Hair Do's and Don'ts

I cut Weston's hair the other night and discovered the only way to do it and keep Saydi happy (and most importantly - out of the way) is to let her make a mess too.

I'm sure there's a better way but in the mean time I guess these two rascals will just enjoy all the messiness they create. They sure do seem happy when they're doing it!

The other afternoon Saydi woke up from her nap and I went to get her and was startled to see the baby version of Mr. Grinch (who, by the way, when I first saw, I thought was so adorable that I told Mark I wanted my very own Grinch baby. Dreams do come true). The funniest thing about it was that her hair was not even in a pony tail that day. It was completely stick straight when she went down for her nap and this is how I found her. She thought it was hilarious to see me laughing at her so much.

Speaking of laughing - I had the best mother-son moment with Weston last night. I was bathing the kids and I'm not sure why but for some reason Weston and I were both looking at Saydi at the exact moment that she made the silliest face by pulling the corners of her mouth back as far as possible, opening her eyes huge, and making the craziest noise. Weston and I both died of laughter at the same time. Then he said, "mama, was dis?" and he tried to mimic what Saydi had just done and I just completely lost it all over again. So then I showed him what Saydi had done and he started laughing that hysterical kind of laughter where it's completely silent for a while and the veins in your neck look like they're going to burst. We laughed like that together for a good five minutes and my cheeks were on fire. It was so crazy for me to realize that he's a little person with a sense of humor already and to realize how much he understands. Of course, I also loved the fact that he and I were laughing at the same thing. He seems to have inherited my crazy laugh and also the way that I laugh over the smallest, dumbest things that to other people aren't that funny. Good times.

Lately

I'm sitting here wasting time despite the filth that surrounds me (delaying the inevitable, yes, I know) and I realized I should probably catch up on some of the recent happenings.

The kids and I have been spending each day at my parents house this week to babysit my dad while my mom is at the MAYO clinic getting some testing done. Yes, my 57 year old father needs a babysitter. He always pushes himself too quickly after surgeries so we've been over there to prevent that from happening. Well, attempt to anyway. I've actually quite enjoyed spending time with my dad and he's certainly much easier to clean up after then my two little ones! The highlight of my week had to be when he came up to me and said, "Before you say no..." before asking me if he could run an errand with a friend. Loved it. I can't even count how many times I used that exact phrase. However, at the age of 57 apparently the place you want to go with your friend is to the pharmacy. No joke. So needless to say he got the green light only because his friend drove. I was sorely tempted to give him a curfew but I held my tongue. (I deserve an award.)

In other news, Weston has turned into a hair dresser

And Saydi has turned into a puppy. (Too bad I can't convince Mark we don't need a REAL puppy now.)

I also had the sad realization today that throughout the whole day I now understand about 90% of what Weston says to me when not so long ago it was the other way around. My favorite is when I ask him to do (or not do) something and he says "k". My least favorite is when his response is "no". Not a fan. Saydi hardly seems like a baby anymore and Weston hardly seems like a little boy. It's going so fast and I fear I'm not enjoying each day to the fullest like I should. I think that's really why I blog - it helps me remember how grateful I really am.

Anyone Else?

I have a new obsession:

Whenever I get a new CD I listen to it over and over. Especially this one because it is seriously the most incredible CD I've had in a very, very long time. I get to where I know every song backwards and forwards - and then I don't listen to it again for a LONG time. Like, years sometimes. It drives Mark crazy. He tells me to "spread it out". But I just can't help myself! I love it and I will listen to it every day until one day I decide, I can't stand this CD anymore. Although, I don't see that happening since Leona Lewis is probably my most favorite artist ever.

Am I the only wierdo that does this? (Besides you, Miss.) =)

Easter Weekend

This weekend was so crazy for us that it seems like it was more then just two days long! We went to Mark's dad's Saturday afternoon for the annual dinner and Easter egg hunt. Sid put together something like 100 eggs or more for the little kids and this year some of the older grandkids hid them. They send them out to find a certain amount and then after they come in and empty their eggs into sacks it's a free for all and they all just take what they get. At that point, I really wanted to call the Easter bunny and cancel the visit to our house! Weston had so much fun and sent more then one egg-full of jelly beans flying in his haste to find what was in his "ball".

After we got home I spent Saturday night getting the house ready for Easter and Conference. Mark took our oldest nephew, Tyrel, with him to the Priesthood session since Jakob had to fix their hot water heater so that the boys could have warm showers that night. Ty didn't have any church clothes but Mark had an old pair of pants from his Marine Corps uniform that Ty actually fit into! It was both disgusting to me that Mark was that tiny at the age of 20 AND that Ty could fit into those at the age of 12!!

So Easter morning came and the kids awoke to far too much candy (the Easter bunny forgot that they are only 2 and 9 months old =) ).

Weston was still pretty sleepy but he certainly enjoyed seeing all the treats he got. Saydi didn't really care about anything until I took her little toy off one of her treats and then she was a happy camper! Ty spent the night with us and I loved to see my kids playing with him that morning. Although, I was more then a little sad to think how not so long ago this beast of a boy was my own kids' age. And I remember it well!

Every year for Conference we get together with Mark's mom and siblings and it's so much fun. Although, apparently this is how Conference is "watched". =)

After we have lunch and try to watch Conference on full bellies a little bit of nodding off is practically unavoidable. I guess I can thank my kids for keeping me awake during Conference, even if they still distract me from catching everything I should. The boys got to play outside a lot too and Weston was not happy at all when he had to come in and have a nap. I made a pan of jigglers and let the boys each take turns cutting out their own Easter shape with cookie cutters and they really loved that. They also dyed eggs. I attempted to help Weston but he was wanting to dip his whole hand in so mommy just dumped each of his eggs in a color and called it good. =)

After Conference we played cards and ate far too much junk. But it was oh so fun and I love spending time with Mark's family. Conference was great this year but really got me thinking a lot since I felt like a lot of the talks were about tragedy, adversity and death. My dad is having a surgery today that has the potential to change his life for the better but also has some risks and my mom is having complications after her open heart surgery that she has to be seen at the Mayo clinic for. So, I'm trying not to freak myself out too much and just enjoy the spirit that I felt as I listened to the talks while I try to improve my own life. I love this time of year!

Small and Simple Things

Today has been a day of much growth around this household. Saydi finally started crawling! We have been waiting for her to start crawling for so long since we assumed she would around the same time Weston did - just shy of 7 months old. She was a typical girl about it and took her sweet time. =) It's time to get the gate out! In addition to this our sweet baby girl finally pulled herself up to a standing position today. I went to get her out of her crib after her nap and there she was! Needless to say, Daddy and I lowered her crib before he went to work tonight! Sadly these changes, while making me so happy to see my little girl learn new things, also make me sad to see how big she's getting so fast! Such is life I suppose. At her 9 month checkup last week she weighed in at 17 lbs. (14th percentile but up from the THIRD!) and 28 inches long (61st percentile). I checked Weston's growth charts to compare and he weighed over 22 lbs and was 30 inches long at 9 months. A difference for sure but she'll catch up.

Weston reached his own little milestone today too. I was texting my sister and cleaning up after lunch and I heard this wooshing sound so I went to inspect and I found that he had pulled his stool over to the sink, washed his hands and was drying them without me even telling him to! So proud.

Here are some recent, random pictures:

Weston was sporting Mark's beanie and sunglasses (on the top of his head) but as always, had to see what I was taking a picture of so this is the best I got. He looks drunk but it cracks me up! He's so funny. He'll wear these beanies all day long sometimes.

Saydi looked so stinking cute on Sunday that I just had to take a picture of her in her cute little dress. This is after church though so her cute butterfly was pulled out of her hair and if you look close you can see the ring of slobber on her dress (still no teeth!). She's getting so big!

It's funny how such little things like seeing your kids learn new things and baking cookies with them can totally make you appreciate how much your kids mean to you. I love being a mom and knowing that I have these two little people in my life that help make it meaningful and worth while.

Things That Make Ya Go "Hmmm"

We've had a recent tragedy in our family that has really had me pondering things. Mark's cousin's wife died in a car accident. I attended the viewing on Mark's behalf since he was working and have been thinking ever since how much my family means to me and that truly, you never know what moment might be your last with them. So, I decided to devote an entire post to each child so that I will always remember the moments we've been having with them recently and how much they mean to me. We are truly so blessed!

"Fussy" Weston

Well, Weston is not really living up to his nickname "Fussy" as much as he did as a baby but unfortunately it has still stuck with him and he answers to both names. (Actual he'll answer to Wes, Weston, Fussy, Fuss, and Fussy Britches!) I've said it before but really, Mark and I just can't get over what a good big brother he is. I was getting ready this morning and Saydi was SCREAMING in delight so I snuck to get the camera and caught them playing.

Sometimes when I go get Saydi out of her crib after naps Weston giggles so much that it sounds like the kind of happy laughter you have right before you burst into tears. It's adorable. He loves to cuddle with Saydi too. I took this picture Sunday morning as he was watching his New Testament video (those are what he is allowed to watch on Sunday). He's in the middle of saying, "Where's Jesus?" - which he says over and over as he watches these movies because he knows Jesus is in every one of them!

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of other pictures of him because when I get the camera out he goes crazy and has to see what I'm taking a picture of. Hopefully I can break him of that habit, otherwise we'll have nothing but videos of him if I can sneak up on him!

He loves to play ball. The other night we were throwing this ball back and forth and out of nowhere he starting throwing himself back on the couch and saying "ouch" and then laughing. It was pretty cute. Please note in the below video that the ball I threw at him was half-way deflated and I didn't throw it hard. The throwing himself backwards was part of the game - honestly!

Weston has such a fun personality. When I call for him he says "what?" which I think is adorable. He'll also say "hey" with a very stretched out "ey" if you do something he doesn't like. Also adorable. I don't know where he got it from but he started doing this new thing where he'll get close to Saydi (or sometimes me) and jab his finger into the air and say, "you, you, you" over and over! Hilarious. He says new words every day and I'm so glad. I think he knows a lot more then he shows! He can repeat all the colors I say but he won't say them on his own. He can spot an oval or a star absolutely anywhere. No idea why "oval" was the first shape he learned. And he really knows the difference between a circle and an oval. At night we read his books that go with his theme for the week from his learning poster and then we read the board books that are the stories of the Old or New Testament or Book of Mormon. After we finish his library books I say, "time for scriptures" and he gasps and says "priptures!". Probably my favorite thing about this little boy is his knowledge of prayer. He will say "prayer" even when he sees me dishing up his food and he almost never touches it before we say prayer. Most the time he is the first one with his arms folded! In church every time after the organ stops he folds his arms because he's gotten used to praying after music. It cracks me up when he drops everything he's doing to fold his arms after the rest hymn! He keeps me in line and there is never a day where we don't pray at least four times a day - with every meal and at bedtime. He goes to nursery with no problems now and babbles like crazy when I go get him. A few words are noticeable but mostly just silly talk! He'll get there one day and then I'll really be in trouble! Weston has such a sweet demeanor and a disposition to do good always. He is truly an amazing spirit and I feel honored to think that he chose Mark and I to raise him. Hopefully we won't ruin him because he is so special. We love you Fussy Britches!

"Precious" Saydi

Saydi is such a different baby since going on bottles and we love it! She is happy so much more and is figuring out some seriously funny things to do. Her tongue is still her favorite toy, as this video demonstrates. *Note: My kids stop everything they're doing if I ever turn off the music (I think they wonder what's going on since I always have it on!) so you'll notice it in lots of my videos. Don't want to ruin the moment!

My favorite part of this video is the very end. In case you can't tell Weston says, "that's funny" after which Saydi starts laughing and then we all start in. Love it.

Amy had her baby (Keira Belle) on March 9th and Sarah and I both went down there with our little girls and got pictures of the three of them. Aaron managed to get one of all of them that was good but this was what I got! Three girls in nine months - so fun!

While we were there Saydi figured out that she could blow on Amy's leather couch and make raspberries. She honestly entertained herself for about 10 minutes. She of course didn't do it as good when I turned on the camera but still, it's pretty cute. =)

Her hair now fits into ponytails (I can even do two!) and I love it but unfortunately Saydi hates getting her hair done already! Oh well, she better get used to it! After her nap it usually gets pulled out and she sports this lovely mohawk.

I will seriously not be surprised if Saydi starts crawling tomorrow. She is SO close. It gets frustrating for both of us I think! She sleeps about 12 hours at night and takes a small nap in the morning and at least a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. Usually with her brother which is fantastic for me. Weston is her hero already. He makes her giggle all the time. She will lurch and lunge out of my arms to be able to see him at all times. She is starting to want real food. But not just real food, food that she can feed herself. I fear my independence has rubbed off on my children a little early! Her 9 month checkup is Monday so I'll post her stats then. Her cheeks and thighs sure are getting more full though which we love! She loves outside just as much as Weston and also loves the car - which is especially nice since she still is in the rear facing seat. We love our little girl so much and I honestly don't know what I would do without her. Despite her only being with us for nine months so far I really don't remember what we did before her! We love you Precious!