Saydi's Birthday

Saydi had her REAL birthday yesterday and is now officially two years old! It's hard to believe and at the same time I feel like she's always been in my life. We started out the morning with opening the last couple presents Mark and I had for her. Her very first Barbie (which I somehow can't stop playing with)

and her very first tricycle! She's having a hard time figuring out the pedals but she'll get there!

Mark had just come off a night shift so he went to bed and I took the kids to the library to stock up on some Baby Einstein movies and then we went and got some balloons to decorate the house with.

Poor Weston's bike broke just last week and there had been some serious arguments but then Saydi getting a new one just sealed the deal and I couldn't take much more fighting! So we went and got him a new bike after lunch and naps. I felt a little guilty doing that on Saydi's birthday but they both enjoyed their own bikes so much more once he had his own! We also took the kids to the mall to play with the Thomas train table in Barnes and Noble that they love and then had dinner at their favorite place, Olive Garden, since I just didn't have it in me to cook!

After we were done playing outside (hence the ragamuffin hair, outfit, general look) we came in for cupcakes which Saydi at first was not a fan of

and refused to blow out

but then she got to tasting the deliciousness that is rainbow chip cake and frosting and pronounced "I yike it!".

I always do so good on my kids' birthdays until I put them in bed and then I cry! I can't help it. They grow so fast and I can remember each of their births like it was yesterday. We love you Saydi and are so glad we have such a Precious girl in our family! Happy Birthday!

Saydi's 2nd "Birthday"

I was really stressing about the birthday situation as Saydi's birthday and the birth of baby #3 were creeping up on me when one night at a primary meeting my friend Carrie mentioned that I should just have her party and be done with it since Saydi doesn't know when her birthday is anyway. I decided that was a fabulous idea so we had a little get together at the park today to celebrate her upcoming second birthday. Saydi got spoiled by all her aunties and friends and she had a fun day, although she became very shy being the center of attention! It was a fun day and here are the pictures to prove it:

This is while we were singing "happy birthday" to her. I love the combo of her shades and party hat. =)

Her first tea set! I've wanted her to have one for a long time but wasn't sure she'd get the concept. She did. Right away. She played with it for the longest time when we got home.

Proudly displaying her "orange" shirt. She tries so hard to tell me what colors are what but she is almost always wrong!

Her first purse!

Sporting her new necklaces and bracelets. Which she is obsessed with. She loves necklaces! And you'll notice Wes in the background being the great "helper" that he was. =)

Here she is playing on the toys with her bling on. She threw a lovely fit when I didn't let her sleep with them on tonight. Mean mommy doesn't want her to choke.

She was being so shy and cuddly and when she'd open a present this was the face she'd make. Always with the tongue. I guess that's her own little way of hiding her smile.

It was a fun party and I'm glad we got to celebrate our sweet girl before life gets too crazy with a new baby brother in the mix! Thanks to all those who came! And I just have to say that I am SO grateful for my sisters and the help they gave me with everything. I couldn't have done what little I did without them!

I wanted to post a few things about Saydi while I'm at it so I don't forget how special she is at this age and what a fun girl she is. She LOVES to play outside. Especially with her brother, although she is very independent and she is just fine to play anywhere by herself at any time.

It would take less time for me to write the words she DOESN'T say, she talks so good. She mostly speaks in sentences too and it is so nice to be able to communicate with her at such a young age since Weston took so much longer! She is my cuddle bug and I love, love, love it. She will sometimes crawl behind me when I'm sitting up on my bed or on the couch and ever so gently play with my hair. And when I pick her up and hold her on my hip she wraps one arm super tight around my neck, not to mention the crushing hugs she will give! She loves her babies and dolls and gives them random kisses as well as making sure they're wrapped up in their blankies. She does the "shh, shh, shh" thing still too and I'm sure that's bound to increase when baby brother comes! She never lets me forget to have us read scriptures after we read our books at night and she just started saying the prayer recently too, though not often. She is always the first at meal times to say "prayer!" and keep her arms folded until we're done, no matter how hungry she is. She is full of fun, laughter, and love and I honestly can not even imagine what our family would be like without her! She is such a sweet blessing and I'm so grateful that it's me she calls Mama. We love you Saydi bug!!

(This picture is blurry because it's from my phone and it's zoomed in but I HAD to post it because it perfectly captures Saydi's sweet, fun-loving personality. Love her.)

Comedic Relief

This video may not be funny to anyone but myself since I really, really don't like our chickens. They've gotten big now and they keep escaping from their little fenced off area. Seeing as how they were Mark's idea and he's such a big fan, I can't help but find some comedy in watching him try to catch them! He chased them around the yard for over five minutes trying to catch them. I wish I'd thought to get the camera sooner! I think the funniest thing for me was seeing how funny Weston thought it was. He kept yelling, "get the stupid chickies!" Whoops! Guess I'd better start keeping my opinion of the "stupid chickies" to myself. =) Enjoy!

Why So Quiet?

It's been an unusually long time since my last post. The reason? I've been trying to live by the saying "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". Let's just say, the last month of pregnancy is always the hardest for me, emotionally and physically, so we have been pretty low key around here. But we're having an early birthday party for Saydi this weekend so there should be some cute pictures coming soon. And not long after that pictures of our new baby boy will be making their debut. So I guess I'll just stay quiet until then.

What Happens...?

What happens when you try to make your 3 year old and almost 2 year old let you take a picture of them before church? I will tell you.

Brother will check to make sure that sister is looking and she will give you her best "cheese!" ever.

When he sees that it's a go, he'll look for a while but now sister will be distracted by the amazing contraption that is a door knob.

Sister will look again, but she already gave you her best shot so you shouldn't expect more. Commence sucking on fingers. Meanwhile, brother is looking longingly at his jacket wondering if we can go yet.

Finally brother will look at you again out of sheer desperation for this to be over and sister will start thinking if she can just melt into the floor she can escape this whole process.

And then you will give up.

Good thing these little kiddos are so cute that even the pictures that never turn out still make me smile. Love them. Love being their mom.

An Unfortunate Proof

I've been saying for a few weeks now that I'm as big as I was when I delivered Saydi. This morning I found the proof on my computer:

Saydi at 36 weeks (my water broke 3 days after I took this picture)

Baby #3 at 32 weeks

Yikes. It's going to be a LONG 6-7 more weeks.

Humble Pie

Well I just got done adding a new post and here I am adding another one. Reason being this: I just posted about my kids fighting and whining (both of which they are doing as I sit here and type this) but in the middle of all of that I witnessed a moment I never want to forget.

Weston and Saydi were in Saydi's room reading books. Imagine my surprise when I then hear Weston saying a prayer and I look to find them both sitting in there with their arms folded, praying together. Weston said, "amen" and then "ok Saydi, go night-night". My little mommy heart nearly burst with pride.

And I realized, not for the first time, my kids are always watching. There's a hymn that talks about "angels silent notes taking" and I need to remember that in our home those angels are my children. Yes, they went right back to fighting. But hey, they're kids, what can I expect? What's important is that I continue to show them how they are supposed to behave and wait for the blessed day when they make that choice all on their own to do it. Time for me to expect more from myself and less from them.

Stuff

I was going through my pictures on my computer and found a couple pictures that I meant to post and forgot about. The first is of me and my new niece, Maylee Grace. Becky had a baby girl on April 10th and she's a cutie.

And here is Saydi in her true form - looking like a homeless person. I never do her hair until we're stepping out the door because she plays like a boy and this is always what she looks like. Hopefully some day she'll like having her hair look nice and not shove her head between the couch cushions. At least she's a little bit girly and likes some bling.

Yesterday we went to Ogden for Sean and Crystal's baby blessing. Austin is such a cute little baby! Sean did an amazing job with the blessing. Even though we were in Utah for a shorter amount of time then it took to drive there because Mark had to get back to catch the bus for work, it was still fun and we are glad we went. We attempted to take a family picture before church but Saydi was making her fish face in one and Weston was looking at his lap in another. So this is the better of the two but still...not great. Why don't kids cooperate?

Weston and Saydi with Grammy and Papa Jerry. I love that my kids love all three sets of their grandparents and that they know the difference between them all.

Other then that I think my kids may have spring fever, if that is a real thing. And if it is what it means is that they are constantly fighting, whining, crying over every little tiny thing, and interspersing just enough cuteness in between all of it to barely help me cling onto my sanity. Then again, it could be the pregnancy hormones talking as we enter the last 6-7 weeks here, but that doesn't seem very likely to me. ;)