Sunday Sermon

Yesterday we had the privilege of attending a "special" Stake Conference. You see, we just had Stake Conference 2 months ago. But yesterday we had one simply because Elder Holland was in town and we were the lucky stake that got to hear from him. Elder Holland has always been a favorite of mine to listen to. He is so down to earth and has such a powerful, inspiring testimony. And while much of his talk was geared toward the youth, he had much to say that applied to all of us. One of my favorite parts was at the end. With the authority that he holds he gave us all (including those that weren't there) and Apostolic blessing. One of true power, hope and happiness. He also mentioned that "this is a gospel with a happy ending". And in times when life is not always happy that surely is a great comfort! I am so grateful for my membership in this church and for the faith that keeps me going. What a blessing it was to hear from an Apostle of the Lord! And while our kids are still too young to remember this day, I hope that they are learning of the truth and Spirit that accompanied us.

Silly Sister

Lately I've had to tell Graysen things such as, "Don't pull your sister's hair." Or, "No, you can't play with that, it's your sister's." So, Kyri, being the little mom that she is, has started telling him, "No, G! That's my sister's!!"

but what a good sister she is!

The other day we were dancing to Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". Both my kids love dancing to this song. (If you're not familiar with it you can listen to it here on our blog, just scroll to the bottom and find it on our playlist) Well, since I'm all about cheap entertainment for my children and since I love playing and having fun with them I started dancing. You could say it was a little "crazy". Both kids were highly entertained and then Kyri said to me, in all seriousness, "Oooh! Good job Mamma!! Nice dancing!" Yep, it was that good!

Then Kyri was dancing in circles and said, "I'm gettin' busy!" (dizzy)

Here's a couple things her parents taught her:

She learned from her daddy what pirates say, "Arrrrgh, maybe!" Well, that's how it started, but she soon learned it was "matey" and occasionally calls Graysen that. Pretty cute.

And from her Mom, "Hey girlfriend!" Finger snap and all.

Yesterday Kyri covered her baby doll in stickers and said, "You're so beaufitul!"

The other day when the kids were in the tub Graysen got onto his hands and knees and started rocking back and forth, putting his bum in Kyri's space. She started pinching his bum and said, "Bum cheek. Bum cheek. TWO bum cheeks! G, move your bum cheeks, I'm here!!"

Every day we look forward to what Kyri's going to say because we know she always comes up with something funny. And she has such an imagination! The other day she was in a bit of a panic and asked me to hold her. I told her no and she started crying and told me that the puppy was going to get her. I asked what puppy and she said, through her tears, "That puppy! He nopened door! He came in the house. He's going to get me!" Now I will just wait for her imaginary friend to show up....

9 Months...Already

Today was Graysen's 9 month check-up. Can you even believe he's already 9 months?!?! I can't. At his next visit, only 3 months from now, he will be one!! How did my little baby get so big so fast? How big? Well, today he weighed in at 18 lbs 15 oz! (about 30%) And he was 28 in long (about 60%). So, he dropped from being in the 75th percentile. Don't worry, it's not because we don't feed him, believe me, this boy can EAT!! But ever since he started crawling he goes as fast as he can to keep up with his big sister who's constantly running! We are so grateful to have this happy baby in our home!

Don't you think those eyes say "trouble"? Well, that is what he's constantly getting into!

Graysen now has 2 bottom teeth and 2 top. Of course, there's still more coming through, but now that his big buck teeth (his top ones really seem big) finally cut through we are hoping for less fussing and less drooling.

He still loves to smile at most people most of the time.

However, he has started this new yell thing. He yells at most things and some people (mostly me when he wants my attention). So I hear a lot of "Aaah!" from Graysen and a lot of "stop screaming in the house G!" from Kyri.

Graysen finally learned how to pull himself up to a standing postion. The sad thing was the few days it took him to figure out how to get back down. Every day there was at least one new bruise because he would fall on his head every time. Now he starts spreading his legs, like he's going to do the splits, and then finds his way to either his bum or his knees...it's much less painful...and really cute, actually.

I have decided that Graysen doesn't really like being a baby. Especially when it comes to baby food. He wants everything except that!! So he sure eats a lot of crackers in a day! The Dr said it's ok as long as he's still getting a little bit of iron (from baby food), so now I don't feel like such a bad mom when I give up on baby veggies and resort to crackers. He is still eating baby cereal in the mornings and usually eats his fruits. So, now on to table food...won't G be happy?!

I am sad that our little man is growing so fast, but so happy for all the new stages of learning and growing...

I can't wait to see what he will do next!

PB & H

Today for lunch we had peanut butter and honey sandwiches and a baby orange. Kyri only had half a sandwich (she is only 2) and usually she doesn't finish it all. In fact, most the time she doesn't eat the bread, she just eats the PB off the bread. Well, after eating all of her orange she wasted no time getting around to her sandwich. She got down to her last bite of it and said, "Mmmm. That's yummy! I prolly need another one after that!"

It made me smile.

She didn't get another one.

Girls Night

I don't get out much without my kids. In fact, even though I shouldn't admit this, Gary and I don't even go out on dates. We take our kids everywhere. So, getting out with my girlfriends is a rarity and a much welcomed break.

The other night my friend, Melissa, was in town from Colorado and so we took advantage of that and all got together. I have been friends with these girls for about 10 years. And even though we don't all get together very often, when we do it seems like we're back in college again. Our night was filled with yummy treats, catching up, and a lot of laughter. Thanks again, girls!!

My girls sure know how to pick out the best treats!

Jenn, Denet, me, Amber, Melissa

All the girls stayed the night in Melissa's hotel room, but I had to skip that part since I still have a nursing baby, hence everyone is in their jammies except me.

Just a little side note---Here's how I actually met these girls:

I decided to move back to Logan after having been gone a couple years. I didn't really know anyone that lived there at the time, so I just checked with my former landlord to see if there was anything available in the house I lived in previously. There was a room open, so I moved in with 5 girls (soon to be 7) that I did not know. This was a gutsy move for me, but I'm sure glad I did it. I got to meet these awesome ladies! Jenn and I even shared a room. It was like I had always been friends with these girls. We did everything together (except when I told Denet I'd had enough...and that only lasted about 10 minutes) and had SO much fun, creating SO many memories!

Cute Kyri Girl

This girl of ours has been saying some pretty funny things that we don't want to forget. Here's a few:

Many months ago (before October since that's when we started listening to Christmas music) we would listen to ABBA. Kyri and I loved dancing to their music and I would always sing real loud. A crowd favorite (ok, a Kyri favorite) was Mamma Mia. We would listen to it over and over. Well, just a couple weeks ago Kyri was in the tub and we hear, "Mamma Mia! Come in here Mamma Mia!" Yes, she was referring to her mother. She will still pull this one out on occasion. Silly girl!

A few days ago I heard the strangest thing. It was my first name by my very own 2 year old! Kyri called me Mauri for a good couple days! Every time she did I would say, "What are you supposed to call me?" Well, soon she would start talking to me and it would go something like this, "This tastes riry dood, Mauri.....(pause).....this tastes dood, Mamma!" So, it was like it was just natural for her to call me Mauri! So strange. But I think we nipped this one in the bud. Hopefully.

Last night we were eating dinner and Kyri had black practically from ear to ear from the black beans. It was kind of cute. Then Gary took a bite and intentionally left some on the side of his mouth. Kyri kept tilting her head, looking at him. After a good minute of this she said, "Daddy, you look like a tiger!!"

And her new favorite thing to tell her brother, "Don't scream in the house!!" We often remind her that we only scream outside.

Isn't she just the funnest little girl you've ever met? I love spending every day with her! What a gal!

Goodbye Christmas

I am sad to have to say goodbye to Christmas this year. It is such a happy time of year. The lights, the snow, the music, the candy, the smiles, and especially the thoughts of Christ. I have loved, so much, the feelings this season and am sad to say goodbye to them until next Christmas. Maybe it's because we haven't even put up a tree the last couple years because the one we had was ginormous and we had no room for it. I always tried to talk Gary into getting a small, real tree, but it never did happen. Instead, he talked me into getting a small, fake tree this year. It's by far better than no tree. Luckily Gary told me that it will probably be a new tradition of ours to put our Christmas decor up the first of November. I love him!

Kyri has been telling me that if she goes to sleep Santa will come and leave her presents, however, she never seems disappointed when she wakes up only to find already opened and played with toys.

This Christmas was so much fun!!

So, until next year, goodbye Christmas...oh how I shall miss you!

But hello 2010!!

This year is starting out with a bang. Two of them, actually, named Kyri and Graysen. Oh how I love my little ones!

Do they look innocent? Because they are FAR from it, trust me!

Since my last update about them, Graysen has started crawling on his knees!! No more caterpillar. I thought he got around quick before, but now he is FAST! He also had 2 teeth come in on the bottom, only a couple days apart. And he has 4 coming in on top. Yes, 4! Needless to say, he fusses a lot more than I wish he would. But at least he is still stinkin CUTE!! Our little "cutie", if you will.

Kyri has started being such a little mom, but I'm pretty sure she's not learning it from me. All I heard her say to Graysen today was, "DON'T!!" or "STOP G!! STOP CRYING!" or something of equal meanness, and in not a very quiet voice. I know she loves her brother, but she sure knows how to be bossy too!

I think this picture is hilarious...the only thing that would make it funnier is if you could see her pants that are on inside out....what a girl!!

To Kyri, anything that happens in the past (even if it was just 2 minutes ago) happened "yesterday". And when I tell her to go potty she'll tell me, "I did already!" If I say, "When?" She will always tell me, "Yesterday. I went potty yesterday." I wish I only had to go potty once a day. What a life...

Lately Kyri has been saying something that really cracks us up. Writing it down will not do it justice, but it will hopefully help us remember just how funny she is!!

"I need to go stinky riry bad!"

She says this sometimes when she just needs to pee, and often when she needs to go stinky, and it makes us laugh every time!

I can't wait to hear what she says this coming year....

I haven't changed my blog background yet because I haven't found one I love. Soon. I hope.