Young Women's Weekend

Last year Mark and I were fortunate enough to take the young women to SLC to see conference and this year they asked us to go with them again. It was amazing. It was also the opening weekend for the new City Creek mall so we went there and it was mayhem! All my years in California I never went to a mall so crowded. But it was super fun. Several times throughout the day I had the overwhelming feeling that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Especially at conference. I love the way it feels to be there when the prophet walks in. It was nice to walk around with Mark and not have to continually be counting heads too.  (You can see the temple in our sunglasses. <3)

Our day away would not have been possible without help from our amazing family members. Miss took Weston and Saydi for most of the day and then brought them home where Mark's mom had been watching Jonas all day. Poor Jonas bawled the entire day. I felt horrible when I found out. More for Marlene than for Jonas because that is rough to put up with. But she was great and Jonas survived! Weston and Saydi had the absolute time of their lives. Miss was Super Aunt and made play dough and helped them color paper Easter eggs. They played outside for hours and had so much fun jumping on the trampoline. Here are some pictures of the fun that they had. This one has to be my favorite. The absolute adoration on both of their faces is priceless.

 Such cute kids! I know I'm biased but really. All my sisters have adorable kids. I was worried mine wouldn't hold a candle to them but so far they are turning out ok. ;)

 Cute girl! Saydi thinks so too. She just saw this picture and said, "Look at my hair. Is pretty." She is such a girl!

 Aunt Bea came by for a while too and Saydi sure loves playing with "Waywee" (Maylee).

 Being silly!

 Adorable boy. When they got home Marlene said Weston was just talking non-stop and telling her anything and everything about his day.

Words can not express my gratitude for family that is willing to help so that Mark and I can help serve in our ward and have time for ourselves too. It was so nice to not worry about the kids and just enjoy myself. I hope our ward keeps going because I want to keep going too! 

Funny Stuff

My kids make me smile. Sometimes I randomly find a silly grin on my face and realize I've been smiling like a fool for who knows how long while I've been watching them play. I'm sure no one else finds my kids as amusing but on the off chance, here are some of my favorite pictures of late.

Weston and Saydi came in from playing outside and when I walked by the window I noticed there was something strange in my yard. Turns out, Weston made this "bridge" from all the scrap wood we have behind our shed. Ha! He's a resourceful little boy.

 I put Jonas in Weston's chair tonight just for fun and he looked so adorable!

 The second picture I tried to take turned out like this though:

 At least I caught him! =)

 The kids always sit on the coffee table when they play Mario Kart. I put Jonas down then went and got something and when I looked up I saw this:

They hopped down there to sit by him! So sweet. Love those three.

 I frantically grabbed a bib to put on Jonas the other night because daddy started feeding him orange food with a white shirt on. This is what I grabbed. Ha! Hopefully I'm not causing confusion in his little brain. ;)

 Occasionally I go check on Jonas and find him sleeping this way. I have no idea why but it cracks me up. Like he's trying to escape or something.

And last but not least, making Jonas laugh. Has to be my favorite thing. Please ignore the horrendous thumping and shaking of the camera. An elephant was jumping around. Or wait...that was just me.

Winter Wrap Up

I think spring is officially on it's way and we are glad! I do love winter but as my kids get bigger I am finding a lot more joy in the outside months. These two have been outside every day, even if we do get another batch of snow, and they ask me every day if they can wear their new sandals and summer clothes. Almost!

Looking back over the winter though I can hardly believe how much they've grown just in those few months. Here are just a few tidbits about what they're all up to.

WESTON

This is the exact same thing his daddy does when he's trying not to smile - sticks his tongue in his cheek. Makes me smile. =)

Weston is learning so much and he loves preschool. When he started in September he couldn't even write his name. He pulled this diddy out of his hat the other day while we were coloring at home. So proud! 

He knows his alphabet and the sounds all his letters make. He is great at grasping concepts and has recently shown us he is very adept with technology. No one has to show him how to do things. If he sees you do something once or twice, he'll know how to do it too! He's starting to get to the age where silly things are the funniest things. Like green teeth from a Fun Dip valentine.

He loves to take care of Jonas and Saydi is definitely his best friend. She can make him roll on the floor in laughter, just from pulling a funny face. (Her faces she makes ARE pretty darn funny!)

SAYDI

Saydi loves to yell "cheese!" any time she sees the camera out. The last couple months I have found myself just staring at this little girl and realizing, there is NO more baby in her. She is 100% little girl and I enjoy that even though it is hard to see her baby-ness fade away.

I've also learned not to underestimate her. I gave her my mascara today to play with since she was being especially whiny, thinking she wouldn't screw the top off because she never has. Well, I turn around right as I see her offering the open wand to Jonas to suck on. Mishap prevented. But then she turns around and looks at me and this is what I see:

 And in case you're wondering, yes, it was waterproof. =/ She is all girl and even though she enjoys doing "boy" things with Weston she enjoys girl things more. She is so independent and will often wander away from playing with cousins, friends, or even Weston just to go do something by herself. She has insisted on teaching herself how to get dressed from head to toe all by herself and most days it's helpful. Except for when she puts her jacket on upside down and refuses to take it off to let you help her fix it.

She is such a good helper and loves to play with her brothers. She is developing quite the funny bone and loves to entertain us all and make us laugh. She can be so silly and have Weston laughing his head off but she never breaks character - just keeps on being silly.

JONAS

I don't know why but I find it quite hilarious to put Saydi's things on Jonas. Headbands, sunglasses, etc. It always makes me happy. =)

 He liked it too, but only for a little bit.

 

 I attempted to teach Wes and Saydi how to play hopscotch the other day and once Jonas woke up he decided it was game over and made a mess of it. He was so proud! And yes, there is a good chance he's eating food off the floor in this picture. It's his favorite thing to do and no matter how clean I think the floor is he always finds something.

 Baby J is growing up so much! He pulls himself up on everything and is starting to figure out how to "cruise". He sometimes lets go and tries to stand on his own too but I think it will be a while before he stops bouncing long enough to stand up. He still only has two teeth but has had the runny nose for four months. Not kidding here. He goes to bed at 7 and wakes up at 6 with two naps still. It is great! Lots of work but it paid off. He still doesn't say any words but he uses his voice constantly! He likes to growl and if you growl at him he'll do it back. He also figured out he could be LOUD and likes to do that too. Makes me smile every time. 

I sure do love my kids and the joy they bring me. I've been in a bit of a funk lately, probably getting spring fever, and it helps me to have three such fun, happy spirits running around me all day. When Mark and I got married I never thought we'd make babies this adorable, but it makes me even more grateful I said "yes". ;)

Life Goes On

It seems to me like the beginning of a new year should come with some kind of break or something but somehow life just rolls from one thing into another. In these few short months of 2012 we have already had lots of changes. Mark is working as a laborer out at NRF now instead of doing security. In the long run he will be better off doing this instead and the schedule change was something we were searching for. He is home now at 5:30 when he works Monday through Friday. The next week he works swings from Monday through Thursday, goes in at 1:30 and is home around 1:00 a.m. It is so nice to have our weekends back and have him at church with me every Sunday! We also celebrated our 8th anniversary and have had runny, stuff noses and all kind of other garbage going on for the whole month of February. Not fun. But we keep on keepin' on and things are slowly becoming "normal" again. Here are some samples of our "normal-ness".

Westy drew his very first family portrait! <3

 Jonas has reached that point where I go in to check on him at night and I just stare and think, "How did he get so big already?!" But he still feels "new" to me so I am still enjoying his baby-ness.

 How dinner manages to get made...just let 'em loose!

 I was resting on the couch today with a headache and I thought the kids were just playing together. I should have known better. Weston and Saydi offered Jonas the remnants of their snack and he happily set about making a mess. This kid will eat anything, as long as it's NOT baby food.

 They love to smother Jonas in kisses. Nothing makes me happier then seeing my kids love each other.

 The last hour of the night before Jonas goes to bed is the hardest. For everyone! Sometimes he just can't make it and snoozes in his bouncer while watching his Baby Einstein.

 The wrestling has begun! Weston does this a lot. He'll put his head in Jonas' lap and let J climb all over him, pull his hair, and otherwise wreak havoc. Not much of a wrestler but an excellent big brother! ;)

So life is boring, mundane, redundant, and simple around here. And yet somehow I still find myself loving it. Most days. =) There are days where it all feels endless and overwhelming but mostly I just feel blessed to have such beautiful people, inside and out, that are part of my daily life. Love them.

Just Because

I have so many pictures I haven't put on my blog yet. So that's just about all I'm going to do. After all, the pictures are better then the words any way!

Chili is a hot mess at our house. In case you can't tell.

 I wish Wes would keep his hands down when I take pictures of him! But he still looks so big (and cute) to me in this picture.

 Look at that smile! Love it. And you can see his two bottom teeth.

 We have finally reached the age of self entertaining. Jonas spends a good part of his day doing this all over the house.

 We have 11:00 church this year. Yuck. My least favorite. Saydi has a hard time not getting a nap and occasionally crashes on my bed for a little while. Is it just me or does she look outrageously big? Stop growing up!

 I made my kids capes from old t-shirts a couple weeks ago (thank you pinterest) and they pretty much did everything but sleep in them for the first couple days. They still love them. Best 20 minutes I ever invested.

 And Weston is still an insanely good big brother. Saydi is just as helpful too!

We've had some changes going on around here and probably will be having more soon but that's for another day. Overall we are just enjoying life one day at a time!

Note to Self

If I could go back in time and give my kid-less self some pointers here's what I would say:

"Self, sleep as much as you can, whenever you can. You're going to miss it. When you don't clean your house for five days, it's not dirty. You'll find out what dirty really is. Stay up as late as you want whenever you feel like it! Watch movies, eat junk, do whatever. You don't have to wake up and take care of anyone but yourself. Go on a date every. single. weekend. You don't have to worry about a baby sitter. Spend five hours in the middle of the day trying out a new recipe. And enjoy cooking with both of your hands free. Go shopping and spend money on yourself while you have no one else to spend it on. Guilt free. You're not fat and your stomach is beautiful. For now. If you get an urge to go somewhere, do something, or be with someone, do it. Just pick up and go wherever you want whenever you want. Enjoy it while it takes one minute to get out the door instead of 15. And live every day grateful in knowing that your entire life won't be this way."

I knew most of these things before I ever had kids. But I don't think I relished in it all as much as I should have. This got me thinking though, what would my future self want to come back and tell my present self? I think it would probably be something like this:

"Self, see these three beautiful children? Look at them every day and remember they are yours. Yours. Literally a part of you. You're blessed. 

See this little boy? When he cuddles up to you and lets you read book, after book, after book to him, don't worry if dinner will be late, laundry will go unfolded, or dusting will not get done. Do puzzles with him, run around the house with him, and keep giving him those kisses that he tries to dodge.

See this little girl? Cherish the fact that she will only let you be the one to wipe her bum, put her to bed, get her out of the bath, or generally do anything. There might be times when she wants nothing to do with you when she gets older. Let her help. Even if it takes five times longer to get things done. She won't always want to help when she's bigger. And she'll be grateful to know how to do things when she's a mother herself.

See this baby boy? Enjoy the moments that he'll let you rock him. Watch him sleep at night and memorize the way he looks so you'll know if his babies look like him when he gets bigger. Don't worry if you get nothing done because he wants you to hold him all day. Hold him all day. He'll change his mind about that when he can get around on his own. 

And most importantly, self, you are not a failure if you don't feel overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation every single second of every single day for the gift that is motherhood. It's hard. It's frustrating. And you are doing your best. You will only be a failure if you don't bottle up the glimpses of perfection and remember that this is what it's about. You do it for those little moments. Go easy on yourself."

So my present self  is thinking: "Self, you are blessed. You are lucky and watched over. Enjoy. Be grateful. Be happy. And eat chocolate. It will help."

Christmas at the Carlson's

Christmas was so fun this year. I think our kids still are trying to grasp the concept since they woke up that morning just like any other instead of rushing to see what Santa brought. But that was fine with me since I like to have music and the tree on and the camera ready! Santa brings the kids each one present and does their stockings and the rest was from us.

Since we had 9:00 church we let the kids do their stockings and play with their train that was out. Then we had breakfast and got ready for church. (Please excuse the quality of pictures. If anyone even blinked my camera made it fuzzy. And holding still on Christmas morning was not going to happen!)

Jonas loves his new toy but probably not as much as Weston and Saydi do! We've had to make a rule that they can't turn it on unless Jonas is in it, otherwise the batteries would be dead already!

Ready for church!

Church was wonderful and it really made me wish we always had church on Christmas day. We hurried home and then the fun commenced!

Mark finally got a gun this year. Now he (and my dad) can stop bugging me. =)

This is how Jonas helped.

The kids got the entire Baby Einstein collection and we didn't even have to pay a dime for it! So grateful. They LOVE Baby Einstein. Even Weston still does and Jonas likes it too which helps me get the kitchen cleaned at night.

There was one thing that I pretty much BEGGED Santa to bring me this year: a camera. The above pictures are proof of how desperately I needed a new one! But I knew there was no way Santa got me one or he for SURE would have let me open it the night before to have on Christmas day. Well, guess what the very LAST present was that got opened? No joke. The last. My camera! 14 megapixels later I am one happy little girl! Notice the difference?! I do. 

Gotta have a picture of the mess. It's what makes Christmas feel like Christmas. This is actually after Mark had picked up a little.

 See, I told you they love Jonas' toy. =)

 And apparently daddy likes Weston and Saydi's toys too!

 Some of my other presents were storage tubs, kitchen tupperware, and several new light fixtures so we can get rid of our ridiculously expensive, non-energy efficient lighting in our basement and bathroom. Mark got lots of accessories to go with his gun too (he'll probably kill me for using that word and making it sound girly. "Stuff" I guess.) =) The kids also got cars and all kinds of other toys they love and lots of coloring stuff. We had long, wonderful naps (one of my favorite presents) and then woke up and played until Mark had to go to work that night. The kids and I went to my sister Amy's house for dinner and we had such a good time. The food was delicious and the company fabulous. And this is what Weston did while we were there:

He has recently discovered how fun nintendo games can be and loved watching Kaden play his DS. As did Makoy.

Christmas was definitely a success this year. And not because of the gifts we gave and received; but because when Christmas came if you asked my kids what Christmas was about they would say "Jesus". And because we had a day filled with the spirit. And because we spent our day together as a family. It was a great way to end the year. And now we will welcome the new one with sick kids and grateful hearts.