Nutella Smiles

Summer has learned to kiss - it is the CUTEST thing!

she regularly goes up to River and Silver with sweet little puckered lips to kiss them - her way of saying I love you or I'm sorry.

Summer also has learned to smile :)

Oh life is SO good

Especially when you have a jar of Nutella :)

Silver's Sunday Snapshot

Silver on Sunday Morning:

I bought this dress for River, I think it's a size 5. 

It fits Silver at 2, she wears it every week!

I have always thought it would be fun to take a picture each Sunday morning and watch how we slowly change.  Each Sunday comes and we sit on our bench and watch one baby turn into two kids and now three.  They change and grow so quickly. 

So Full of Life and Happiness!

Happiness is....

I can't remember what was said to produce this response,

but it could be any number of wonderful things:

We're going camping!

Let's have some IceCream!

Fireworks for the 4th of July!

Let's go to the Park!

Library Time!

Movie and Popcorn night!

Family Night!

Let's go for a walk up the Canyon!

Let's go to the Swimming Pool!

Dinner Time!

Yes, you can have a popsicle!

Life is GOOD!

There is so much to be happy about,

especially when seen through a child's eyes!

Silver snuck outside with a bowl of chocolate milk powder!

I love how they find complete joy in absolutely ordinary things:

While sitting waiting for Daddy:

River's Turn with the Camera!

Her View from the Car:

Happiness is a green leaf and being with Daddy!

Say Cheese!

We've been teaching Silver to smile for pictures.

Now whenever a camera comes out she says "CHEESE!!!"

and smiles as big as she can.

 Cheese happens to be one of Silver's favorite foods.

It's a GOOD life!

Halloween 2010

Halloween 2010 

Our first picture all together as a family of 5!

Halloween has never been a holiday that I have enjoyed.  I remember being really scared when I was little by someone knocking on our door in a scary outfit.  I don't care at all for black, although Orange is my favorite color :)  Growing up we used to go bowling on Halloween night - this was great fun for us because the bowling alley was usually empty and we didn't have to deal with scariness. 
Although, now that I have little kids, Halloween is fun to see it through their eyes, it's  a time to dress up and be something else for an evening, and see your friends in their outfits too.  Too Fun!  Plus Pumpkin carving, decorating and Candy!!  What a great Holiday!  I am a little kid at heart and have quite a lot of fun with ordinary or simple things.  I think I get just as excited about little things as the girls do.  :)  Life is good!

 Silver:  Magenta puppy off Blues Clues 

River: Princess Riding a Unicorn

Summer:  This is the cutest outfit, it is really snuggly warm and has little ears on top!

(I love our local thrift store - I got both Silver's and Summer's outfits there - I it for 50 cents!)

I am a big fan of Trunk-or-Treat!!  Kids get to see each other in their outfits, the entire community is together at one place, and everything is safe for all the kids.  Fun evening for all!

 Silver's Ready to go Home! 

She's showing me how she's SO Chilly!

Winter Quote Board and Happenings

Our newest discovery has been the circle of life. We started this off by talking about where eggs come from while making omlets? River: "Ummmm....Pigs?" Mom: "Eggs come from chickens." River: "Nu-uh Mom! Chickies hatch from Chicken Eggs!!!" We talked about how when there is a daddy rooster, then there are baby chicks in eggs, but these eggs didn't have a daddy.
The next day "Salty" one of her fish died. What a SAD morning! Her friend is gone! After a funeral service in the back yard she walks back forlornely to the house sniffing back tears and saying "It's okay Mommy, because of Jesus, our best fish will come back to life tomorrow." She's got the resurrection concept down - they do a good job in Primary sharing time! She can't wait until Jesus comes again, she wants to see him and tell him she loves him!
The same day in Primary the lesson is on...fish! Being grateful for God's creations, that God created everything, including fish! She brought 2 coloring pages home - a fish bowl with fish to color and cut out to put in the bowl. Tender Mercies of the Lord are all around us!!
The next morning we found "Ducky Swimmer" floating in the bowl. Oh NO! We now have 2 little mounds of earth with pretty rocks and sticks on them. Her two friends are no longer with us. Every day she says she hopes they come back to life soon. This kid has amazing faith!
She loves Heavenly Father. She tells me regularly that Heavenly Father Answers her prayers: "Mom, last night I was scared and I prayed and Heavenly Father gave me a good feeling and I wasn't scared anymore. He answered my prayer."
So we've been talking about death these last few days. We had a baby in our ward pass away, and River was really interested in figuring it all out. After many questions and pondering River comes to me: "It's okay Mom, because of Jesus, we all get to live together again"
So she's figured out that everything alive will eventually die. "Mom, Do Bears Die?" "So, Mom? Will Trees Die?" How smart!! I love watching their minds put things together - Trees = alive: Trees must die.
Here's her plan: "When all our gold fish die (we're down to Alicia) we'll get guppies, when the guppies die, then I'll get a puppy and when my puppy dies then I'll get a kitty."

Applause! It makes you feel so good as a mom when your kids sit up and eat!! I have Silver who will out – eat River almost every meal. With Silver you know absolutely if she loves something or does not like it at all. There is very little middle ground. She’s either clapping and squealing, or shaking her head vigorously No! This dinner got a clap after every bite for Silver with a mmmm, mmmm, mmmm! River gave me a “Don’t forget to make this favorite yummy food lots of times!” Okay! This will be a regular! (oh, by the way it was potato soup with bacon in it and then next time I made it both girls refused to eat it).

Some of my cravings when I'm pregnant: Guacamole, bouillon - yes, just plain salty bouillon (wierd I know!) eggs sunny side up, and watermelon.

Silver's new favorite thing is to wear a blanket as a cape. She brings a blankie and "asks" for it to be draped around her shoulders and tied around her neck. Then she proudly parades through the house until it falls off and then she brings it back to be put back on.

This is SO great! When you ask River to do something, her standard answer is "Yes Momma!" It's music to a momma's ears when you ask "Please put your toys away" and you hear "Yes Momma!"

River runs excitedly to me: Mom, look outside the window! There is a huge fire with a human standing next to it!!

Mom: Is it a he or a she? River: It's a Heaton! (The Heatons are our neighbors)

I enjoy playing the Piano in Primary. I like watching River sing and soak everything up. Yesterday we were talking about the Resurrection in Sharing Time. The teacher's hand represented our spirit and the glove represented our body. After we die our body goes in the ground and our spirit goes back to heaven. When we are resurrected our body and spirit re-unite. River pipes up "It would be hard to have a lot of arms and legs...like a grasshopper...that would just be hard" (like to put on all the gloves in resurrection :) hhmmm, complicated!

One Day we were pretending we were Lions. Mommy "Rroarrr" Daddy "RROOOAAARRR" River "Rroar" Silver's turn: She waited until her turn, and then belted out a great roar herself. After that she got the greatest kick going around and opening her mouth wide and roaring.

River: Whoa! Wwwhooooaaahhh, Woohoo! This road is really Tangly!

River: Dad, Can you Flush my pillow? We got her a feather pillow and she loves to have it fluffed before she goes to bed.

Silver Dawn's First Birthday

Silver Dawn's First Birthday:

Instead of a cake, we did a birthday Jello - Jello powder mixed with cool whip.

Silver had SO much fun.

And yes, red jello comes out of clothes!

Silver rocks back and forth when she really likes something. We also know when food is yummy by the "hhhhmmmm, hmmmmm!"

This is a keeper recipe for future 1 year birthday parties!

Silver is getting around really great. She's so small and walks so good. People can't get over how well she walks. It takes everyone by surprise. They say, "but she's SO small!"

This horse was given to River last Christmas. She was wasn't big enough to ride it around last year. This Christmas, it's like a whole new toy. She's gotten a lot of miles this year on the horse! River and Silver LOVE to play together. River usually sleeps on my bed for nap time so that they won't wake each other up. Today I had her in her bed for nap. Silver woke up and after a while playing by herself decided she wanted her sister to play with. She climbed up on River's bed and was pulling her hair to wake her up.

Happy Baby! Fun Memories!

Close Up

Here is a smattering of the things I find so darling about kids and babies:

Smiles and Truly Happy Times

Silver at the glass door SO excited about life!

Silver Dawn's eyes.
(This photo is not touched up!)
This is what I get to look into every day!

I love little baby wrists like this that look like they have a rubber band on it.
River never did have fat rolls, She was always so skinny.

Little dimples on the knuckles.

I love when babies pull up their legs.

SISTERS and BEST FRIENDS!

Happiness is finding something you enjoy!

Silver enjoys blocks, the little plastic vegetable set we have, food, and hugs!

Silver kneels up all the time. Either with both feet under her, or one foot under and the other in front bent at the knee. The toes remind me of peas in a pod.

Sweet Memories!

I usually have patience until about 8:30 pm. Tonight after snapping at River I told myself to be patient with Silver's constantly wanting to be held and River's bed-time stalling and non-stop questions (why???? but why??? and why is that??? what does this do??? why do you do that???)

I remind myself that she is a smart girl trying to figure out her world.

Enjoy every moment, because this chapter will pass ever so quickly!

Dreams do come true! And better than I could have ever imagined or designed it myself.

For the Strength of Youth Pamphlet pg 41: "When you do these things, the Lord will make much more out of your life than you can by yourself. He will increase your opportunities, expand your vision, and strengthen you. He will give you the help you need to meet your trials and challenges. You will find true joy as you come to know your Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, and feel their love for you."

One of my secrets for joy is to not look at the little things kids do as an inconvenience (diaper changes, clothes changes, constant chatter, wanting to be held, constant messes with toys or art projects or books, more messes - River was getting a yogurt out of the fridge and out fell a bowl of soup that broke over the floor spilling soup literally over the whole kitchen - not 20 minutes after I just mopped the floor. After I took a deep breath, I smiled because she was trying to be a big girl and do things for herself. These things for me are just a part of childhood and are to be expected in my every day while I have little kids. My opinion is that my life is not my own while I have little kids - for about 2 years for every baby I no longer have a schedule or a fixed agenda. My life literally revolves around them and their needs, and I need to fit my projects and to-do lists around them. This is something that I have chosen - to be a Mom, and to love it! I love Silver's name. I always ask myself, what's the Silver lining in this, or what is a way to take a positive spin on this?

I was released from being YW President last Sunday. It's sometimes hard to be released, to have spent so much time, effort, energy and thought and then to have that chapter end. But it's the beginning of a new chapter. I was talking to the Seminary teacher here. He said that in his opinion Scouts isn't about tying knots and camping, it's about having a leader that is a good role model and example. To have a leader that reads their scriptures and prays and lives the gospel and hopefully they'll think back about that and want that same spirit in their lives. That's what helped me develop a testimony for myself, to want what a girl I really admired had - the spirit. This was a really hard calling for me, but I'm so glad I was able to serve the girls - I learned a lot about myself and about teenager-hood. It will impact how I raise our girls knowing they will be teenagers some day. I'm thankful to have had that experience, and I'm grateful that I'm able to start a new chapter now.

Enjoyin' the Journey! Here's to a new Chapter!