January 2013 and our trip to Utah

January was not a good month at our house. We were pretty much sick the entire month.  I ended up getting H1N1, which I didn't even know was still going around, and stayed in bed for 8 days straight. I have never been this sick and hope to never experience anything like it again. Christian took off an entire week of work and took great care of the kids and I. Unfortunately, I passed it on to Benson. We caught it very quickly and he was treated the first day. His fever and body ache only lasted about a day and a half, but still had to stay away from the public for 5 more days. Longest 2 weeks for my family!  We were worried about the flu being passed to Addy so we had her treated as well. She never caught the virus! 

 I started doing project life this year and these black and white pictures are some from my cover page from the album. The pictures are all from the first weekend in January.

On the 24th I finally had my 12 week app and the Dr. cleared both the baby and I. We were both healthy and doing well! I was so worried about the baby the whole time I was sick. This was such a relief! Christian and I decided to tell the kids that night about the baby. Addy was excited and Benson didn't quite understand. I showed Addy and Benson the ultrasound pictures and here is the conversation we had.....

Me- "do you know what this is a picture of?'

Addy- "no"

Me- "look at it again"

Addy- complete blank stare

Me- " here is the back, head, feet, arms, ect....."

Addy- "a dinosaur?"

I started to laugh! Seriously so innocent and cute.

Chris- "it's right here in mommies belly"  

Addy- "you have a dinosaur in your belly?"

Haha! How cute is that? I explained to them that I was going to be having a baby. Addy said she understood but wasn't super excited like I hoped. Benson couldn't stay in the room long enough to have a conversation. He was running around like a crazy boy. When I told him he just kept say "no it isn't" and ran away laughing.

That night I went up to bed and Addy was still awake laying in her bed. She said she was having a hard time sleeping because she kept thinking about the baby. ( she really was excited!) She came and got in bed with me. I was laying there with my eyes closed and our foreheads touching. Addy wrapped her arm around me and said " I just hope you have a really good time having your baby. I hope it's really good for you." It made me tear up! She was trying to process all that info, congratulate me, and be the sweetest little thing all at once. Love this girl!

Two day later we caught our flight to Utah. We hadn't been home since last summer and we had news to tell everyone which made the trip a little more exciting. Our first day there Addy and Benson got to meet my sister's new dog. If you know my kids this is a huge deal. Addy had some serious anxiety the whole way home from the airport. She knew the dog was all ready at my parents house. We pulled in the driveway and Addy had Allyson hold the dog so she could walk in the house. Addy immediately ran to my mom's couch and sat on the arm rest. Betsy was running around playing. Addy was shivering, broke out in hives, her little teeth were chattering, but she was so happy to see that dog. After about an hour and a half I talked her into getting off the couch. Within minutes Addy was letting Betsy jump all over her and they were playing. Such an accomplishment! Benson was nervous for about 5 seconds. I think he fed more off of Addy's fear than anything. He was rolling around on the ground wanting Betsy to lick his ears. 

All Addy could think or talk about was Betsy for the entire trip. That girl loves this dog and overcame a fear. I am not going to lie and say I didn't want to pull my hair out! Love my daughter, but there is only so may hours in the day we can talk about a dog.

The following week my family had a surprise 60th birthday party for my dad. It turned out great and my mom did such a good job organizing it and keeping everything a secret. There was a great turn out and my dad was excited to see a lot of his friends. 

We celebrated Benson's birthday a little early so he could spend it with all of his cousins. He picked a trampoline/ bounce place. The kids all had such a great time! It is so fun to see all of our kids together. Benson really latched on to Hayden this trip. He wanted to be everywhere he was and thought Hayden was super cool.

We went with my family bowling the night before we left. The kids had so much fun! Addy loves to bowl and did a really good job. She was doing the cutest cheers for everyone. Benson had fun for about his first 3-4 turns. It took way too long and he wanted to go play video games instead.

Saying goodbye is always the hardest part. We went over and said bye to some of Christian's family and met my parents and sister's in Sugar House for breakfast. 

One of my most favorite pictures of my kids with nanny Jamie. I caught one of the only real smiles from Benson from the entire trip. I torture that poor boy with all the pictures I like to take.

We had a really great trip and loved spending all the time with our families.

November 2012

 Benson started tumbling at the community center. On Monday's we drop Addy off at school and then meet Cailyn and Chelsea for our class. Benson runs circles around most of the kids in there. He has so much fun trying the different courses that coach Brittany sets up each week. His favorite is the huge blow up jumping area and doing flips on the bar. I look forward to our time together each week.

The second week of November I went home for a weekend by myself. It was awesome! I haven't been  alone on an airplane since before I was married. I read almost an entire book on my flight there and took a nap.  I had so much fun with my family. I of course shopped a lot, ate at all my favorite places, made some crafts, stayed up way too late every single night, and met and held my twin little nephews for the first time. I went to a wedding at the Bountiful temple and afterwards my family took me out to dinner to celebrate my birthday early. My family surprised me with a Michael Kors watch for my gift. I love it so much! I definitely need a trip alone once a year!

The next week I got together with some friends to see the late showing of Breaking Dawn Part 2. We had a lot of fun sitting around waiting for the movie to start. That weekend four of our friends rode the train into the city to celebrate Liz turning 30. We had such a fun night! Dinner was delicious and I think Sunda is my new favorite sushi restaurant. We walked to sprinkles to get cupcakes and then walked Michigan Ave and checked out the lighting of the city. It was such a beautiful night and I enjoyed the fabulous company.

Thanksgiving this year was spent with friends from our ward. The food was so delicious and we really enjoyed our time at the Callister's home. We are so grateful for all of our amazing friends here!

Addy's 5th Birthday

Addy turned 5 in October! It seriously is crazy how fast she is growing up. She is such a fun little girl to have around. These pictures were on the day after her birthday right before school.  She had snack for pre-school that day and we made a fun little birthday treat for her class. She was so excited to take these treat pouches to all her friends.

Some things to remember about Addy at 5.....

- She weighs 38 lbs and is 43 in tall

- She is wearing 5T in clothes and 8 1/2 in shoes

-She just got her bangs cut short after having them grown out for 2 yrs.

- She loves jewelry and all things girly

- Her favorite restaurant is Olive garden where she always orders Zuppa Toscana

- She loves school

-She is very good at writing all her letters and tries to write words

-She loves arts and crafts

-She is a very sweet friend

-She loves to play dolls and role play

-She enjoys playing in her sports class, t-ball being her favorite

- She loves primary and singing time 

- She is still loving her singing group and has become a great singer

-  She is obsessed with dogs and also is very fearful of them

- Her favorite places to go are the pet store with her dad and downtown Naperville with the family

- She is such a great help to me and is good about doing chores

- Her best little friend is her brother

We celebrated Addy's birthday this year with my parent and my sister Allyson. We love when we have visitors for Holidays! Benson slept through half her party so she got plenty of extra special attention. Here are some pictures of the birthday girl, party decor, and her guests.

Benson woke up in time for presents and cupcakes. After we sang to Addy and she blew out her candle, Benson wanted a turn. He loves to blow out the "fire".

I was really excited for Addy to open her presents. Christian and I surprised her with her first "big girl" bike. I took her randomly to a local bike shop to see how she would do on the bigger bikes. She rode all over the store and was so proud of herself. She liked the black bike in the store best. I was kinda surprised but was excited for that choice. It will be perfect to pass down to Benson. Addy had no idea we were going to get the bike for her so it was really fun to see her reaction.

 Allyson made Addy a quilt for her gift. Quilted in the top is a sweet message for Addy. It is her very favorite quilt to snuggle with. Since she has had it, she sleeps with it every night. She calls the quilt her "special blanket". We love it! Both of our families gave Addy very nice gifts. We are so lucky to have so many people that love her! 

April 2012

Christian turned 35 in April. We celebrated by going out for Japanese... surprise, surprise! It was a fun night celebrating the main man in our life.

The following weekend Christian's parents came for a visit. We were so happy to have them here to celebrate Easter with us. We took the kids to Cosley Zoo to see the animals. Both kids were very afraid! I am not sure why, but it was kinda funny. Addy was the most scared of this llama. He looked harmless but had the most disgusting teeth.

 EASTER

We had a nice Easter morning. The kids came down to their baskets before we headed to church. They both received new blankets in hopes to help Benson with his bedtime routine. He started climbing out of his crib the week before so Christian and Dave converted his bed. We just needed a way to keep him in his bed. He can roam free in his room but I still want him to stay in bed. The blanket definitely helped because he is completely obsessed with Cars 2! Now if I could only keep him from escaping his room.

Jamie and I made a yummy Easter/ Birthday dinner complete with homemade Lion House rolls. Addy  made cinnamon rolls with grandma for the first time. She did a great job and loved eating them after! Licking the frosting off was probably her favorite part.

The kids hunted for eggs in the backyard. Benson of course loved throwing them with grandpa. It was the only way we could get that boy to smile. 

The rest of our time with grandma and grandpa was spent shopping, playing, and of course cooking! We all loved their visit and can't wait for them to come again.

Here are my cute kids in there Easter outfits. It was quite the adventure to get any pictures of Benson. Luckily, Chelsea and Cailyn were there to help us out. After we tortured our kids with pictures, they played at the park and in the water in Chelsea's backyard. 

Benson's 2nd Birthday..... Feb 2012

My baby turned two! It was a really fun day spent with my little family and my mom and sisters. Benson woke up that morning and saw his balloons and the banner I made for him and was very excited. He called it his "happy happy". 

Benson's birthday dinner consisted of fajitas, fresh homemade salsa and guacamole, cilantro rice, and of course cupcakes and ice cream. Benson only ate "dip dip" and rice for dinner, but was very happy about it.

              

Benson wasn't as interested in opening his presents as I had hoped. He loves getting the gifts but doesn't want to sit and open them all. He just wants to play with every toy right then. With a little help from mom and dad we got through it. We are so grateful for all the presents our families gave to him. 

 After all the presents were opened, I had Christian bring up his last present from the basement. The look on his face when he saw the truck was priceless! Benson had been asking for this "Costco truck" for over a month. Every time we would go to Costco we would go and look at it. He would beg the whole shopping trip for the truck. I would always tell him " we have to ask daddy." To every worker he saw he would say " pease daddy Costco truck?" They had no idea what he was talking about. 

Benson ran right over and got inside the truck to drive. He was such a happy boy! Addy of course was just as excited about this present! They took turns driving and who got to sit in back. It will be so fun when they can play outside in it together this summer.

Here our some pictures of all the party guests!

Benson was very excited to blow out the candle on his "happy happy cake!"  He kept asking Christian to re-light the candle over and over again. We let him a few more times and then Addy had a turn as well! 

I really enjoyed celebrating my little guy! He adds so much to our family. He is one wild and crazy boy and definitely keeps me busy. I have loved watching my kids become best friends. Benson adores Addy so much and wants to do everything she does. He has learned so much in a few short months. He went from saying only around 5 words at 18 months to pretty much saying everything at 2 yrs old. Sometime I can't make out every word he says, but he tries! He has even started putting together 2 words. We switched him around forward facing in the car and it is a whole new world for this boy. He can see everything now! Which is a problem when I am sneaking treats and he can see me.

Here are a few more things about Benson at 2 years old......

- he loves Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh

- he is still a sugar fanatic and begs for it all day long

- he chipped his front tooth jumping off the couch

- he had a black eye for his party from falling in the tub

- he is a very happy boy and is rarely aggressive 

- he is still very curious and gets into everything

- he loves any ball, especially golf balls

- he loves to build towers with his blocks and then crash them down

- daddy is still his favorite

- his bedtime is 8:00 pm and wakes up around 7:30-8:00 am

- he is napping once a day for 2-3 hours and loves his sleep

- he loves to watch any of the Baby Einsteins with animals

- he loves any book with animals

- horses are his favorite right now

- he knows all the animals on a farm and their sounds and some from the zoo

- he no longer will sit in a highchair/ booster, he wants a "big boy" chair

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENSON!!!

December 2011

At the beginning of December we went to our ward Christmas party. They had a yummy breakfast and the primary sang a few songs. When it was time to go up, Addy and Madelyn walked up holding hands. They were being so brave together. The girls were so cute and held hands threw the whole program. 

Grandpa Dave drove back from Utah with Christian and stayed for a night with us. My kids loved seeing him. He helped us get a few projects done and even made time to build some shelves with me. The guys pulled out the Christmas tree and the kids went to town "decorating" it with their toys. It took me awhile to take down all the toys that ended up on the tree that weekend!

Addy's preschool had a Christmas sing-a -long with all the morning classes. She did a great job singing.

Addy really loved decorating the Christmas tree again this year. She remembered all the ornaments she picked out from last year. I did really good and let her decorate it how she wanted. I only had to help in a couple ares where the ornaments got a little too clustered. Benson wasn't too interested in helping. He did however enjoy throwing all the "ball" ornaments at the tree. Not many of my ornaments survived this year, but they sure entertained Benson all month long!

I turned 28 in December but unfortunately had to pass on celebrating because my family was hit with the flu. It was BAD! Poor Benson had it the worst. My girl friends had a fun party for me that I had to miss and we had to cancel on what was going to be our very first babysitter ever. I seriously was looking forward to a fun night out with Christian. It was an awful week and a half! So we will scratch this birthday and hope next year is better!

We had our first visitors for Christmas this year! My parents flew here on Christmas Eve. We picked them up and went for an early dinner at Shinto. We all ordered the Hibachi grill and some yummy appetizers and sushi to share. We spent the rest of our evening at home playing games and watching movies. Addy couldn't get in enough card games the whole weekend! She has become quiet the card shark.

The kids opened their jammies and a book before bed. It was fun to see how excited Benson was this year. They both loved their new jammies and looked adorable in them.

Christmas morning was really exciting for us! I loved having my parents here to share all the fun and excitement with my kids. I am not sure if Benson knew what to expect coming down stairs, but as soon as he saw his basketball hoop he took off running! Addy was so happy Santa brought her the hair chair she had been wanting. She couldn't wait to give her dollies their first "hair do" in the chair.

Opening presents always makes me laugh. My kids want to play with whatever they open right then. We had to keep convincing Benny to open more presents. A few treats were given to him to finish the task.

I surprised Christian this year with an Ipad. My mom and I thought we were being so funny by pretending the huge box I was carrying up the stairs to wrap for him was so heavy! We were laughing the whole night and being silly. I filled the box with towels and a few other things with his wrapped gift in the bottom. He seriously thought I was so lame! He wasn't expecting an Ipad but he knew it wasn't something heavy. I loved surprising him! He definitely deserved an extra special present this year.

We enjoyed every minute my parents were here. We had a lot of down time spent at home with them. We all needed the slow paced weekend. My mom and I made lots of yummy food and even got in a little sewing. Of course we went shopping too! Christmas went by super fast, but we sure enjoyed our company this year!