February & March 2013

We had a long and cold February and March in Chicago. A lot of rain and windy cold days. We stayed inside most of the time.

Addy wanted to make her preschool class treat bags for Valentine's day. She die cut and stamped her own valentines this year. We had so much fun making them together.

Chris made the kids and I green pancakes for breakfast on St. Patrick's day. We decided last minute to spend the day in Chicago and take the kids to see the Chicago river. It was barely 30 degrees and we were freezing out walking around, but we really enjoyed the day! The kids were excited to see all the people dressed in green and wearing crazy things from the parade. Addy got a green shamrock hat necklace that she wore proudly. The kids picked a stuffed animal from the Disney store and Benson went to the Nike store on Michigan Ave for the first time. That boy was in heaven! So many "swoosh" things to look at. He really wanted some basketball shoes right then, but I talked him into getting a dri-fit shirt instead. He wore that shirt for three days straight and I had a hard time getting it away from him to wash it. It is his favorite!

We finally had some sunny days at the end of March just in time for Easter. The kids went to an Easter egg hunt on Saturday and colored eggs that night. Easter morning we surprised the kids with a new wagon and some treats in their baskets.

Benson's 3rd Birthday

My crazy boy turned 3 in February! On his birthday was the last day of tumbling. Daddy took the day off so he could go see him tumble and then have lunch afterwards. Benson chose Chili's for his birthday lunch. He and his dad ordered ribs and they had matching messy faces afterwards.

Benson was so excited this year for presents. He is very into sports and loved the sports clothes, soccer net and ball, and his bike. He is a little too small for his bike still but I hope he will be able to ride it by summer.

Benson loved his banner and balloons! Every time he walked into the kitchen he would say "Look it's my party!" We had cupcakes and ice cream after dinner and then headed for the kids first 3D movie. We met Lexi and Walker at the theater and watched "Escape from Planet Earth." It was a little scary at first for both Addy and Benson, but they warmed up really quickly to the 3D glasses.  Benson had a great birthday!

Here are some things about Benson at 3.......

-He is wearing 4T clothes

-He weighs 34 lbs  50%

-He is 3ft 4 in  93%

-He is just barely in a size 9 shoe

-He loves sports

-He has a hard time sitting still and bounces all over the place

-He has only one speed...running

-His favorite movies are all 3 Toy Stories

-He still takes one 2-3 hour nap everyday

-He doesn't like to go to bed at night because of his nap

-His best friend is Cailyn

-He really struggles going to nursery and doesn't like us to leave him

-He has a clothing and shoe obsession

-He is very particular in what he wears

-He loves Addy and misses her when she is at school.  He runs to her in her classroom when we pick her up

- He is a daddy's boy and loves to be rough and wild but is so sweet and mostly soft with me

-He wants to be a skateboarder and do tricks

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.

December 2012

We decorated our tree the first weekend in December. I wasn't really looking forward to all the mess this year and had a hard time getting into the decorating. Addy absolutely loved it! I let her be in charge of the tree and she did such a great job. She would show her daddy where she wanted the ornaments that were up high and he would lift her up. Benson liked putting on a few ornaments this year. Of course he still threw the "balls" at the tree and couldn't figure out why they wouldn't stay put. He lost interest after about 10 min and we left the rest of the decorating up to Addy. We only got out about a 1/4 of the ornaments but the tree still looked good to me. 

Addy had her first Christmas performance for Singer's Company the next week. It was such a cute show and Addy did great! She had a solo in " Not That Far From Bethlehem" and her lines were the very beginning of the song.  Her little voice is so sweet and I tear up watching her every single time. Her second performance was at a hotel where they had a breakfast with Santa and the girls were the entertainment.  Her solo was the first lines of "When Christmas Comes to Town." She did awesome on that solo as well. She had a fever the night of the final show so we had to miss it. Chris and I really loved the show this season and Addy enjoys singing with the girls. Such a fun singing group and definitely one of her favorite parts of the week!

I was lucky to celebrate my Birthday this year with a few of our close friends. Christian reserved a private room for us at The Sushi House in downtown Naperville. It was such a fun night! The food was delicious and Christian picked up some cupcakes from Sugar Monkey's for dessert. I had a fabulous birthday! Chelsea also threw a girls night for Mary and I the following night. So much fun to catch up with the girls! 

Christmas Eve we had dinner with the Ogden's this year. Trishia cooked yummy food and we just visited and relaxed while the kids played. It was great to spend the evening with friends and also have our own family time. We came home and opened up Christmas jammies, set out food for Santa, read a few stories, and the kids went to bed. Well at least Addy did.

Christmas morning was a lot of fun with the kids. It took forever to get everything unwrapped! They wanted to play with everything they opened right then. Addy's big present this year was a doll house and Benson's was a train set and a scooter.  We skyped our families and played and watched movies the rest of the day. I started not feeling good and slept a lot of the day. That evening we went over to a friends house for dinner. It was a very fun and relaxed evening. The food was delicious and the company was great. My kids loved playing over there and I am not sure they even ate dinner. 

I ended up getting really sick and I had to cancel all my hair appointments and plans for the rest of the year and the following week. The kids and I stayed home and didn't leave the house for a week which was hard but luckily for me they had a lot of new fun things to play with to keep them occupied. 

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!

October 2012

The weekend before Halloween, Christian and I took the kids to Blackberry farms. We decided to try out a new place this year instead of going to our usual pumpkin patch. The kids had so much fun here! They rode tractors, played on the huge treehouse, rode a zip line swing, went on a tractor hayride and train ride around the farm, picked pumpkins, and had so much fun running around. The kids are both begging for us to go back. It will be a fun place to try in the spring and summer.

Later that evening we went to our ward trunk or treat. It was really cold but the kids enjoyed going around getting candy. We stayed for dinner and the games for the kids.

Our costume choices this year were based around Benson wanting to be "Woody".  Addy couldn't figure out what she wanted to be until Benson chose his costume.  She said to me " I guess I could be a cowgirl but not Jesse!"  Nanny Elaine sewed her a costume while she was here for Addy's birthday. I loved how it turned out and she made the cutest cowgirl!

Benson of course had no interest in posing for pictures. I will take anything I can get with this boy! He was so happy with his costume and wanted to wear it everyday. We definitely got some good use out of it ! Christian dressed up with the kids and his costume was perfect. The indian costume is something that he was suppose to wear at pack meeting with the scouts, but I never allowed! I about died the first time he came out during pack meeting dressed in that outfit .... it was also his last.

Halloween I took the kids trick or treating with a neighbor until Christian came home. The kids really had a great time and came home with more candy than we could eat. Benson is all ready planning his costume for next year! 

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!