Some Chalk and an Egg

For some reason it has been hard to do my daily update. I can only blame part of it on Gary being on the computer doing homework...not sure what to blame the other part on. Laziness? Probably.

However, there are a couple things that have happened in the last few days that I thought were definitely worth mentioning.

On Monday Kyri and Graysen wanted to play outside in the front yard.

They were riding bikes and coloring with sidewalk chalk.

While they were playing I sat in a camp chair in the shade, just inside the garage (my first mistake), and looked through the mail (my second mistake).

I couldn't see the kids, but I could hear them. I got up to see what, exactly, they were up to.

My findings?

They had colored with their wet, pasty, chalk all over our neighbors nice white fence!

Oh, and they had colored on ours too!

Really?!?!

They both know WE ONLY COLOR ON THE SIDEWALK...or so I thought.

I made them get wipes to help clean it. That did nothing.

I used a Mr Clean Magic Eraser and a LOT of elbow grease and was able to get it off Brother Nielson's fence...mostly.

Then I made them knock on his door and tell him what they did. Neither of them would talk! I kept telling them to tell him what they did and they both just sat there. I finally told him.

They DID both say sorry and that they wouldn't do it again. He is SO nice and said he didn't care, but I still feel bad!

Kyri and Gray both had an extra long time out.

Then last night our house nearly caught on fire!

How you ask?

I was really tired last night, but I REALLY wanted to do something nice for Gary. He was gone playing football...or something... and I thought "what can I do to really let Gary know I love him?" Earlier he asked me to boil an egg for him for his lunch today. I didn't want to. I figured it was easy enough for him to do. But then I decided that since I didn't want to, then all the more reason to do it! Now, I know what you're thinking. You think that it's not much of a way to show my love since he already asked me to do it. And...it's an egg! Some wives actually make their husband's entire lunch. AND they wake up early enough to make breakfast before their hubby leaves for work. I'm not one of those wives. So. I guess I figured this was better than nothing.

I put the egg and some water in a pan and put it on the stove.

I ran upstairs to do something, really quickly.

I had every intention to go back downstairs in about 2 minutes.

I never made it.

I forgot about the egg.

TOTALLY forgot.

Gary came home about 45 minutes later.

I'm not exactly sure of the situation at that point but right around that same time Kyri came into my room and woke me up....and scared me half to death...I was so sound asleep!

When I put her back into bed I could smell something AWFUL!!

Gary came upstairs just then and I realized that I forgot about the egg.

The egg had exploded!!

It took all night and most of today to air out the nasty smell.

And this morning when I went downstairs I realized that the red pan I put the egg in is now black.

Completely!

Thank goodness our house is still intact.

Gary cleaned everything up.

And boiled another egg.

So much for doing something nice for my hubby.

Meeting Milestones

On Sunday Kyri called great Grandma and Grandpa Hanson to thank them for her birthday card. I didn't want her to forget anything, so I was whispering what she should say. They weren't home so this was just on the answering machine, but she said what I told her, "thank you for the birthday card....and money." Then she decided to say her own thing. I did not whisper this in her ear. "And maybe next year on my birthday you can give me MORE!!"

Apparently we need to have some gratitude lessons...and such.

Kyri reading the ads in her jammies...that's my girl!!

Graysen wearing his underwear on TOP of his shorts!

Tanzi enjoying her swing because she hasn't been in it for a couple months, probably!

Sleeping Beauty!

I know this doesn't seem very safe. Babies are supposed to sleep in sleeper blankets and not have loose blankets in their bed.

But she sleeps SO much better with her blanky!

She loves chewing on it when she wakes up, so it helps soothe her back to sleep when she wakes up in the night.

And, clearly, she loves sleeping with it on her face!

Today we took all 3 kids to the doctor for check up appointments!

Before we ever even left Kyri told me, "I don't want any shocks!!" Luckily, she and Gray could get the mist flu vaccine so no "shocks" for either of them today :)

I was looking back through the blog from Kyri's and Graysen's 6 month appointments

It's kind of fun to compare all the kids at the same age.

And, if you ask me, Tanzi sure looks a lot like Kyri at this age!

And it's funny how Kyri was already sitting up on her own and Tanzi is no where near that and how Kyri had a little tuft of hair and Tanzi has none, even though she was born with more hair than Kyri OR Graysen. Our hopes of having a child with hair are being dashed with every hair Tanzi loses :)

But look how cute and BIG she looks!!

Tanzi's stats:

Weight: 13 lbs 1 oz (between 5% and 10%)

Length: 24.7 in (about 25%)

Weight for Length: 5%...YEA she's on the charts in this area for the FIRST time!!

Head: 16.4 in (25%)

Although Tanzi still thinks she doesn't want to sleep real good, there are some things she DOES love to do.

She loves smiling...we get a lot of comments from people about how smiley she is.

She LOVES her mobile! She always smiles and looks up at her "friends" whenever we put her in bed.

She wakes up really happy in the morning and will just play in her crib...with her "friends"

She still loves her binky, but doesn't need it to fall asleep.

She loves rolling from her back to her belly, but on some days still forgets that she knows how to roll back over...other days she rolls all over the place.

She LOVES her big brother and sister...and LOVES when they laugh at her...it makes her laugh

3 cool kids getting ready to go to the doctor

Tanzi in the doctor's office

Just waiting for the doc!

Graysen's stats:

weight: 28 lbs (about 30%)

height: 2.95 ft (about 40%)

Graysen LOVES crying and always getting his way

He also LOVES to do anything Kyri does. Anything. If I ask them both the same question and Graysen first answers with one thing, but Kyri answers with something else Gray will change his answer to match hers. EVERY time!

Graysen loves doing puzzles.

This boy keeps us smiling, but is also a lot of drama.

Kyri's stats:

Weight: 33 lbs (about 15%)

Height: 3.33 ft (about 60%)

Kyri LOVES saying her ABC's

She is getting really good at recognizing what all the letters say.

Kyri LOVES her little sister and can not stay out of Tanzi's face.

She LOVES playing with Graysen...as long as he will do what she tells him.

She is a good "little mom"

Both Kyri and Graysen have always had a heart murmur. Kyri had to go have hers checked by a cardiologist when she was about 16 months. Well, today Dr Sigg said he thinks we better get Graysen's checked out. After this, all 3 of our kids will have had a visit to PCMC!

Tonight Tanzi had her first taste of rice cereal.

This is the latest we've started one of our kids on cereal, but we never really felt she was ready before now. And she ate it UP! She loved it so much more than Kyri or Gray did with their first taste! But, then again, she just loves to have something in her mouth...she doesn't even care what it is! I guess we better watch out once she starts crawling and can eat anything and everything she finds!!

YUMMY!!

Our Day

Tanzi didn't have as good of a night, but it wasn't terrible.

She woke up at 1:45 and then again at 5:15 and then slept until after 8.

Lately Kyri and Gray have been getting up SO early!! Well, actually, Kyri gets up early and wakes Gray up so they can play.

This is both good and bad.

The good thing is that they play in their room and in the play room and let me keep sleeping. The bad thing is that it's too early and they are both still tired and grumpy and they (mostly Gray) cry and fuss A LOT.....ALL morning!!

How do I know that it's Kyri that wakes up so early? Because if Graysen wakes up first he does NOT wake his sister up, he just comes into my room and snuggles me.

LOVE it!!

This morning Graysen woke up around 7 and came to snuggle me. We both even went back to sleep!! I could never share my bed with my child all night long, but I LOVE a good LITTLE sleep while snuggling. LOVE!!

Kyri woke up around 7:30. She snuggled me for a minute too, but it wasn't long before I heard, "Gray, do you want to go into the playroom with me?"

Graysen, "Wes!"

While Graysen was sleeping Kyri wanted to do her workbooks. I'm SO glad that I don't ever have to ask her, it's just something she wants to do!

Kyri also LOVES to chew gum while Graysen is napping. I only let her do it when he's asleep because otherwise he wants some too and he just puts it in his mouth and swallows it! We never even gave Kyri gum before, but recently her Primary teacher gave her some and now she asks for it EVERY day!

Thanks, Sister Smith!

She is really good about it, though, and always spits it "in a garbage with a bag in it" when she's done...so far.

Gary came home from his camp out just after noon. Then, when Graysen woke up we had family haircut time!

Graysen first, then Kyri, then Gary, then me....that's always our order.

After cutting my hair I got in the shower and when I got out and was getting dressed I could hear Kyri crying. I walked into my bedroom and Gary was asleep with football on TV, of course. Graysen was in the playroom doing puzzles. Kyri was in her room and the door was locked (we have it so it locks on the outside). I opened the door and said, "Are you in time out?"

Kyri, "No!" Me, "Then why are you locked in here?" Kyri, "Graysen locked me in!!" Me, "Have you been in here for a long time?" (I DO take long, hot showers!) Kyri, "I don't know!!" Me, "Graysen?" Gray, "Me doing puzzles!!"

Yep, he locked his sister in her room and left her there....indefinitely.

This afternoon Gary took Kyri and Graysen with him to a YW/YM car wash fund raiser. I took Tanzi to the store. She fussed the whole time! She's better when Kyri is in the back of the cart pestering her, apparently.

After they got home Gary told me he would clean the whole house...while he watched football.

Fine by me :)

Oh,I forgot a funny story from yesterday.

I was letting the kids watch a show while I was in the shower. Shortly after I got in Kyri came in the bathroom crying. (our master bath does not have a lock...sad, I know!) She was really sad because Graysen turned the TV off right in the middle of her show!!! How dare he?! After I got out this was still an issue. I came into the bedroom and Kyri was still crying and Graysen was holding the remote. Then I hear him say in the SWEETEST voice, "It over, seetheart!!"

Haha...yes, I call my girls sweetheart all the time.

Oh the things they pick up on!!

Another Trip

Tanzi woke up at 3 am to eat and then not again until after 7!!

YEA!!

I think (hope is a more accurate word) we're back on track!!

The kids and I went to Logan again today.

First, I had to take ALL 3 of my kids to Target....to get that gift card I forgot when I was there with just one child!

Oh me!

I always like to go see Grandma Dora when we're in Logan, but we didn't today because we have been sick :(

I'm just not sure Graysen is over it yet and I would hate to get Grandma sick.

But we did go see Tawn and Alyssa....we don't care if we get them sick!

Haha....just kidding. But they came here the other day when we were sick and they have had colds, too, so we felt ok about it all.

We took the kids to the zoo and park. I think they could have stayed all day!

I even pushed Tanzi in a baby swing....for the first time.

She LOVED it!

I wish I had my camera with me then, but of course I didn't.

She giggled the whole time!!

It was pretty stinkin' cute!

We ate dinner at Firehouse and then the kids and I went to my friend, Ann Marie's, wedding reception. It was so great to see her so happy and so in love! Not only did I give her a gift card for a present, but I also gave her a cookie.

Yep, a cookie.

Just one.

And this is how the story goes:

About 6-7 years ago Ann Marie and I were roommates.

We did a lot together.

Practically everything.

We even took an Institute class together.

One night at Institute we got cookies. On the way home I ate mine. Ann Marie set hers on the dashboard of my car. I occasionally reminded her to not forget her cookie. When we got home Ann Marie left her cookie on my dashboard! I reminded her again, "Ann Marie! Your cookie!!" In the morning I came out of my bedroom to leave for work to find a gift bag.

Inside?

The cookie!

Haha...that clever little gal. She tried to leave the gift in my car, but I noticed and made sure she grabbed it, so she left the gift outside my door! Before leaving for work I put the cookie in her car.

A few days passed and I forgot all about that cookie.

One day, at work, I received a very large box in the mail. (that was the one and only time I ever received mail at work, by the way)

Inside?

THE cookie!!

So, I asked some of my students that lived in Logan if they knew any guys that played the guitar that would be willing to do me a favor.

One did.

These young college boys made up a lovely song about a cookie, went to Ann Marie's work, and serenaded her with their guitars....in front of her co-workers.

They left her the cookie.

One day....several days? weeks? later another friend of mine asked me to take her to work. After dropping her off I turned the corner after stopping at a stop sign to see lights in my rear view mirror...lights from a motorcycle cop!

He asked if I knew why he pulled me over. I came to a complete stop, I wasn't speeding.

No, I didn't know.

He told me my car matched the description of a stolen vehicle. I said, "Well, I know my car isn't stolen, so I'm not worried." He asked for my ID, insurance, and registration.

After checking my info he came back....with the cookie!!

Seriously?

You found a cop to pull me over?

Good one, Ann Marie!

How in the world will I top that?

Well, let's just say the cookie sat in my drawer at work and finally was forgotten.

So, I decided to relive some memories by giving Ann Marie a cookie for her wedding!

Eternal Happiness!

The End

Some of you may not know this, but I used to be a bit of a prankster.

Take the urine sample incident, for instance.

But that story is for an entirely different day!!

So, after the reception I got the kids in pajamas and headed home.

But not before stopping at Tawn's...again....just to pee because I knew I would never make it home and I didn't want to wake up all 3 kids to take them into a gas station bathroom!

I got home and realized what a disaster my house is.

Already!

I don't plan on cleaning it tomorrow, even though I'm sure I should.

Gary is on a camp-out with the Young Men. I hope he doesn't freeze! The only sleeping bag we own is one that used to be my grandfather's. I think maybe when he was in the army or something? It looks like it could be old army equipment. We decided to wash it before he used it, as it hasn't been used in years. And years! It has just been in the back of our Toyota...just in case! I love that my dad made sure I was always prepared!! Thanks dad!! But it fell apart in the washing machine...a little. I think he'll be just fine!!

I'm really hoping Tanzi will have another great night!

I was right about not having as much time to update the blog when Gary is home and doing homework, but I got really carried away with my words tonight, didn't I?

I guess I better go to bed now, then!

Thursday Catch-Up

Today was a cleaning day!

As a mom it seems like picking up, cleaning, vacuuming, laundry, dishes etc are NEVER ending. However, it always feels good to have everything clean....if only for a moment.

So, I bribed Kyri and Graysen and told them that if they helped me clean then after naps we could watch a movie. I like doing things like that because I feel like I sort of neglect my children while I clean and so I make it up to them by snuggling them during a movie!

First, Kyri spent a lot of time in time-out, but then she decided to earn the movie and the kids were both great helpers!!

The house looked FABULOUS!!

I even managed to pre-make dinner, so that we could just throw it in the oven when it was time.

I felt like I had a really productive day!

Gary got home while we were watching our movie, so he and I swapped places. He watched the movie and snuggled the girls on the bean bag while I went to the store. Gray decided to go with me. I needed to go to Target to get a gift card for a friend's wedding.

Target has a TON of things on clearance.

I got carried away.

I bought Graysen a cute blanket set and matching lamp....among a few other things that were on sale.

Had I paid full price for everything I bought it would have been about $137

I only paid $38!!

(the bed set alone was regularly $60)

I can't pass up a good deal!

I was tempted to buy a lot more stuff, even though we did NOT need it, simply because it was such an AWESOME deal. You never know when someone will need it!

I refrained.

I got home and realized that in my excitement to find such awesome deals...

I forgot to get the gift card!!!

Gary worked on finishing a paper for school while I watched The X Factor, folded laundry, and made cookies!!

Then I read my book, The Book Thief, until my eyes burned and I could no longer keep them open.

Red Day

Remember when Tanzi was going 9-11 hours between feeds?!

I miss those nights.

I miss my sleep.

Tanzi was back to her routine of waking up around 11-ish. So, last night I just let her cry.

A lot.

It makes me SO sad to listen to her cry. She cries SO hard! But I feel like it will be worth it if she will go back to sleeping 9+ hours!

Last night I had a time I would let her cry until. If she was still crying at that time I was going to go get her (and feed her, I'm sure). She finally fell asleep 2 minutes before my deadline. Then I couldn't sleep after that. I'm hoping for a better night.

Today I watched all 4 of Ms Kate's kids again.

You see, the elementary school here is year round. So, the kids have 6-9 weeks in school and then 3 weeks off. This is the last of the 3 weeks.

The boys just played Sorry the entire time....that made things easy for me :)

Then we all (Ms Kate's 4 kids, Graysen, Tanzi and myself) went to the last few minutes of preschool. Since Kyri just had a birthday I got to "spotlight" her. I just said a few things about her and then read The Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton.

My kids LOVE that book and I thought it would be perfect for the birthday girl...and for ten 3 year olds :)

Today was Red Day at preschool. All the kids wore red. Even all of Ms Kate's kids wore red today...it was pretty cute!

Here's the birthday treats I made for preschool....they were a much bigger hit than the birthday cupcakes.

I decided to make red frosting and put on a red M&M...to go along with Red Day

Kyri doesn't own very much red. So, here she is in her red short shorts!

Graysen was SO cute today!!

When I told him it was time to go to preschool he just had to wear his backpack...even though it's just next door. And he wore it the entire time we were there. He just followed Kyri around and sat by her and did what she did for the 15 minutes we were there. I can't wait for him to actually be able to go to preschool next year!!

TOO CUTE!

While Graysen and Tanzi napped Kyri and I worked on her "workbooks".

I am so amazed at how smart she is!!

She knows and recognizes all the letters and knows what sound they all make. Today she would look at a picture, say the word and then tell me what letter it starts with. I'm sure she is no smarter than any other 4 year old, but it sure makes a mama proud to see her little girl wanting to learn and for her to really be excelling!

We were playing in the front yard when Gary got home from work, so he decided to wash the car. Of course he had 2 very good helpers.

Then I made waffles for dinner with buttermilk syrup, or candy syrup as my kids like to call it. Yep, we still need to go grocery shopping. Looks like I will be making a menu very soon.

As I'm typing this my clock says 9:37...and I hear Tanzi crying in her room....looks like it's gonna be a long night.

When she was sleeping so well for those few days she was also burping good during the day and having multiple stinky diapers a day. She is no longer doing either of those. And I think it makes a HUGE difference in how she feels and then, hence, how she sleeps.

What can I do to help my baby with her gas?

I have tried gas drops, gripe water, and spend tons of time just trying to help her get it all out.

What else is left?

The kids have doctor appointments next week. I'm hoping the doc will have some great advice, but not really counting on it since this is a problem we've had since Tanzi came home from the hospital and we have found no cures thus far.

Please, baby, just go back to sleep!

Happy Red Day!

PS - So, I already posted this and then something funny just happened.

I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and Kyri came walking in. She was squinting (from the light) and said, "I'm thirsty." Then just a second later (as per usual) Gray appears in the doorway. He just closed his eyes and held out his hands...without saying a word!! Haha. And apparently I wasn't fast enough getting him a drink because he peeked his eyes open and sort of grunted.

And whenever Kyri wakes up in the night, even if it's 3 am, she talks my ear off! I always take her to the potty and try to keep my words to a minimum if I even speak at all, but she thinks it is the perfect time to strike up a lengthy conversation!

So, all 3 kids have awakened before 10pm.

Awesome.

Let us hope it is not signs of things to come!

Today Is Your Birthday....

....shout Hooray!!

Yesterday was such a FUN day!!

We took a lot of pictures on Kyri's birthday and of her party, so I decided to try and keep the words to a minimum and just share all these fun photos!

So, this post and the following will prove what a fun few days we've had!!

(Sorry about the randomness of the pictures)

Kyri asked for a "birdie" cake, so Gary spent some time putting this together Sunday evening

Pretty amazing, right?

Kyri's birthday breakfast....Minnie and Mickey Mouse pancakes

Tanzi got this outfit just after she was born from Grandma and Grandpa from Bunkerville.

I know it's not winter yet, but I could NOT resist....she was just SO stinkin' cute in it!!

We went to lunch with Grammy and Grampy, and Tawn and Alyssa.

We let Kyri choose where she wanted to go for her birthday lunch.

She chose Roosters....it was delicious!!

Opening MORE presents!!

Spoiled little girl!

But it was fun having some family here for the occasion :)

Another shot of the AWESOME cake!!

SO happy to be 4!!

"CAKE TIME!!" as the kids kept saying

Cute little man in a party hat!!

Blowing out the candles

Tanzi didn't want to be left out!!

ALL our kids LOVED the party hats....for DAYS!

LOVE the look on Tanzi's face :)

After such a FUN day Tanzi was all tuckered out!

She fell asleep JUST before her milk was warm and ready for her to eat!

At least she was still holding onto her toy :)

Kyri and Gray wanted to sleep in Kyri's new "tent"!

It didn't last long....they were both in their beds before actually falling asleep.

It seemed like a good idea....for a while

We are SO blessed to have such a sweet, helpful, loving, funny girl in our home!!

We love you Kyri and LOVE the big 4 year old that you are!!

The Birthday Bash

Saturday September 17 was Kyri's birthday party!

Happy the party is about to start

Pleased to be wearing party hats

Kyri and her friends

(starting with the girl in pink and going clockwise: Sadie, Kolton, Kyri, Davis, Elaina, Graysen, Henry, Blair, Megan, Teagon, and Lex is lying down in the middle)

I LOVE this picture.

Gray was so cute watching Kyri open her presents and never wishing it were him!

What a great brother!!

Kyri was very spoiled!

Her friends all gave her such FUN, cute presents!!

Getting ready to play Red Light, Green Light

Playing with all the toys Kyri got from her friends

Shaking their noise makers, which turned out to be a huge hit!!

SISTERS!!

Here's the cupcakes I mentioned earlier.

They look delicious, right?

Well, my kids are the ONLY ones who ate them! All the other kids told me they didn't like them and threw them away!!

:(

I think it's because the frosting is not what kids are used to. While I was a bit disappointed that the kids all hated the cupcakes, I was happy to see MY kids eating them, which means that not only are they NOT picky eaters, but they are accustomed to eating such a variety of foods.

Thanks Kyri and Graysen

:)

I think Kyri had a REALLY fun party!!

It was only 2 hours long, but afterward Gary said, "I could never have a calling in Primary!!" Haha!! It is NOT easy to entertain and keep happy twelve 4 year olds, BUT it was great to see Kyri interacting with her friends and being SO happy they were here!! Next year we will look into a fun center....or something :)

Seriously?!

Tanzi had a terrible night.

Maybe she got this cold that I've got. But she was acting like her tummy hurt.

I don't know!

Kyri woke up at 5:00 this morning. I had her go potty and then get right back in bed. As she was getting in bed Gray woke up. I thought, "Surely they will both go back to sleep....it's still the middle of the night...practically!"

Right after that Tanzi woke up and I fed her. Right as I was finishing up I could hear Kyri and Gray talking. I walk into the hall and realize their light is on!!!

Yep, they just decided to get up and PLAY at 5 am!!

Seriously?!?!

I was NOT happy!

I turned their light off and told them to go back to bed.

That didn't last long! They never did go back to sleep.

So, Graysen took a nap at 9:30 this morning and Kyri took one at 10:00

Unfortunately, I did NOT get a nap...and my cold has progressed into something that I do NOT like! I felt ok until about 4:00 this afternoon....and now I'm miserable.

So, with that said, I'm going to TRY to go to bed

and post about Kyri's birthday party tomorrow.

Let's hope the kids sleep in a bit later tomorrow!

TGIF

I LOVE Fridays!

It means that Gary gets to be home ALL weekend! YEA!!

Today the kids helped me vacuum. Whenever we clean the house Kyri will ask, "Who's coming to our house?" Apparently we only clean when people are coming over. I told her all her friends were coming for her birthday party. She said, "It's September nineteenf tomorrow?" Haha...it's hard for her to grasp the idea of having a birthday party on a day other than her birthday.

This morning I asked Kyri what games she wanted to play with her friends at her party. She had quite the list.

She told me, "Duck, Duck Goose. Ring Around the Rosie. Dell on the Farm. And the Hokey Posey!!"

Haha....I LOVE that girl!!

She also asked me to sing her the birthday song that says, "twice or two" I had no clue what she was talking about so I just started singing her the first birthday song that came to mind,

"Today is your birthday shout 'hooray'! We want to sing to you today. One year older and wiser too. Happy Birthday, to you!!"

I could tell by the look on her face when I got to "and wiser too" that I picked the right song. She was very pleased that I knew just what she was talking about. I tried to explain what the song actually said, rather than what she thought it said, but she seemed very confused. :)

For Kyri's party tomorrow I will be making these Pineapple Bliss Cupcakes I can't wait to see how they turn out! Pictures tomorrow, I'm sure!

Gary is going to be reading. All night long. He has 2 big books he has to read and write a report on before next Friday. I, on the other hand, will be enjoying me a little murder mystery...or two! :)

TGIF

It's Thursday!!

I have a sore throat.

BLAH!

I hate not feeling well. Tanzi has been kind of fussy the last couple days too and I'm really hoping she doesn't have it too! She still slept good last night...til 3 am. Not her best night, but I'm definitely not going to complain! I am just SO happy she is sleeping better!

Jade came to play today.

The kids like having someone else to play with.

Last night Kyri dumped both toy boxes out.

The house was a disaster, but the kids sure had fun!!

They called them their "sleeping boxes"

Crazy kids!!

Graysen has been talking SO much lately.

And he says the cutest things!!

One of my favorite conversations to have with Gray is this:

Me: "Graysen, guess what!"

Gray: "What?"

Me: "I love you!"

Gray: "Mommy, guess what?"

Me: "What?"

Gray: "Me love you too!!"

Lately we have been trying to get Graysen to say "I" instead of "me". He just won't do it.

Can't do it.

Me: "Say 'I' "

Gray: "I"

Me: "I love you!"

Gray: "Me love you!!"

TOO CUTE!!

Today while Tanzi and Gray slept Kyri and I finished the noise makers!!

We colored rice a bunch of different colors

I think they turned out pretty good for a not-so-crafty person, like myself!

Kyri is getting really excited for her party!

Any suggestions for games to play with 12 four year olds?

Duck, Duck, Goose is all I got so far!

I need to go to the store to get a few things to make some delicious cupcakes for her party.

I'm not the best entertainer (especially when it comes to little kids) but I'm excited about this party simply because Kyri is so excited! I LOVE seeing my kids happy!

Gary went and played basketball last night and is gone playing volleyball tonight.

Did I say my husband came home this week?

I lied.

No, actually, I'm glad he's been able to go play ball. He LOVES it. And since I'm not feeling well then tonight I'm just going to take a nice long bath, read my book, and go to bed. So, he's having a much better time than he would be having here anyway. Not to mention the loads of homework Gary has. So, if he were here he would be busy with schoolwork. Better to procrastinate as long as possible. That's what I always say! Plus, Gary has been getting home from work fairly early, so we have some good quality time together as a family. I LOVE when Gary comes home early (mostly because it means he'll cook dinner, but don't tell him that :) )

Until Tomorrow....

Tanzi had another great night. Slept til 4 am!

Let's hope this is a new trend and not one of the many tricks she has up her sleeve :)

This morning I watched all 4 of Ms. Kate's kids while Kyri was at school.

It was pretty fun.

We played Sorry, which none of those kids had played before. But I think they quite enjoyed it :)

This afternoon McKell came to visit.

She held Tanzi and I made an attempt at being creative. I'm making some noisemakers for party favors for Kyri's birthday party. I will have to take a picture when they're all done. I'm so NOT crafty. But McKell is....and she didn't even laugh at them :)

Tanzi was actually kind of fussy this afternoon. I think she was just tired and now likes to sleep in her own bed, but hopefully McKell enjoyed visiting anyway. We just talked. A lot. It was nice to have some adult conversation. And I'm REALLY sad because I didn't even take a picture while she was here!! What was I thinking? I guess she'll just have to come back again soon! :)

Gary made dinner tonight.

Tacos.

I LOVE that Gary loves to cook!

We have next to no food around here. I'm glad he came up with something delicious.

Maybe I'll go grocery shopping soon.

Maybe.

I have a terrible headache and I'm hoping to go to bed early....let's just hope I can STAY asleep!!

He's HOME!!

What a great day!

This morning we watched Jade, even though it's not Wednesday.

We played outside.

The kids rode bikes, did sidewalk chalk, and just ran around.

Then, after lunch Tanzi and Gray took a nap.

I did workbooks with Kyri. A while ago I bought 12 workbooks for about $.75 each and I just barely got done putting each page into a sheet protector so the kids can use dry erase markers on them and use them...forever! Kyri has had a lot of fun with them so far.

Then around 3:30 came the moment we have been waiting for for over 2 weeks!

That's right Gary came home!!

I wish I would have thought to take a picture of the kids when he got here because they were SO excited to see him!!

It was SO nice to see him and have him home.

After he got here we went to the mall to pick up some shoes we ordered online. 2 pairs for both Gary and Graysen.

Then...wait for it.....I actually made dinner!!

I was SO ready for a REAL meal! And I think Gary was happy to not eat out.

I made tortellini casserole.

Simple and delicious!!

Kyri and Graysen were being cute in the tub

I really can not tell you just how happy I am to have Gary home!

He does SO much to help out around the house. I really realized that when I had to do it all by myself. I hope he knows how much I LOVE him!!

He recently got put into the Young Men in our ward and their activities are on Tuesdays, but they told him he didn't have to go tonight...and I'm SO glad he decided not to because I have LOVED just having him home. With me.

By the way, I HAVE to mention how Tanzi did last night.

She woke up around 11:30 and cried for only about 2 minutes.

Then she slept until 5 am!!

She went 11 hours between feeds!!!

Seriously?!?!

Is this my baby who only a week ago was up every 2 hours...eating?!?!

AS hard as it is to just let her cry it has been SO worth it!!

YEA for SLEEP!!

Monday Monday

Gary comes home tomorrow!

YEA!!

I wonder if I'll be as good at keeping up with the blog when he's actually here to see the kids and know what's going on with them!?

Not to mention the fact that Gary will probably be on the computer most evenings doing homework.

I will try.

Today Kyri really wanted muffins for breakfast. I made muffins at LEAST once a week if not more. Today we had peanut butter banana muffins...and I threw in a few chocolate chips, of course!

Delicious.

In fact, we even ate them for lunch!

This afternoon we took birthday party invitations around to Kyri's friends. It was nice to get out for a walk. Kyri is just SO excited about her birthday.

"I'll be four on September nineteenf!!"

It never gets old :)

Graysen just REALLY wanted to hold Tanzi...so he did.

Tanzi obviously doesn't mind

Kyri...doing "nothing, clearly" as she likes to tell everyone.

Ever since Gary left the kids have been praying for him in North Carolina. Tonight I was helping Graysen say the prayer.

Me: "Please bless daddy that he can sleep good in...."

Graysen: "...hims hotello!"

TOO CUTE!!

I'm having problems posting on Google Chrome, so the last few nights I've been posting from Internet Explorer, which I'm also having problems with....so don't miond the strangeness of the format