July 2011

We moved into our new place in July. Addy is still trying to adjust to having her own bedroom and being on a different level through out the day than I am. She doesn't like to go upstairs alone and came into our bedroom just about ever night in July to sleep with us. She is slowly liking this place more and more. It kinda breaks my heart when she says she misses her old house and that she wants it back. Benson has done really well here. He mastered going up and down the stairs the first day and can sleep so much better now that bedtime is not playtime with Addy anymore.

Addy chose out a new pair of scissors to practice cutting paper for school and a pair of goggles for swimming. Funny that they go hand in hand with her art project! She makes me laugh! Benson is a busy handful and loves to get into everything! I have a hard time keeping him off the dishwasher while I am doing dishes. He is my little helper!

We had a great 4th of July spent with our friends! Delicious BBQ and great company. The kids had a blast playing together and blowing bubbles. Afterwards we went to Naperville fireworks. My kids were so good and sat in awe the entire time. Benson was so excited every time a firework would go off. He would point them out to his daddy.

At the end of July, I went with my ward to girls camp as the asst. craft director. The camp was in Wisconsin on Lake Geneva at a Methodist Bible Camp. Our theme this year was " The Holy Land". We had such a great time and I had a blast getting to know the girls better.

Trishia and I were in charge of all crafts for 170 girls and decorating the craft cabin. We made big tutorials that we hung on the walls that had step by step directions and pictures of each craft. We decorated with real pictures of Jerusalem, paper lanterns, and I made six pillows for the couches. We weren't able to do much decorating, but it was all we had time for in the end.

The crafts we had for the girls were: jersey knit bracelets, necklaces, beaded scripture bookmarks, fabric rosette rings, spray painted t-shirts, friendship bracelets, and chocolate dipping.

Girls camp was a lot of work to prepare for, but so worth it!

Addy gave here very first talk in primary on Temples. It was such a sweet talk. She was so excited that she had just been to the Hawaii temple. We asked her why she liked it so much there and she said " because it has beautiful flowers and fun bumpity bumps". Haha! Christian cruised her around on the speed bumps in the parking lot and it really made a lasting impression I guess. She has been announcing to anyone that will listen that she will be marrying her friend Jackson in the Hawaii temple. I better start saving now! Addy loves primary so much! She has a hard time waiting through the week to go again. She really enjoys singing time and learning in class. I can't believe she is growing up so fast!

I am Back!.....June 2011

Now that summer is long gone and fall is on it's way out the door, I thought I would catch my blog up to date. I have wanted to for awhile but all those months of not posting have been hanging over my head! I could just start from today but I have a hard time leaving out our summer and any pictures of my kids. :)

So here is a re-cap of the month of June.......

Shanda came to visit me! It was so fun having her here. We filled our weekend with lots of shopping, swimming with the kids, White Sox game, boat tour of Chicago, sushi, deep dish pizza, staying up way too late, and treats from Rocky Mountain Chocolate. It went by too fast but we sure had fun!

We celebrated Father's Day with a yummy Japanese dinner and a trip to the park. Unfortunately the only picture I took of Christian and the kids all together is the one on the slide. My kids were at their most favorite place to be with their dad.... the park!

Benson started taking his first steps on 6/15/11. My kids and I were at Humanitarian that morning and he just stood up and took about 6 steps. The pictures below are from one evening the next week playing with a baseball. Christian would throw the ball and he would walk to it. I love how he toddled! Now he runs everywhere he goes.

We moved out of our townhouse the last week of June. I have really mixed emotions about it! I never really loved that house but I must say that I really miss it. Our life in Chicago started in that house and it's the only place Addy remembers. It's where we brought Benson home to and spent the last 3 years of our lives. There aren't a ton of things I loved about living there, but I have all the memories we made together as a family. I did love how open it was, the wood floors, all one level, and my appliances. That's about it! The rooms were kinda awkward in the main area, I hated the huge flight of stairs, and I really hated the yellow paint in the kitchen. There were 3 shades of yellow on the walls when we moved in. All the tan paint covered the worst shade. I planned on painting the kitchen but never got around to it. We moved for more space, a third bedroom, and a place for me to do hair. I just don't feel at home in our new place yet. It's hard to be so picky when it's just a rental and it's temporary. I am being picky though! I am worried we made a mistake moving... time will tell I guess. I have a huge list of projects that will make it feel more like me, hopefully.

Here are pictures of the house a day or two before we moved out. Remember.... my house never was this empty or clean! ( Thanks to two kids and all my hobbies!) I had pretty much everything packed up and the landlord asked if I would take pictures for the realtor. I am so glad I did! It isn't much, but it was my house and I will always remember living there!

P.S. That is not my window scarf! :)

Benson at 15 months

- Weighs 23lbs 2oz 30%

-Height 32.2 in 76%

-he got his 7Th tooth

-he stands up without holding onto anything

-he took his first steps June 15

-he goes upstairs by himself

-watermelon and grapes are his favorite fruits

-he learned to say "dog"

-he loves to go on walks in the double stroller

-he loves the park

-he climbs up slides almost the whole way by himself

-he only napping 1 time a day (but he really needs 2)

-he points and then signs "please" or "more" for what he wants

-he can point to his eyes, nose, mouth, ears, head, fingers, and toes when asked

-he loves his hair done

-he puts lotion, food, and any liquid in his hair and tries to "style" it

-he is really aggressive but also super sweet

--he and Addy cause a lot of trouble at bedtime

-likes to feed himself with a fork

-he is still a really good eater

-found out the fun in unrolling the toilet paper and playing in the toilet

This month Benson has had some of the biggest changes in a while. It is amazing how fast they learn and develop. He has been standing for a long time, but recently figured out how to walk. He just randomly stood up at the church one day and started walking. He takes about 5-6 steps at a time before he falls. He doesn't walk much at home because he slips and falls on my wood floors. The poor kids legs are callused and bruised at all times.

Benson is the sweetest boy when he is all by himself. He tends to be more aggressive when Addy is around. He has to defend himself and protect the toys he is playing with. I guess he is so use to toys and other things getting snatched out of his hands. Benson's hands start swatting the second Addy is in his personal space. She has done really well with not taking toys from him lately, but he is still always on the defense. I really love watching the two of them play together. They are really silly and get in to trouble a lot. Addy will do whatever she can to make Benson laugh. Even if she knows she isn't suppose to play in the bathrooms or jump on the beds. It makes me laugh how much Benson always wants Addy's sippy cup. That is something they fight over everyday. He sneaks it and drinks the whole thing if Addy sets it down with in his reach.

Benson is communicating so much better. The screaming has been cut in half now that he can sign "please" and "more" for the things that he wants. He will point to something and rub his little belly over and over. It is so cute to see. He is starting to throw little tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants. When he gets mad he sometimes hits and pinches. So he has been getting put in timeout several times a day.

We really enjoy Benson so much! He is so active and busy. He is so cute and I still can't get enough kisses on his chubby cheeks. I love watching him grow and learn alongside of Addy. They really are best buddies!

The Rest of May 2011

Mother's Day

My family had a get together the night before Mother's Day. My sister was so sweet and helped Addy with a gift and the cutest homemade card ever! It was a really great day spent with my family. It's really hard to be away from them! I really love these pictures of my mom with my kids. Love you mom!

We flew back home to Chicago on Sunday evening. Christian surprised me with a spotless house and a delicious dinner! He gave me a cute cardigan and some jewelry that he picked out all by himself. I am so lucky to have such a thoughtful and caring husband. It was so nice to be home with him again. We sure missed him!

Mother's Day dinner in Chicago

Two weeks after we got home from our vacation to Utah and Hawaii, Addy had another dance recital. Unfortunately she missed 4 weeks of dance practice so she hadn't learned the dance. I had her go anyways. The dance was really cute! She would have loved doing it more if she knew what was going on. She again was really concerned about staying on her letter!

Watch the dance video here

Addy came home from dance and wanted her ears pierced. I thought it was crazy since every time we talk about earrings she would get all stressed out. I had told her when she was ready for earrings and could take care of them, we would get hers pierced. I thought she would be 10 before that happened. Addy would always ask my why every person she saw had earrings in. She was obsessed! She made it clear each time that she did NOT want earrings. I told Chris about our conversation, and he wanted to take her that night to get them pierced. I said "NO!" We talked to Addy all week long about what was going to happen when she pierced her ears. Addy still wanted them done!

On Saturday, May 27 we took Addy to get her ears pierced. She was so excited! She chose out silver sparkle earrings that matched her nail polish. (rhinestone flowers) I couldn't have chose better myself! She started to shiver and shake and her face was pale. I thought it was because she was scared mixed with a little bit of anxiety. Two people pierced her ears at the same time. I held both her hands, and when the earrings where in she was immediately in tears. She cried until the lady handed her a mirror. Addy said, " I look so BEAUTIFUL!" She was so happy! She was nervous for me to even touch her hair, for fear I would hurt her ears.

We went to lunch after and Addy was acting really weird. She wouldn't eat and didn't really talk much. She fell asleep in the car on the ride home. We had a few other places to stop, so Chris kept her in the car with him so she could sleep. At our last stop she had woken up delirious. She kept saying weird things and she was slurring her words. I pushed her in the stroller so she could rest. She said her tummy was hurting, so I got her some sprite to sip on while I finished up. Out of no where, Addy sits straight up and starts puking everywhere. It was so awful! She filled the stroller, my hands, and everything around us. The poor girl was so sick! That night she had a high fever and woke us up at 3:00 a.m. Her body was so hot she looked like she had a sunburn everywhere. Luckily by Sunday afternoon she was feeling much better.



Memorial Day


We spent Memorial Day in downtown Naperville. We had lunch, walked the river walk, played at the park, and threw money in the fountains. The weather was amazing! Addy requested her hair in pigtails so everyone could see her new earrings.

Hawaii 2011

Christian and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary this year. What way to better celebrate than a trip to Hawaii! I wasn't too excited in the beginning of bringing our kids with us, but it turned out to be a great vacation! Christian's parents came with us to spend some time with our family. I couldn't have done the trip without them! They even kept our kids over night so we could go out and spend some time together. Family vacation + alone time = a perfect trip!

I didn't take any pics of the first day there. We flew in, went to the base on Pearl Harbor, ate dinner, shopped for groceries, and went to bed. The next morning we went to our Hotel on Waikiki and headed for the beach. This was my kids very first time on a beach. They both loved it! We played there for a few hours until we were surrounded by jellyfish. Unfortunately, Christian's mom Jamie, was stung by one on the back of her thigh. The life guard posted signs up about the jellyfish after we had been swimming for awhile. Jellyfish are all over the shoreline for two days after a full moon. We caught a couple in a bucket to look at. I was a little too nervous to let Addy and Benson swim any longer, so we headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up.

Benson loved crawling around in the water! He kept drinking the water even though he hated it. He would dry heave every single time! Benson also had his first couple mouth fulls of sand. it made him throw up immediately, but for some reason he kept putting it in his mouth.

Addy loved building a sandcastle with nanny Jamie.

That evening, we went to dinner and walked around Waikiki and looked at the shops. We ended the night with ice cream and smoothies.

On the third day, we went to the Dole Pineapple factory for some delicious ice cream. My kids were asleep in the car, so nanny Jamie stayed back with them while we went in for ice cream. Such a great grandma!

We drove to Waimea Bay to play on the beach. It was so cool to watch the locals surf the enormous waves. The beach goes up to a small hill and the waves were washing all the way to the top. The kids loved the waves crashing up on them. Even though we were all standing where the last of the waves reached, they could still pull my kids down the beach. Addy's new watering can was swept out in a big wave.

After we finished playing at the beach, nanny and papa took the kids back with them for the night. Christian and I went out for the evening and spent the night without the kids. It was so nice!

We went to one of Christians favorite restaurants, Duke's. We went there our first trip to Hawaii our first year of marriage. So it was kinda fun to go back there and remember our trip 5 years earlier. Our dinner was so delicious! I had baked mahi mahi and Christian had teriyaki steak. We walked on the beach all the way back to our hotel. It was a very relaxing evening!

The fourth day, we went to the Hawaii temple. It was so nice to be able to go with Christian! While we were inside, Dave and Jamie took the kids to BYU and ate lunch and walked around. When we were done, we took the kids with us to get more to eat at a little Japanese place and a delicious shaved ice. (I don't remember the name of it but it was super big and tasty!)

After lunch we drove to Poipu Bay to play in the ocean. We found a cool little spot in a cove where you could snorkel. It was beautiful! There were fish swimming all around us. My kids really enjoyed playing here. Addy met some friends that she had fun playing with.

On the fifth day we headed home. We really wanted one more day at the beach, but the flights were full the next couple of days so we didn't stay. The flight home was nice! Benson did so much better coming home because we stopped in L.A.

I really enjoyed my vacation in Hawaii with my family and Christian's parents. We could not have done it without them! My kids got to spend so much time with their daddy and grandparents.

Benson at 14 Months

-He is standing and walking around furniture

-points to everything and says "dat"

-loves walks in the stroller with his dad

-he lifts up his shirt to show his belly

-waits by the gate when daddy comes home at night

-still wont wear shoes

-he is very wild at church

-loves to brush his own teeth

-crawls at turbo speed

Easter 2011

We had a great Easter this year! Christian and I gave the kids their baskets a week early because we were leaving for vacation. The kids both enjoyed their baskets and the Easter egg hunt around our house. I gave the kids each a new outfit for spring. Addy held up her dress and wanted to put it on right away. Once it was on, she didn't really like it. She said to me " how about we give this to another big girl instead." It really made me laugh! I love her honesty.

Benson really enjoyed throwing the eggs around. I got some that were shaped like different sports balls, which he really liked. Once he figured out there was candy in the eggs he was so happy! He would open the egg, eat the treat, throw the egg, and then crawl to the next one.

The day before Easter, we got together with Christian's family to celebrate Jenson's 1st birthday. We met at the park for lunch and cake and ice cream. It was a really cold windy day, but that didn't stop the kids from running around, playing, and hunting for eggs.

I got a picture of all the grandkids but Holden. He was too quick for me! My kids are so lucky to have such amazing cousins to play with. After the park, we went to Christian's parents house to
extend the party indoors. Nanny Jamie and Papa Dave gave all the kids their Easter surprises.




Addy got to color her first Easter eggs this year with Nanny Jamie. I forgot our coloring kits so grandma let us use hers. Addy loved watching the eggs change different colors. She didn't want to take the eggs out until she was done stirring them. She decorated the eggs with a few stickers and put them in a bowl for everyone to see.



Easter morning we went to church and then to my parents house for brunch. My mom made lots of yummy food! My family gave my kids their Easter gifts and we had another egg hunt. This time it was just Addy collecting all the eggs. She got some money in her eggs to buy her a sand castle set for Hawaii. She was so excited!

Addy really loved her new dress up stuff and wore it all afternoon. She really loved the hat! My kids both really loved the new books which were perfect for our airplane ride. Thanks to both of our families for the fun weekend and for the gifts. We were so lucky to be able to be with our families on Easter!