Someone Had a Birthday!!

Graysen was SO happy to turn 3!!

I can NOT believe how fast the last 3 years have gone by!

And while Gray does cry ALL the time, we wouldn't trade him for anything!!

Okay, so the pictures were all out of order when we downloaded them onto the computer...and when I went through all the pictures a few days ago I wrote down which numbers I wanted to use, but apparently didn't bother putting them in any order. And now I'm just too lazy to change it....so sorry they are all out of order!

PRESENTS!

Cousins came to celebrate the FUN day!!

Opening (and playing with) presents!

Checkin' out the awesome workbench

"Happy Birthday to you!!"

Blowing out the candles...and needing a little help from his sister

Graysen got an upgrade! 

He went from the toddler bed to the "bigger" boy bed

Showing us just how old he is

Before church Graysen got to open ONE present (the rest had to wait until that night).

He got some new CHURCH CLOTHES!

Even matching ones to Daddy.

Look how handsome my boys are!!

Oh Happy Day!

A close up of the cake.

Once again, Gary did a fabulous job!

He claims it was his easiest and most simple cake, yet it looks better than anything I could ever do!

We sure LOVE you, Graysen snug bug!!

HAPPY (belated) EASTER

Like I said, I'm WAY behind! 

So, here's a quick look at our FUN Easter!

The AWESOME baskets!

After last Easter (you can see here and here) I was worried the kids would be expecting a lot...again, but as you can see they (at least Kyri) were not at all disappointed!!

YUMMY Easter breakfast

homemade "hashies" (Gary's are the BEST), Lightened Up Creme Brulee French Toast (yes, we needed something somewhat healthy to go with the rest of the not-so-healthy), Sausage, and Orange Juice

Coloring the eggs

The Eggs!

After church we went to Dustin and Cassidy's for dinner and an Easter Egg Hunt. 

It's SO nice having family so close!

On the hunt

Kyri making sure the little ones found enough eggs

Making sure no egg gets left behind

Looks like Tanzi found plenty

It was fun to be able to Skype Grandma and Grandpa from Bunkerville amidst the egg-fun!

These two were quite the pair....and in heaven!!

Tanzi liked opening the eggs more than eating them (although she enjoyed plenty of that, too)

You can see what Creyton liked best :)

It was such a FUN Easter!

And this year I think our kids actually (sort of) understood the real meaning of Easter, which means we're doing something right....doesn't it?!?! 

Slowly Catching Up

I just added 3 new posts, so make sure you check them all out!

And check back again next week, as I have a LOT more to catch up on.

Someone please remind me that I should never get this behind on blogging again.

Look Who's BIG

When we took Graysen in for his 3 year check-up the doctor pointed out that Graysen has always stayed right on his curve. "The ideal child", I think is how he put it. Well, he doesn't have to live with this Gray bug or he may have chosen a few other words to describe him :) 

However, Graysen is still just below average for his weight (at 31 lbs) and barely above average for his height....as always.

Graysen really is a good boy, but he still cries. A LOT. So much so that lately his mama (yep, that's me) has had some pretty serious "crazy" moments, where she just can't take it any more! Why is it that everyone says how calm and laid back Graysen is, and yet, at home, he is anything but. Sometimes Kyri will do things just to make him cry. And who can blame her? It's not like it's hard!

But how can you resist a face as cute as this?

Graysen still does everything Kyri does.

Everything!

Lately his new thing is when asked what he wants or which one he will choose, etc., his reply is always, "I want what Kyri wants."

I'm just glad she doesn't mind...yet.

Kyri and Gray have great imaginations.

Kyri's imaginary friend, Sissa, is still around, but Kyri will now tell you that she isn't real, just pretend. I think Graysen caught on to "pretend" pretty quickly with her as his sister. He will often tell me, "I'm just 'tending" about things. But he does have a couple of "friends" that he talks about lately. Joke Joke and Danny Fofos. At least they're not as much trouble as Sissa, so I don't mind when they come around. Lately Kyri and Gray like to play "The Gary and Mauri Family" So, all day long I hear Graysen saying, "Mauri! Hey,. Maur! MAUR!!" With Kyri responding, "What Gar?!" If I ever respond to "Mauri" they instantly correct me, "You're not Maur, you're Mommy!" or "you're Grammy" or "you're aunt Margott", etc.

Fun times!

Graysen loves telling knock knock jokes, but they are all about the same.

Gray: Knock knock

Anyone who will answer: Who's there?

Gray: Mine shoe's too small

Anyone: Mine shoe's too small who?

Gray: Just mine shoe's too small.

Hahahaha!!!

Graysen is SO tender-hearted and sensitive (obviously). He is always concerned (and cries) when Kyri or Tanzi (or anyone else, for that matter) isn't doing what they're supposed to. Such as coming to dinner, or coming in the house. He is also the first to say sorry when he and Kyri get into trouble (which is often). 

This boy is SO super sweet and we love him SO much!!

(more to come regarding his birthday!!)

Two cute kids just before going to the doctor! Gray was VERY relieved he didn't have to have any "shocks" this time :)

Showing off her two bottom teeth...just before cutting some more

At nearly 13 months Tanzi weighed in at 17 lbs 10 oz. Still not on the charts, but she made a significant jump in her weight. The doctor was pleased to see that. I give credit to formula.

She was 28 in long, which was in about the tenth percentile.

Way to grow, baby girl!!

The doctor did make mention of swollen gums and asked how she normally does with teething. I said, "Well, she got the 6 you see all at once! So....not so good!"

Little did I know that she would work on 6 more...all at once! One more bottom tooth already broke through, she is working on 4 molars, and we are waiting on the other bottom tooth! Luckily, this time she only had a couple days of a LOW fever (instead of high, like last time). She is sometimes fussy, but can give her teething tablets and take care of that problem pretty quickly! 

Tanzi is SO much FUN!!

She is into everything. Just everything!

She throws little baby fits that make us ALL laugh, which makes her throw even bigger fits. It's really quite entertaining! :) 

As soon as the door to outside is open, she stops whatever it is she is doing and crawls as fast as she can to the door. When it gets closed before she can sneak out she will throw herself onto the ground!

DRAMA!!

Already.

Tanzi loves playing peek-a-boo and loves laughing at whatever anyone else is, especially if she is the cause of laughter.

Tanzi will kiss baby dolls if you ask her, and even Kyri or Gray on occasion, but she will RARELY kiss Gary or me if we ask. However, every once in a while she will just plant one on us, out of no where. And those kisses are so much more meaningful that I would take those rare ones ANY day :)

Tanzi is growing so fast and is SO much fun to have around! 

Why do my kids have to grow up?!?! 

I wish they could stay little forever!!

Recent Randomness

A sleeping baby is a precious baby!!

I especially love that her feet are sticking straight up :)

Too many bubbles?

Impossible!

Kyri giving her little sister a push on Graysen's "bike"

Food always tastes better if you get it everywhere, especially in the hair!!

Best Buddies!!

 "MINE!!"

Tanzi was done eating in her high chair, but quickly found the rest of her tortilla on the edge of the table.

YU-UM!!

Having cousins live close by is SO awesome!!

Rylee, Kyri, and Gray on the tire swing at a nearby "Castle Park"

FOOD

I think for any who know us at all you know how much we LOVE food!! 

Well, every once in a while Gary decides to take a picture of something he has made for dinner. Here are a few recent meals that we have really LOVED!

All recipes for these are from http://www.skinnytaste.com/ and I will put a link to each individual recipe!

This is one of our more recent ones

Jalapeno Poppers

Super YUMMY!!
Next on our list, Popper Stuffed Chicken

A fast, easy, and delicious Sunday dinner

Grilled Steak Fajitas

Our kids always want us to take a picture of their plate of yummy food too

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta

Another delicious meal!

Apparently we devoured these so fast we never got a picture after they were cooked

Chicken and Bean Enchiladas

We have made a LOT more recipes from this website, but these are the only ones we actually have pictures of.

Eating healthy really isn't all that bad, even for people who love food as much as us!!

1 Year Later and a Healthy and Happy Little Tanzi

This past year has been such a remarkable one with our sweet Tanzi. After having a rough start and being in the NICU at Primary Children's for almost 5 weeks she has continued to grow and bring so much joy and happiness into our home. We are so grateful for the many thoughts and prayers that helped not only Tanzi endure that trial, but especially Mauri and I. We are so much stronger as a family now. Tanzi has such a cute personality and is really a happy, carefree baby. She loves to laugh, smile, crawl, stand, climb, and do whatever her older siblings are doing.

Tanzi we love you so much!

Climbing into the DVD drawer and giving us a big smile!

Checking out all the new stuff she got for her Birthday.

I couldn't back down from our family tradition of making the birthday cakes for the kids. Mauri always tells me they turn out so good, but I am a perfectionist and think they can be much better. Tanzi's butterfly cake actually ended up pretty much how I wanted it to.

Time to let the fun begin...........

With a little help from Kyri(and a few cousins), Tanzi blows out the candle.

Unlike Kyri and Graysen, Tanzi dug right into her birthday cake.

She couldn't stuff it in fast enough.

The beginning of a disaster/

This is so much fun, I wish I could do this more often.

The paper plate even tastes good.

Soooooooo Happy!

It got really fun when she started playing peek-a-boo with cake all over her hands.

Uh oh, I'm not feeling very good.....

Oh well, one last piece won't hurt!

She was a filthy mess, but provided some great entertainment for everyone! We were happy to have some of Mauri's family with us to help celebrate. They were here to have a family get-together before her parents entered the MTC the next day. It was a fabulous day to celebrate with family and the Birthday Girl!