Lynden at 4 months

Lynden had her 4 month check up a few days ago and passed with flying colors. She's weighing in at a whopping 13 lbs 9 oz (50th) and measures 25 in (75th). Please don't be bigger than your brother sweetie! You wouldn't have even known she had a bunch of shots a few hours before.
She's a sleeper, but if that binky falls out she's a screamer
Cassidy made this cute, huge bow for her and I had to try it on. I think a couple more weeks and it will fit her head and not weigh her down. I love it! This is a yawn, not a growl!
Here is our happy girl. She really is happy most of the time. I bet Joe is behind the camera. Anything this kid does makes her so happy! She isn't the best sleeper, but we are working on it. I ordered her bedding and when it gets here the crib is getting put up. We weren't sure how long we were going to be in Arizona or this apartment, but we decided to stay in this apartment until we move saving us the huge hassle of moving. So anyways, we have kept her in the bassinet and will put her in a crib asap. She has such a sweet baby laugh that came out a few weeks ago. She loves being held up high and brought down close to our face, so pretty much she loves helping me work out my arms. She has such a strong neck and is scooting a little bit and I wish it would stop. I really like the non mobile stage :) She likes to stand on our laps and watch whatever Joe is doing. She doesn't really cry, she usually has a really high pitched scream and when that comes I race for the binky. She does it when she's tired or annoyed of being on her tummy so she will usually only get 1-3 screams out before we plug it! Other than the screaming, she is a pretty good baby. She is a super quick eater and I was nervous she wasn't eating enough, but she will hold out until the next feeding just fine and the doctor said she's obviously getting enough. We are truly blessed to have these 2 little kids in our family!

Joe at 3 and 1 month

I don't do very well on the month to month or even the 6 month updates so here is one: Joe at 3 years and 1 month. We had a doctor appointment a few days ago and Joe did great. He's measuring at 36 3/4 in and is weighing 32 lbs. He didn't have to get any shots today, but didn't like it when sister did. We blew bubbles in the afternoon and played ball with Ady.
I LOVE that Joe still takes a nap at least 5 days out of the week! I love even more his sweet little lips and stealing kisses is a lot easier when he's sleeping.
Joe is tracing all kinds of stuff in preschool. He likes to count, sing, read, and play. He memorizes stuff really quick. I'll read him a book and the next night he will read it to me by memory. For those wondering, he still LOVES pirate's booty. Getting this kid to eat is like pulling teeth, but he is a wonderful sleeper, a great talker, and a sweet easy going boy so I guess he can't be perfect all the time! He gets along with pretty much everyone, but sometimes his feisty side comes out and I remind him where/who we are and he usually shapes up. He loves to help and he is loving his daddy. He told Miss Wendy he would like to be a basketball player when he grows up like his daddy. Today he told me he would like to be a fisherman and tonight he told Steve he would like to be a drum maker. It's a good thing he has a while to decide! We were walking home today from Wal Mart where I dropped off the car to get an oil change (it's pretty close to our apartment building, but a stretch for little legs and mom's with diaper bag, car seat, etc) and we walked in a side gate. He picked which one he wanted to go through and I had to unlock it. He was amazed that I unlocked this gate. (We've never come in this way, so maybe that's why) He said, "that was so cool, dude. Mom, you are so smart! I mean, really so smart for knowing how to do that." I love that this kid thinks we can move mountains as parents. I love him and am mainly thankful that he is patient with me.

Can I be little again?

Kids are so lucky...It's easy for them to have friends and hang out and watch a movie. They can share gogurts, play trains, or watch a sibling take a bath. There are no big decisions to make except maybe which movie to watch.
Cute Adyson lives in the next building. Her mom is pregnant and was having annoying back pain so we happily watched her so Lisa could go get a massage. These 2 were so cute and had a great time, after Joe's initial 30 minute warm up! Kids are so lucky to be kids, but parents luck out also to be able to watch these sweet little spirits and hear the cute things they come up with. Ady left her lipstick and Joe was so nervous about getting it back to her. He talked about it all evening and kept it in his pocket so he'd know right where it was when we had a minute to drop it by.

Visiting Teaching

K these are not the best pictures, but my visiting teaching companion found this blog and I really liked what the lady put together for the month of February. I put together these little paper purses (the lesson was on budgeting and finance). I gave our cute girls soap to start off the next month or next billing cycle clean and fresh if they needed to go over a budget with their hubbies.
I put a good quote inside
Here were the 5 main steps to help stay within your means. I loved the lesson and loved the cute handout. So if you need ideas maybe that blog can help!

Girls Night Out!

A couple weeks ago I went out of my comfort zone and wrote an email to anyone I'd talked to in my new ward to go see Dear John. I had an absolute blast! Stayed out late, laughed hysterically afterwards, and cried during the movie. Thanks Melinda, Jamie, Andrea, Wendy, Kendra-in-hiding, Valerie, Cheryl, Kelsey, and Nichole!
Then this week we switched up the night and had a few new people and met at Olive Garden for a yummy dinner. We had Chantelle, Rachel, Nichole, Kelsey, me, Libby, and Wendy. So much fun! I love girls nights and think they are essential for me to get a little breather every once in a while. Thanks ladies!

Valentine's weekend

After making the sugar cookies for Joe's preschool, I made red velvet, vanilla, and cherry chip cupcakes for Steve's work. The finance department is a bit smaller here than it is in San Francisco. There are pretty much 9 of them here :) with the randoms that would walk in to get some. Hope they were hungry!
Here is daddy with his little cupid girl and cute boy after work
We got a BIG smile from her for the camera
Saturday we went to Jed and Aubrey's to hang out and for Aubrey to do my hair. Tate wanted Lynden closer...
Gave her a little foot massage...
And we got them both looking at the same time! What cuties!
We chopped off lots of Joe's hair so we could start spiking and try something new. Thanks Aubrey! We love you!
Total stud muffin!
We got Valentine's jammies, well the kids did. I just happened to have some laying around! Here is our future heart throb and our little love bug. Holidays with kids are so much more fun!
Sunday for church we were ready in our hearts, red and pink! My friend asked me the week before to give a little speech about tender mercies and to watch for them in my life during the week. I made a little analogy on how tender mercies are like chocolate chip cookies. You can never stop with one. Once you notice these sweet blessings are flowing in, you would never say, ok I'm blessed enough I don't need anymore. Just like with your favorite treat, you don't just stop with one. :) I can never stop with one of Julie's chocolate chip cookies, nor can I say no to them so I made every lady in the ward 2 and wrapped them up with saran wrap and cute little ribbons. 140 cookies later at 1:30 in the morning, Steve was not too thrilled to be helping, but was a good sport. I loved sharing my experiences on Sunday because I was able to have a bunch of tender mercies that week and since I was paying attention to them, I saw the abundance of God's love in my life even more and was extremely grateful. Here is the talk The Tender Mercies of the Lord by Elder David A Bednar. It is one of my favorites!

Valentine's party!

Joe's Valentine's party was so cool! Here he is patiently waiting for directions from Miss Wendy. I ended up handing out all of his Valentine's with Lynden in my arm, camera in the other arm, treats and Valentine's going everywhere!
Poor kid, I told him to stay seated or he couldn't have the sugar cookies I made. At least he listens for sugar!
Here are the kids frosting their hearts
Joe was VERY excited and VERY focused as he frosted. He never gets the chance to frost for very long before I intervene so he was pretty happy to have his own plate.
Miss Wendy's daughter Jessica

Sprinkling with no interruptions
Pretty excited about the cookies, sprinkles and frosting
They delivered red balls to a basket, kind of like a relay game and Joe got halfway there and found the easy way to hurry quickly. He tossed it into the basket and just walked back to the line! He did this a few times. I don't know if he was thinking, I'm not playing this game, I throw balls, hit balls, and bounce balls.
The party lovin kids. Lynden had a fun time watching all these crazy kids jump around
Then she pooped out in my arms
For the last little bit Joe got to play with the play doh. I love preschool, probably as much as he does!

Joe's 1st field trip

I've always wondered if I could just walk into a fire station and say, "Excuse me, but my son LOVES fire trucks, could you show us around?" Luckily, I didn't have to look like an idiot because I'm sure every little kid goes through a fire station phase. Miss Wendy planned a field trip to a fire station and I don't know who was more excited, me or Joe. Afterwards, we went to the park and look who found the mock fire truck
Joe scored a sweet fireman hat, fireman ruler, fireman coloring book, and firetruck pencil
It takes him about 30 minutes to warm up, unfortunately, we didn't have 30 minutes to get comfortable. I know he is enjoying this, he's just acting like he's not
He's telling me to stop taking pictures of him
Sweet Lynden fell asleep in my arms and stayed asleep for most of the park time too
I forced Joe to stand on front of a firetruck for a picture so he'd actually look at the camera, but no smile
Thanks Jillian Michaels for teaching Joe and I how to punch!
Miss Wendy with her 4 year olds and 3 year olds. Both of her classes got to go, so fun!
Joe was VERY focused while squirting the hose, he even twisted the handle and the poor kid, Ian, got a cold surprise!
Jamie took the boys up and on the bridge to the ladder, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all! Thank goodness Parker didn't get left out!
Almost there and excited to be so high up all by himself
Joe with Fireman Matt! Such a fun day and an extremely nice fire station. All the firemen had their own room, dorm style and it was a pretty big station. Now I won't have to go beg for a private tour!

Joe's 3rd Birthday party

We got back from Utah and I was planning on doing Joe's birthday party the weekend we got back, but the weather was supposed to be pretty bad so I postponed it to the next weekend. Joe had a really bad cough when we got back anyways so it was probably better to put it off a little bit, but my invitations were already made so they looked great when they actually went out with all the info changed :) We were having it a park and last minute I changed the park, so I had to send out an email! Will I ever be prepared or on top of life again?! Here is Joe stuffing his own pinata! He was hilarious saying, "Mommy, can I have 1 for my mouth and 1 for my truck?" Lynden loved watching him!
Here are Joe's friends enjoying pizza
Ang giving me advice on getting my babies to sleep, she has pretty much perfect babies the second they are out of the womb
O weird, Joe is not with his friends, we had to ask Uncle Ben to go hang out with him and keep him company!
Hitting the pinata with a soft bat, it took a few rounds to break, luckily we had no tears because everyone got lots of turns
Waiting very patiently for the candy to come out
My parents, JK, and Ben came into town for the weekend. It was so nice of them and we loved having them here.
Uncle Ben and Lynden were good buddies
Here is my attempt at being a crafty mom. I made 2 9 x 13 cakes and broke and stacked and frosted and cursed and almost cried and ran to Wal Mart about 4 times after my initial trip hours before the baking started! My mom and I were up laughing so hard until after 1:00 am while frosting was dripping we were trying to catch and oh my goodness it was frustrating! I got a second wind at 9:00 am and tried to fix the cake...It didn't turn out like the picture in my head, but my mom and I decided that I could post a picture of it because at 1 am it was not blogworthy :)
No candles would light because of the wind so we pretended
Grandma read to Joe, played trains, planes, cars, balloons, and pretty much anything Joe wanted to play. We love her so much!
Lynden was pretty pooped after the party. It's exhausting being so dang cute!
Joe was ecstatic to open presents, pretty much the only part of the party he really participated in
Nap time for Uncle JK and Joe
Me and Ben just watching football and waiting for my dinner to be done
Joe's buddies: Kyle, Joe, Parker, Taylor, Kena, Kiera, Jackson
Mom and Dad with our 3 year old, I know I say this every birthday and will probably continue to say it, I can't believe we have a 3 year old!
Me and JK, I almost look tall in this picture. I must have been on my tippy toes
My cute friend, Jamie, that I absolutely adore. We never hang out because she hangs out with her mom and I lounge around all day, but when we do hang out I always get a good laugh. She's sweet and genuine and I'm feisty, but have really good intentions so it works out well.
Wish Scottsdale wasn't so far from Goodyear so I could live the good life by Jess and it would be a party all the time!
My friend, Ang, from San Francisco that we have tons of fun hanging out with...if we only didn't live a few mountains and freeways away! Let's go swim once it gets warmer, and maybe when I feel comfortable putting on a cover up!
The guys enjoyed a round of golf at the JW
While Ben entertained the kids while Jess and I shopped. I owe you for your help Ben! Lynden loves Uncle Ben's kisses, she gets them frequently
Can't wait until you come back! We love listening to your cd and Joe frequently asks to listen to Uncle JK and Uncle Ben's song while he dances in the back. Steve likes it too, so it was a win win for all of us, right? Love you guys and love that you made the trip out here and ate me out of house and home!