play sisters.

Reese: Mom I wanna watch cartoons.
Mom: (feeding Anniston) Hand me the remote and I'll turn them on.
Reese: where remote mom?
Mom: It's over on the arm of the chair.
Reese: On arm? Chair have arms mom?
Mom: Well kind of, that what you call the end of the chair.
Reese: Crazy! How come I never know these things?

Grandma...

2011-08-16T22:15:00.001-06:00

These girls love their grandma...and Mickey Mouse Club House. That's what they were all watching together. Anniston can't take her eye's off the T.V.

What do you think??

2011-08-08T22:07:00.003-06:00

More and more people keep telling me that they don't think Reese and Anniston look anything alike and when I tell them that they actually do look very similar they seemed surprised. While I definitely think that Anniston has some unique characteristics and will probably take on her own look as she gets older...you can't tell me that these too don't look an a lot alike...at 4 1/2 months anyway.

"Self" photos

2011-08-05T23:03:00.003-06:00

When Reese was a baby I used to get on the floor with her and we'd have "self" photo shoots while we were playing. I thought it was about time Anniston got in on the action.

She thought it was the greatest thing ever...and so did Reese!

Sometimes I think the most "technically" wrong photo's are the best.

We really are....

2011-08-05T23:02:00.001-06:00

just a family of fish.

Breakfast

2011-08-05T23:00:00.001-06:00

With our new couches we made a rule that food is no longer allowed in the living room. So this is how Reese eats breakfast, so she can still watch cartoons.

Our talking toddler...

2011-08-01T12:55:00.007-06:00

Early one day Reese asked if we could go outside and play. I told her it was yucky outside (it was dark and rainy), so we would probably be staying inside today. A couple hours later the sun came out. Reese looked out the window and said, "look mom, it's not dirty outside anymore."

Reese: I want juice mom
Me: Sorry sweety we don't have any juice, it's all gone.
Reese: (total look of shock) What?? No juice, how do these things happen??

Me: Reese will you stop growing up and stay my baby forever?

Reese: Sorry mom have to grow up...it's life.

While driving home from the mall, I had just gotten off the phone with Arnold...

Reese: Who talking to mom?

Me: daddy.

Reese: Mine daddy?

Me: Yes your daddy.

Reese: Arnold daddy?

Me: You only have one daddy honey...that would be Arnold.

Reese: One daddy but two grandpa's? (Arnolds parents are visiting and Reese is still grasping the concept of two sets of grandparents.)

Me: yep, two grandpa's.

Reese: grandpa and candy grandpa? Where candy grandpa? (my dad is "candy" grandpa)

Me: He's in Idaho, that's where he lives. He's coming to visit you in a couple weeks though.

Reese: Let's go get him and have two grandpa's together?

Me: Sorry sweety it's not that easy.

Reese: miss mine candy grandpa. I schatzie...grandpa's treasure.

(Schatzie is what my dad call's Reese. It's an Americanized version of the German word schatzen, which means little treasure. It is a term of endearment in Germany like princess or sweetheart. The Americanized version got started when an American GI married a German girl after WWII and started calling her “Schatzie” instead of “Schatzen.”)

Arnold: Reese that's a cute shirt is it new?

Reese: Yep, mom bought it at Old Lady. (Old Navy)

Reese ran to the bathroom after playing outside all afternoon. When she emerged...

Reese: Mom I had accident...pee peed on the bathroom floor and rug.

Me: Of course you did. That only makes sense considering I just cleaned the floor and washed the rugs today.

Reese: (all smiles) Yep...a course I did.

Reese: Mom...I tired.

Me: You are? Do you want to take a nap?

Reese: (shaking her head) Don't be silly mommy.

Reese was looking at a picture of herself from last summer:

Reese: That me mommy?

Me: Yep, that was last summer.

Reese: Where mine hair go?

Me: You didn't have very much hair last year.

Reese: Why cause? Hair all gone?

Me: It was still growing from when you were a baby.

Reese: Oh oh oh...hair growing. Now I have big girl hair.

Daddy and his girls...

2011-07-31T21:42:00.001-06:00

Boy does he have his hands full...literally and figuratively.

4 months...

2011-07-22T21:57:00.006-06:00

Stats:

Weight - 13.5 lb. 40%

Height - 26.5" 98%

Head - 16" 27%

Progress...

Anniston rolled over for the first time last week; back to tummy. She's done it a couple more times since, but doesn't quite know what to do with herself once she's on her tummy and gets pretty upset if you don't help her roll back. She has never liked tummy time; we've been working on that.

She still likes to be swaddled when she first goes to bed, but usually manages to wiggle her way out some time during the night. She then enjoys moving all over her crib in her sleep. One night she even managed to wiggle her way right out of her PJ bottoms.

She still likes to take a binki at bed time and nap time, but really has no interest in it any other time of the day. Very much the opposite of her sister who couldn't live with out hers. Anni much prefers to suck on her hands, or her blanky, or mommy's hand.

Anni is finding her voice more and more each day. She loves to have little conversation with anyone who'll take the time to talk to her.

She is still our little skinny mini; only eating about 24 oz. a day. While she's grown into a size 6-12 months with her height, she's still a 0-3 month in her waist. One of these days I'm hoping she'll start eating better and get a little meat on her bones.

She's still a pretty good sleeper, going to bed around 8-8:30 p.m. and waking up around 5-5:30 a.m. She eats and goes back to sleep until 9 a.m. There are however, random night every other week or so that she'll wake up a little earlier, like 3 or 4 a.m., but she still just eats and goes back to bed until 9 a.m. And on the flip side, she also has random night that she'll sleep all the way until 8 or 9 a.m.

I'm pretty sure she's started teething. The last few weeks she's been getting random low grade fevers. She's also been drooling like crazy and gnawing on anything she can get her little gums around, which is usually my hand, fingers or shoulder. I guess mommy tastes pretty good.

Anni loves loves loves her big sister. Reese can always get Anni to stop crying, just by paying attention to her. Anni watches every move Reese makes and laughs or giggles at everything she does or says. On the flip side, Anni get's very upset if Reese is upset. She can be completely happy then she'll hear Reese crying or getting upset and Anni loses it too.

We've taken Anni swimming a couple times now and it looks like we may have another little fish on our hands. She officially loved the water, smiling and squealing the entire time.

more fun photos...

Our #1 fish

2011-07-22T21:29:00.006-06:00

To say that Reese loves the water, is a huge understatement! Arnold and I want our kids to love the water as much as we do, and Reese does not disappoint!

She especially had a great time this week swimming with her cousins Riley and Mycol. Ironically I feel like it was just yesterday that Riley and Mycol were Reese's age and I was taking them to the pool. Time goes way too fast.

Our little bugs!

2011-07-18T21:58:00.002-06:00

Reese really wanted to get she and Anni matching pj's. She picked out these cute little "Snug as a bug", lady bug pj's, and she loves it when they wear them together. Our little bugs are so cute!

Just watching cartoons...

2011-07-18T21:55:00.001-06:00

...with every blanket and pillow they could find in the house. (Reese and Rowan Tate)

Summer bathing at it's best...

2011-07-12T22:41:00.000-06:00

Reese, Lucy Nuttal & Rowan Tate