Cedar City Spring

In April, I spent a couple days in Cedar City, where my sister's friend took some great pics of the girls and me. I think she is a great photographer!

Best Dinner Everywhere!

Breakfast Conversation this morning:
Siena: "Mommy, this is the best dinner everywhere!"
Mommy: "I'm glad you like it!"
Siena: (burps loudly)
Mommy: "Siena, what do you say?"
Siena: "That's my tummy saying Thank you!"

Blessingway

We had Melissa's Blessingway last night. It is basically is celebration of the expectant mother. Rather than lots of gifts, silly games and lots of fluff at a baby shower, this is a small, intimate expression of love with only the closest of friends. Melissa chose 4 life-long friends to come to participate, and one of them even drove from Seattle! (Thanks, Jen. That means a lot!) We prayed, sang, brushed hair, washed feet, bellydanced, henna'd, wrote meaningful stories, spoke affirmations and exchanged beads, participated in a web of womanhood and closing of the bones. It was a deeply moving and spiritual experience.

got her wheels

Tessa has found her wheels, in almost every sense. She started going up and down starts the day after she learned to walk, running a couple weeks after, and now, all she want to play with is her big sister's trike. She is in such a hurry to grow up, I just want to push pause for awhile. Sigh... But she is always so happy and proud of herself when she climes on and pretends to ride, I can't help but smiling too :)

Potty Training, take 40

So the saga continues... We started down this path about a year ago, but Siena wasn't emotionally ready (physically, she has been ready for over a year). It has become something of a power struggle. But she knew that when she turned 3, all the diapers would go away. Afterall, she is starting preschool in the Fall, and she's got to be potty trained. We are using bigger rewards this time. Every time she goes, she gets a chocolate chip. If she stays dry through her nap time, she gets a sucker. If she can make it through the whole night, she can watch her favorite show, play with her new motorized car that she can ride in (I got it today at a garage sale for $15- sweet!), get a popsicle, basically, you name it. This one hasn't actually happened yet, but she's getting closer ;)
So when she earned her sucker yesterday, it was so sweet to see her share with her little sister. She is so good to Tessa!

Siena is 3!!

We kept Siena's simple and outdoors. We filled up the kiddie pool, pulled out the slip n' slide, put a sprinkler under the trampoline, and called it a party. The kids had a blast! :)

3K

Have you ever ran a marathon? Or wanted to run a marathon? Is it on your bucket list?
It seems like everybody and their dog is running, has run or is planning to run a marathon. Apparently, it's just the thing to do.
I am not one of those people. Running has never been my thing. I don't enjoy it, I don't get a rush, I just get tired and sweaty. I respect those who do enjoy it, I just can't relate to them.
So when my whole school put on a 3K to benefit the art and music programs, and everyone was required to participate, I hesitated. I decided I could do it if I walked the whole way, and I could take my girls with me. And with a record-breaking time (for me, since it was my first and likely only) of 1hr, 8 minutes, I made it all the way to the finish line :)

Garden Goddesses

We are loving the garden this year! Lots of hard work went into this garden, and Siena loved every minute of it! She loved finding bugs, planting seeds, digging with her hand shovel, and most of all, finding worms. She is a freak of nature, er um, I mean, a nature freak. ;)
Tessa's favorite is the dirt. She loves to eat dirt.
It's nice to see that things are starting to grow and all the hard work is starting to pay off.
Thanks mom and dad!

Hiding Place

Siena's favorite game is currently Hide & Seek. We count to 10, and usually before we get a chance to "search" for her, she jumps out of her hiding place and shouts, "Here my am!" As it turns out, Tessa found a special place of her own to hide out.

Slug Stomper and Worm Warrior

It has been raining an awful lot here lately. A ridiculous amount, actually. Since rainy days were getting pretty boring staying in the house all day, we took advantage when the sun came out last weekend. Siena wanted to save all the earthworms that were on the driveway. We also found the biggest worm I have ever seen in my life!
Unfortunately, the rain also unearthed the slugs. I was pretty horrified at how many slugs there were creeping around. Every time we saw one, Siena would say "Mom, step on it!" But she refused to do it herself. Her mission was to save the worms. And she was making up songs about her wormy friends the whole time. We dedicated over 2 hours to stomping slugs and saving worms that day :)

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone out there (if I have any readers) had a happy Mother's Day. I know I did! Thad made it extra special by serving me breakfast in bed, giving me these gorgeous lilies that keep on blooming and making the whole house smell so sweet! And then on top of everything else, he made me an exquisite seafood dinner with scallops and king crab! He even cracked open and took out all the crab meat so I wouldn't have to! Have I ever mentioned that I married the most amazing guy ever? Thanks love, for making my day so special!

A serious foodie

Tessa can put away more food in a day than I ever thought possible from a barely 1-yr old. She usually more than doubles what Siena eats, and can eat as much as Siena and myself combined! (And I take my food pretty seriously!). I honestly have no idea how it all fits in that tiny, squishy little body of hers. And all that being said, she really enjoys eating as well!

Siena's haircut

Just a trim really. Thad and I were going to the Barrister's Ball (a fancy dance for law students), and I wanted to get my hair done. I didn't really have a babysitter, so I scheduled a haircut for Siena the same time as my updo, so basically her hairstylist could watch her (no worries, she was sitting right next to me the whole time), and she could get a haircut. 3 birds with one stone! And Siena was so good and held so surprisingly still (she has always freaked out when she sees me holding a brush), her stylist said she was the best behaved child she had ever seen in there! Go Siena!

a trio

Siena playing piano with her friends Charlotte and Alex

Silver Buttons

Siena had her last performance for her music group, "Let's Get Ready," a prelude to "Let's Play Music" last week. This semester, it was the "Silver Button" curriculum. We have some new favorites from this time, like "Button You Must Wander" and "Everybody Clap Your Hands." Siena loves to sing to everything she does. She just talks about what she is doing in song.

Crazy spaghetti lunch

All the fam got together for Easter to celebrate my nephew Hyrum's baptism. It had been over a year since the brothers had come so it was really nice to see everyone. We celebrated past birthdays and had a great time. I planned a crazy spaghetti lunch where everybody ate, drank and were served with crazy utensils/kitchenware. Then we went surfing on the Surfrider at Provo Beach Resort. Stayed up too many late nights playing hilarious games. I also planned an Easter Egg hunt. I think we all pushed ourselves too hard and got a little sick, but it was totally worth it! Too bad I have a crappy camera on my phone, or I would have taken more pics!

St George

We went to St George over my spring break a couple of weeks ago. We LOVED the warm sun, and the splash parks! Melissa and Jairus got to hang out with us. Actually, Melissa watched the kids during the day while I took classes on energy healing. It was such a wonderful week! And now I am a certified energy healing practitioner. It's awesome!

A true woman

Siena loves chocolate as only a true woman can. She frequently reminds me, "Mommy, chocolate is favorite!"

Grandma's glasses

Both of the girls love playing with grandma's glasses.

Siena and her animals

Thi





Siena is a complete animal lover. Everywhere we go, she wants to find animals. If she finds them, she wants to touch them, hold them, ride them, you name it. Recently, she has ridden a horse named Jackpot (now every horse's name is Jackpot), held a bunny, ridden a pony and held a chicken. She even talks about how much she loves bugs!