Lynden-Easter-6 months

Lynden bear...Joe would like her to be bear also...I have your 6 month measurements somewhere and I might update this once I find them, but you were in the 50th percentile for height, 40th for weight and 35th for head. I must say, I was pretty shocked. Under all the fluff, ruffles, and poof, you are one ball of chub. We love your sweet rolls and if someone else changes your diaper, they are shocked that those chunks can fit into skinny jeans. We could eat you up! You are such a big girl eating solid foods now and you love them! You haven't met a fruit or a veggie you don't like! That will probably change once you get the real texture of it! You are starting to sit all by yourself and scoot around lots. You do the seal crawl by pulling the rest of your body with your arms. Even though you are liking finding your independent side, you are content to watch Joe and be entertained by him. You nap like an absolute champ, but still like to see me during the nights, which is ok, because I like to see you too, especially because I can get in a nap during the day! I can't take you anywhere without getting stopped by everyone saying how cute you are and trying to get you to smile at them. Sometimes I feel like I have a little puppy that everyone needs to ohhh and ahhh at. I love it, but the grocery store has turned into a longer trip now! You have a high pitched little scream and I think you are trying out your voice. You definitely are the 2nd child. You go along with the flow and mold your routine to the days schedule for the most part. You have been an amazing blessing and have been an easy baby for me. You love seeing us when you wake up and adore the time you get with dad when he gets home from work. Bath time is probably one of your favorite things of the day. You don't get a long time in there because you scare me, but you love it and seem to have no fear! You are so sweet and we love having your blissful personality in our home!

Joe-Easter-3 year pics

Funny picture, he wants to climb a tree with bare feet, but not get his outfit dirty so he's barely hugging the tree and on his tip toes because the bark is hitting his feet. Lose lose situation buddy

Probably hoping there aren't any scary creatures in this long grass...or is ignoring me and Julie altogether

Joe bo bear...I haved loved watching your sweet personality come out in the past 3 years. You are such a perfect mix of me and your dad, it's crazy. My coloring, some of my looks, but most of your daddy is what people are saying. You have done so well in preschool these past few months and Miss Wendy says you are super behaved in class, but then once I get there to pick you up you like to push my buttons and tease me. You are a very sensitive boy. If Lynden gets hurt or is crying, you rush to the rescue. If Aunt Chelsea, is working at the hospital, you need to make sure she is not sick. You love me the most which is funny because you give me a run for my money all the time. You ask to cuddle and snuggle and cheeky and pokey and tiki and cheeky everyday during nap time. You made up most of these words, but I love it because it has been the same phrase for months now and you need it every nap you take. When you grow up you want to be a fireman/dump truck man/basketball player/helicopter pilot/bus driver/pilot/captain of a ship/pretty much anything where you can be in control of driving something large, with the exception of basketball. We are in the process of trying to get you to eat. It has been a slow, frustrating, yet rewarding experience. You have tried more in 3 weeks than you have in your whole life. We feel like mean parents, but you have actually liked more than you have disliked. You have my verbal stubborness and your dad's silent stubborness so it makes for quite the feisty little guy sometimes. You have my sense of being impatient and usually it's for my attention so it kicks me in the butt. You have such a good memory and sense of direction which makes for a fun car ride. You try to be a good friend and for the most part you do a great job sharing and taking turns. You adore family and are pretty devastated when we leave them or when they leave you. We love you tons sweet boy!

Pictures of the kids, thanks to Julie!

Here are my 2 favorite pictures of my kids and when Julie posted some on facebook, a few friends said how long did it take to get them both smiling and looking at the same place. To be honest, Julie took pictures for about 15 minutes and it didn't take that long to get these 2, but Joe decided to show his true self while Lynden mainly smiled, so I thought I'd share. Also keep in mind that I had 2 of my nieces, Grace and Cassidy along to keep them entertained. So everything Joe did, they thought was HILARIOUS and would laugh and then he would keep trying to entertain them.

Love this one!

Ok, he will start by picking his nose...

Then saying boogie...so gross, but I'm thinking it might be a boy/toddler thing? Don't comment if I'm completely off :)

Then he is thinking he is hilarious for making the girls laugh so hard

Making his shooting noises with his "fake shooting finger"

Uh oh, she is falling mom...this look is the "am I in trouble? I promise it's not my fault" look. I had put Lynden at a slant and she was just learning to sit so she toppled forward a couple of times.

Steve thinks this one looks like he is trying to smack her bum, but really he was holding onto her dress to help her stay up and he let go like a sling shot and she was falling forward :)

We are DONE mother! K really it went pretty well, I had just had to do my little narrating job. I love Julie so much and am so glad she was willing to take pictures of my kids in their Easter outfits. It was such a blast to be able to see her for a few days. We stayed up talking until way too late, laughed a ton, and ate lots of yummy treats. I'm just so glad she's my sister in law! I love hanging out with her!
I love my beautiful kids! I feel so lucky to have a boy and a girl. I honestly didn't know that I would love it this much. I love dressing them up and they are my best little buddies. My housework probably goes to the way side too much, but I love playing, reading, and cuddling with these babes. I feel that there is not enough time in the day to teach them everything I need to. The responsibility of parents today is pretty intense and I'm so lucky to have the knowledge of the gospel and to have Heavenly Father's guidance to just keep pushing us along.

Random trip home!

So, since my parents were coming home from Salt Lake Tuesday, I had them pick up a few extra passengers and I got to stay and hang out with our family in St George one more day. Also, one of my most favorite families in the world was driving in with them. Tim and Julie and their kids, minus Abby. It was a hard decision because I only had 4 days worth of clothes and didn't want Steve to drive back to Arizona by himself, but I don't get to see Julie often enough so I hopped on the bandwagon home! My kids were FABULOUS in the car! I think they are becoming pretty accustomed to driving since we do it lots. It was nice not having to drive and plus in a little over a week, my parents and brothers were coming to Arizona anyways because Ben and Chels were flying in! Got to watch some sweet basketball between Jimmy, Jack Jr, JK and Ben.

Hang out with some of my beautiful nieces

Make sure that the 2 Joe's had their late night snack of either quesadillas or popsicles or chicken nuggets

It's so funny that Joe will let my mom do whatever she wants. I love it that she wrapped him like an infant and put him to sleep and he stayed that way for his whole nap!

My cute friends Lora, baby Jayda, Brittany, and baby princess Webster coming in September :) came to visit me! Love these ladies!

Even though my brother Tim doesn't check my blog, this picture is for him. My parents have Ellie (our Sheltie) at our house and Joe likes her. My brother, Steve, came up from Irvine and brought fat Jake (Beagle) and then Tim brought his new, adorable English bulldog, Bubba, in from Utah. Joe was pretty nervous with these new dogs and was teased a little bit. He just needed to know I would protect him and this is him loving on Bubba the night before they left! Bummer, he didn't have more time with him!

Uncle JK is the best UNCLE. Notice I emphasize uncle because he would never catch a lizard if I asked him to for me, as my brother, but for Joe of course he would. He caught this lizard in Ellie's water bowl (she was only waterless for about 3 minutes :) and let Joe do a little exploring.

Here is Joe probably silently praying that the lizard isn't strong enough to slip out and get him!

Ok, we had our fun! JK lifted the tupperware to let little Lizzy out and AHHH it ran up straight onto him! It was probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I thought JK would have just brushed it off or lifted it off, but no he did this...

Started freaking out when it started running on his leg and luckily slipped off a few seconds later. He was screaming and throwing his arms around. O my goodness, it was hilarious! Here I am telling Joe that lizards are tiny and smaller than us. We don't need to worry, they can't get us and then I have JK screaming like a mimi. You would have thought the lizard was eating his leg. Such a good uncle!

We stopped by Amber's cute house to see her kids and for us to meet each other's baby girls. Joe was not very happy to leave Trey's awesome toys and let it show for the picture! Thanks for having us Amber!

A huge reason I went home was to see Uncle Ben's tennis tournaments. He tried out on a whim, made it, and has been awesome! Lynden would rather be with Uncle JK than me!

And Joe would rather be with grandma Sue than me so I got to watch a lot of Ben's games! Awesome for me!

Grandma loving on Lynden!

I'm pretty sure Ben told me to shut up numerous times during his games and to stop cheering for him, but I couldn't help it. I was excited for him to be doing so well having not played the actual game of tennis before.

Uncle JK took Joe to a nearby park

Another game, and I pawned my kids off again :)

Joe always needs his drink of choice at Grandma and Grandpa's, either Propel or a swig of Diet Coke if he can convince my dad

Go Ben, go Ben, go go go Ben! Watching Ben was great because he is pretty feisty. He threw his racquet probably once a game and he has a temper. I think tennis is more fun that way. Plus, my parents play with their friends and so they can get pretty involved. My dad, quietly, and my mom not so quiet. I'm glad I didn't play :)

Such a fun trip! Soon to come...the family going to Arizona!

Some fun at Grandma and Papa's

I know it looks like Joe wore the same outfit every day we were there, but he actually didn't! Only when he went outside, which was pretty much the whole trip! There's no dirt at our place to play with, and even if there was, I'd probably let Joe play with it rarely. I know I'm a mean mom, but I'm not a huge fan of dirt.

Joe, daddy, and Grandma Bev went on a hike. This was the one picture I got when they came back. Good job buddy!

Porter loving on Lynden, little cuties

Grandma, Papa, and Lynden trying to get everyone's attention

Joe, keeping his distance and wanting to be in the dirt, Lynden, Papa, and Grandma

Joe with his popcorn eyes

Lynden needing a nap

Joe only smiling if he could have a tool

Then saying it was too bright, I'm glad I had a productive picture taking time :)

Playing...

Sitting

Wanting to help Papa with...anything

Loving Papa's tractor and probably wishing they could go to the farm soon to ride the huge tractors

Porter chasing Joe

Still chasing him

Porter tackling Joe

Joe tackling Porter. They are such sweet buddies! I love them and could cuddle them and kiss them all day!

And I am crazy about this one! We had such a fun trip to St George!
*Hopefully I will post more soon since I'm over 2 months behind! Our computer doesn't work so I use Steve's work one sometimes at night, hence the delay!