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Sunday, July 26, 2009

Blessing Day . . . . . . . . .



We had Kai's blessing on the 19th of July. It was difficult to fit it in with all of the showers, weddings, and holidays going on! It was such a wonderful day. Randy did an amazing job with the blessing, and *surprisingly* I got all choked up. Kai is so lucky to have so many family and friends that love him! He was such a good boy and even decided to take a nap right when we were eating so even I got to eat! :) Thank you to all of our wonderful family and friends for all of your love and support! It meant so much to us to have you all there!













Thursday, July 16, 2009

A Day in the Life . . . . . .

Last Thursday was SUCH an interesting day for me. We didn't do anything exciting. In fact, we did everything "un-exciting." We cleaned the house, did yard work, watched cartoons, and anything else you do in a normal day at home. Well, the entire day was really fun and for some reason, on that particular day, it all struck me as really funny. I just thought I'd give you a little idea of what some of our days are like.

Ava woke me up in the morning with her usual happy smile and "I know everybody is so excited to see me" look. I used to always ask her how she slept or if she slept good, but now she comes in and will say to me, "Good Morning Mommy! I slept so good! Did you sleep good?" It always cracks me up. She also says, in the loudest voice possible, "Is Baby Kai awake?" Which, of course, means that, yes, he is NOW awake, but wasn't before you walked in the room. :) By the way, even if Baby Kai is dead asleep with his eyes closed, Ava still tends to argue with me that he is awake. I don't know why. She just loves to argue I guess. For example, we were heading to Nephi one day and I told her we were going to see Grandma. She replied with, "NO! We ARE going to see grandma." Right. How do you respond to that?

Back to my story. Kai's blessing was coming up so it was cleaning day. Ava loves to vacuum with me. She doesn't actually have a vacuum but uses a little toddler walker. She also vacuums right in front of me. Not next to me, or behind me, or even in another room, but right in front of me. That can make the simple act of vaccuming slightly more difficult and one or both of us usually ends up with bruised ankles. She's also decided that she loves to vacuum with my vacuum. It actually entertained her for quite a while that day so I let her have at it. If you come to my house anytime soon, notice how clean that small area is. :)

We also did some yard work and Ava had me laughing. While I was weeding the "garden" (I put that in quotations because I literally have 4 vegetable plants), I found a potato bug. I immediately yelled for Ava to come look at it. She loved it and wanted to hold it in her hand. While she was holding it she saw another potato bug. She said to me excitedly, "Mom! There is the Tato Bug's best friend!" They probably were best friends. She then sat the Tato Bug down to "take a rest." When she went to find it a bit later, it was missing in action. She was distraught at first, but then said to me with a big smile, "I KNOW! He went to eat dinner with his mom and dad!" She was probably right.


We then went in the house for a little photo shoot with my happy little man. If he is full and not sleepy, this kid will smile at anything.





While we were taking pictures, Kai decided to fill his diaper. Sorry if you're not into gross mom stories but the fact of the matter is: I am a mom. This is what I do. :) Anyway, some of it leaked onto the couch. Ava's reactions had me laughing and taking pictures rather than immediately cleaning up baby poop.
Here she is with the initial surprised look of "What has my baby brother done?"

And here she is completely grossed out by the whole situation. Yep. That's my little diva.

We took a little drive to run an errand and of course, as all of us young moms know, Carson got hungry. (No - not Ava's boyfriend across the street. Her baby doll that has had A LOT of loving in the last 2 years). Of course she couldn't let him go hungry so she went ahead and fed him.

A little later while at home, Ava decided that she wanted her and Carson (yes - apparently I have three kids) wrapped up like peanuts. This is exactly how Kai likes to sleep.

While I was making dinner, Ava watched Wonder Pets. She walked into the room and said to me, "Mom, I want a pirate on my eye." Definitely confused me at first, but then I realized she wanted a pirate patch over her eye because the Wonder Pets were dressed up like Pirates. Super Mom to the rescue. A little construction paper and yarn and we came up with this:

As soon as I put it on her eye she said, "Aaarrrggghhhhh." Then it was on to the tubby. When Randy put her in the tub he said, "Come on Squirrel." Ava said, "I'm not a squirrel!" She then thought long and hard about it and said, "You're a Mouse! Or a Chipmunk!" Good thinking on her part. When she was done with the bath, I told her to go downstairs, pick a book, and I would come and read to her. When I walked downstairs she was laying next to Kai on the couch. (Thankfully it wasn't the normal laying on TOP of him.) Anyway, as I rounded the corner she gave him a kiss on the head and said, "I love you Baby Kai. You're my best friend baby." Love it. She then proceeded to tell me that she would be reading the books to Kai that night. No problem. They both loved it.


When we put Ava to bed, I always ask her questions about the day. When I asked her what we did she said, "I saw a bug! It rolled up in a ball in my hand and then it stretched out. Tomorrow we will find more Tato Bugs. You will find a mommy and daddy bug and I will find a Sister Bug!" If only we could all be entertained by such things.

So as you see, from the outside my day may have looked super boring, but from the inside it is actually quite an adventure. I, for one, am enjoying the ride.

75th Annual . . . .

UTE STAMPEDE! We were able to spend Ute Stampede weekend with my parents and had so much fun. Ava COULD NOT get enough of the princesses in the parade and the rodeo and loved the horses. It was such a fun time. Thanks Mom and Dad!









4th of July Richfield Style . . . . .

We go to Richfield every 4th of July. Great Parade (not the clowns of course), bouncy houses and food at the park, and best of all, Grandma and Grandpa's Dirt Pile! We even ran the 5k on the morning of the 4th. Well, Randy ran it. I mostly walked it and there were AT LEAST 4 people behind me at the end of the race. Ha Ha. Ava loves to go to Grandma and Grandpa Cuff's. Everybody was there this year and it was crazy, chaotic, and so much fun. Ava loves her cousins and ESPECIALLY loves Tiger. Those two were practically inseparable the entire time. Everybody was surprised that Ava could handle the roughness and even dished some out herself. She comes by it naturally though because most of her best friends are boys. All in all we had a blast. Thanks for the good times and hospitality grandma and grandpa!

These are actually the week of the 4th at the Payson Pool. Ava had so much fun with her cousins and Hailey was such a sport to take care of her! Kai is enjoying the day as usual. :)


At the parade. Ava couldn't get enough of the princesses and kept yelling "HI PRINCESSES!" We decided she needs to be a bit more aggressive with the candy, even if it IS only salt water taffy.


Slip N Slide. A GREAT Richfield tradition.



This is how Ava and Kai slept the first night; WITH me and Randy. One big happy family. :)

Grandma Vicki and Aunt Jodi helped the kids become fireworks with this cute craft! This is why it's so cool to have elementary school teachers in the family.


Watching the Fireworks!



Love them!