Peyton's first Easter

Grandpa Murrell and Dallin picked out this cute bunny slipper and hat set for her.

It is so fun to get to shop for dresses.
This is the only picture I got of the kids Easter clothes.

Easter Eggstravaganza!

What a weekend! The kids enjoyed an egg hunt with cousins at Grandma and Grandpa Bartholomew's house on Saturday along with a barbecue and surprises from the Easter Bunny. Grandma also surprised the kids with their own goody bags including toy cars and bubbles which they can't get enough of.

Great-Grandma Lewis partied with us and we got a chance to have a 4 generation picture taken.



On Sunday, we barbecued again with Grandma and Grandpa Smith. Another egg hunt followed. Since it was a warm, sunny day we had some interesting fashion going on. Adam strutted his stuff and Grandpa Lex should be on the show - what not to wear - ha ha! The kids loved opening their eggs to see what surprises were inside.

It's Working!

This has got to be one of the top 10 funny things Stockton has said or done...
He had just gotten out of the shower and was getting dressed when he decided to try peeing in the toilet standing. We have been slowly trying to potty train him and have just rushed him to the toilet when we see him "hiding" to poop. Well, if he was taking the initiative to do it on his own I was all for it! Having a hard time getting his little "pee-pee" over the toilet bowl, I gave him a stool to stand on. He was pinching himself so hard that I didn't think he was going to be successful and left the room to take care of Peyton. I soon heard some tinkling and went to peek in on Stockton. He was so excited! He heard me approach and turned his head and said... It's Working!

Outfit of the Day...

FRIDAY

THURSDAY

WEDNESDAY

TUESDAY

MONDAY

Welcome little Peyton...

we are loving having her here!

Born March 26th at 11:36 pm

with help of Nurse Lexie and Dr. Kirkman
6 lbs. 7 oz.
19 inches
with surprising DARK HAIR!

Baby and mom are both doing great.

I am NESTING...

Tomorrow is the big day!
I have been scheduled to be induced at 3 pm on Thursday...
So now starts the CLEANING and ORGANIZING.
Nothing like waiting 'til the last minute...

I Looked Out the Window...

...And What Did I See???

Four Does Starring at Me!

Happy FIRST DAY of SPRING!!

Leprechauns are sneaky creatures.

Ethan set a trap to catch a leprechaun last night. He had a hard time going to sleep because he was listening and watching for any sign of the mischievous little guy.

When he woke up he discovered chocolate golden coins making a trail from his nightstand, up the stairs and into the kitchen where the trap was set. He peeked into the trap to find...
the leprechaun tricked him! There was a paper leprechaun inside with a note that read, "Ha Ha better luck next year!" The leprechaun managed to escape but left behind 2 golden dollar coins.

Fabulous Family Friday

So I needed help cleaning the house and what better way to get it done than by bribing. I promised Ethan and Stockton that we could go bowling if they helped me get it done. We made a list and checked it all off, then had a fun night at the Fun Park.










Stockton tried to bowl himself and just didn't have enough umph to get the ball down the lane very fast. Even with Ethan's help we seemed to wait forever for the ball to reach the pins and then since it was rolling so slowly he rarely knocked many over.








Ethan did great! He said he had been practicing on the Wii and that was why he was so good. Him and Mom were neck and neck with their scores until he had a few bad bowls which put him into second place.












Ryan managed to get the most gutter balls of the night. Stockton was able to bump up his score a little at the end by using the ball launcher contraption (which sped up the game considerably).












Mandi won! which was a first. There must be something about being 9 months pregnant that gives you good form for bowling.









After bowling the kids tried out the arcade. Stockton enjoyed skeeball and the ducks, Ethan and Ryan shot aliens and tried their luck at Wheel of Fortune. Unfortunately, Ryan never got to try for the million on Deal or No Deal since it was busy all night.

We had a Fabulous Friday as a Family!

The Nursery is complete... Now where is the Baby?

I am so happy to have Peyton's room all put together.

Now all I need is a pedicure and I am all set to have this baby!

Baby Update...

After my Dr. appointment today it looks like I am going to be pregnant for another week (at least). Even with contractions again last Saturday, there are no signs of progress... bummer! I think the snow scared little Peyton and she decided she would stay put until Spring weather arrives.

In other news, Ethan has become an excellent reader. I am amazed at how fast he picks up new words.

Stockton is a really good helper and enjoys helping me cook and clean.

I have great kids!!

Grandpa got an ouchee...

My dad got 2 new knees! Yes at the same time - crazy... When we went to visit him Stockton was more concerned about the I.V. in his hand since he couldn't see the bandaged legs under the blanket. He thought Grandpa was in the hospital because he had a hurt hand.

I was curious and amazed by the technology involved in replacing a knee so I googled some pictures. Wow! No wonder Dad's legs are covered in purple bruises!

9 months...

Many of you were asking me to post a picture. Ethan was my photographer so my head got cut off. You know what my face looks like now you can see what Peyton looks like! Next time we are not in a rush we will try for a better one.

To update you - Last Dr.'s Apt. was on March 4th. I am at a 2 and 50% effaced. Dr. wants me out of the 36 week range so hopefully this little girl is eager to get here and will come a few weeks early! I see the Dr. again on March 11th.

Hot Dogs for Breakfast??

Sunday morning, Ethan woke me up saying he wanted Hot Dogs for breakfast. Yeww!! Letting me sleep in he took the initiative to make him and Stockton breakfast - and Hot Dogs it was... I could hear him climbing on counters, getting bread out to form a makeshift bun; Asking Stockton to help him get the ketchup; pushing buttons on the microwave - "30 seconds 2 times", he said; Then finding plates of course bossing Stockton around; And finally "Mom can you help with with the mustard?" I forced myself out of bed even though the thought of Hot Dogs for breakfast made me want to hurl. I was impressed that Ethan would take care of his brother and go to all the trouble - I just had to see the end result of his determination.

Later, when he was asked why he wanted Hot Dogs for breakfast the answer was simple = "all the bowls were dirty" (and you can't have cereal on a plate).
So, if you are ever in the predicament of having no clean bowls for cereal, have a Hot Dog for breakfast instead!

My Valentines

Since Ryan spent most of the day having to work on Valentine's Day I decided to have a special day with my kids. Even though the plan got changed we ended up having a fun day together! To start the plan was to go see a movie but we couldn't agree on one. Grandma and Grandpa came to deliver Valentine "treats" to the kids and Stockton really wanted to go to Grandma's house. So we changed plans and spent the day doing errands with Grandma and Grandpa - what a fun time out of the house! The boys got to pick out new t-shirts and a v-motion game. We had lunch together and then visited Great-Grandma Lewis. While shopping we picked out a surprise for Daddy - a grabber tool to save his back from bending over! - : o ) Ryan had decided weeks ago that we were going to boycott Valentines day so there weren't any special plans for the night. Travis and Karen invited us to dinner - which ended up being very eventful! My kids were so good compared to theirs and it made me love them even more!! I guess the nurses at work got to Ryan making him feel guilty for skipping the love holiday. He did give me a relaxing foot massage/pedicure. But since he let Ethan help him paint my toenails, I am definitely going to schedule a real appointment before I go into labor - Pretty toes help a lot!!

Hopefully your Valentine's Day was full of LOVE!

Experience inside a Police Car...

Last night, coming home from delivering jewelry, me and the boys were involved in a very small accident. I was stopped behind a small pickup truck waiting to make a right turn onto the highway heading home. The truck began rolling backwards and I honked my horn to get him to stop. He continued coming towards me and so I put the car in reverse - not quick enough and his metal bumper collided with my left front fender. The driver just stayed there and was not doing anything so I got out of my car and walked up to his window. After getting his attention, his window came down and I told him that he hit me. He didn't even know it!! Seeing that he was wearing earphones, I asked, "did you not hear it?" and he replied that he heard me honk. After asking for insurance info he thought it would be best to call the police... Well an hour later, reports were completed and the boys had eaten all their ice cream (which was supposed to have been saved for when we got home after eating dinner). Since it was a very minor accident the Highway Patrol said that there was no need to file a report. They did open a case for us to use when contacting our insurance companies. There was no damage to the truck but my front fender is scratched and cracked. All the officers who came to help were very friendly. When we were finally released to go, Ethan decided that he wanted to see inside the police car. What a highlight to his night! Sgt. Mayo put Ethan in the drivers seat and he got to turn on the lights and siren and see how everything worked. Hopefully this is the only experience Ethan has inside a police car...

The Circus Came to Town...

Ryan had a great idea to take the kids to see the circus. Since Ryan hasn't been enthused about going anywhere, I jumped at the chance to have some family fun. Since it was only visiting Logan on Sunday we drove down to Ogden to the Golden Spike Arena for Big Top fun.

Getting there early and picking primo seats was a plus. Before the show they had pony rides, elephant rides, face painting, and a huge blow up slide. These of course were an additional charge so we opted just to watch. ($8 to sit a top an elephant with 6 other kids as the elephant needed proding to keep walking just didn't seem worth it to me.) The boys were amazed by the huge animals and enjoyed taking it all in.




Then the show began...
Wow! We were impressed - Lions, Tigers, Bears! oh my! Ethan said his favorite was the White Tiger and the motorcycles in the cage ball. Stockton was in awe at the trapeze girl on the swing but really got excited when the bear came out. He even tried to go down the the floor with it. The poodles were hillarious and the amazing acrabats impressed!

Baby Bargains!

Check out my links in my blog list for Cuddle Me Carriers and Baby Emblems. If you have a baby in your life you have got to see what these creative girls have come up with!

I'm off to VEGAS!

YAY! I can't wait for sunshine...

It will be a fun weekend with just the girls (lia sophia girls that is) for our Region Rally. What a fun way to start the year!