A Kid-less Update

So I usually give an update on the kids because they are much cuter and more exciting than us, but as requested by one of our friends, here's an update on Tia and me.

Tia: He has now been working at Smart Rhino Labs for a year now and LOVES it. It is such a perfect atmosphere and he works with such nice, fun people. He is their UX/UI Designer and recently enjoyed doing some design work for their new office. He is of course an amazing dad and gets huge squeals of happiness every time he comes home from work. The kids love to run away from "The Lion" and to dance with him. He also is working on some side projects with a few friends and is very excited about that. He is excited about snowboarding season, especially because he gets a free season pass with work. (Just one of the many perks.) Last year at this time we both felt a little lost with him in between jobs and we feel so blessed that he was able to find SRL and that he has been able to grow so much this year working there!

Tia designed their break room wallpaper

This wallpaper in their game room shows their website logos,
all of which he's designed

A further view, cool, right?

Being an adoring daddy

Me: My biggest change is that I just sold Little Miss Basics! I have loved the friends I have made through it and everything it has taught me, but realized it was taking too much time away from my kids, all of which are still wanting and needing lots of attention and love. I feel so blessed that the buyers found us. I couldn't have asked for a family I was more comfortable giving "my baby" to. Because of this, I have spent a lot of the week catching up on things I have wanted to do for a long time! I even made the girls some cute hair bows during nap time today! I still teach ballroom dance at Utah Dance Artists in South Jordan a few hours a week and am loving that. (Wish I had a picture of my classes.) I also teach a preschool dance class in my home once a week. We are currently living in my Mom and Craig's house taking care of it while their on their mission. It has been such a blessing and we are loving living with Becky and Ryan. I also know we're getting lots of blessings from my mom and Craig, Clarinis, and Jessie being on missions, but I do miss them so much! Oh, and since I'm a stay at home mom, the following about my kids has definitely impacted my life as a mother. Everyone has told me, "I bet it's so nice to have twins because they entertain each other." That couldn't have been further from the truth last year (see http://on.fb.me/1zqjb6v) but all of a sudden they really are! They can play "baby" with each other for hours! It makes my life so much easier and I love watching them.

I found my very first LMB drawings as I was going
through everything, a little bittersweet, but mostly sweet.

Out to dinner with the new owners of Little Miss Basics

My cute dancers

Please help they don't ever get sick of this game!

 We are super excited to spend time with family this Thanksgiving and Christmas season. The kids are all at such fun stages and I'm so excited to spend another holiday season with them creating traditions and memories! 

 Oh, and here's a sneak peak of our photo shoot. As you can tell from our blog title photo, it's been awhile since our last family pictures were done so we are excited to have some new ones!

All About the Kiddos

Christian at 18 months:

Loves: 

-Yelling. I don't know where he got his vocal chords but I dare say I have never heard a baby that talks or screams louder. (Although the girls are good competition in the crying department) We have been working on whispering...

-Bananas. When I'm getting him out of his crib the first things he says to me is, "baba" for bottle and "nana" for banana. He ate two full bananas in a row a few weeks ago at Purcells. I was super excited to see him after being gone for three days and as soon as I opened his door to get him out of bed this morning I pictured him jumping up and down, but instead just pointed and said, "Nana, nana!" Glad he missed me.

-Reading. I love this because the girls like books but I'm usually the one suggesting it. Christian goes and gets books all the time and points to them and smiles and giggles when I finally get it down and read to him. 

-Balls. He especially loves the rubber ones that fit in his mouth. Yes, I try to keep them away from him.

-Being outside. He will scream bloody murder if the door opens and he thinks he is going outside and doesn't get to. 

-Going to bed. He is a mother's dream when tucking in. I sing him a song and lay him down and he just looks up at me and smiles. I am trying to soak in the last few months before he starts climbing out like his sisters did. 

-Swinging. All the kids actually love it. They could be on there for hours. 

Dislikes:

-Having something taken from him. Having two older sisters this happens very frequently and he is sure to let me know by throwing a tantrum when it takes place. Poor guy is so happy when he is the only awake child. 

-"All done." If anyone can eat more than the girls, it's him. He gets so upset when I tell him he's all finished with a meal. 

Adelyn at 3 (this Saturday)

Loves:

-Trying to sound like mommy by blabbering in between real words and likes talking fast. "because.....sister....because..."

-Getting out of bed

-Her blanky and thumb. She won't go to sleep without either. 

-Changing clothes. Both girls favorite thing to do right now is to change outfits multiple times a day. While it is exasperating because of the huge mess it creates, I love seeing their proud little faces right after they come up in a new outfit. 

-Being a big sister to Christian. Even though she usually overwhelms Christian, it is not intentional and for the most part she is very sweet to him. Both Avery and her LOVE giving Christian his morning bottle.  They also love calling each other and Christian "sweetie."

Hates:

-roller coasters, and any crazy movement. She got the wus part of me that's for sure,

-Loud noises. She has always been very sensitive to noise and loud or shrill noises really bother her. 

-Cleaning up. They both do. Any suggestions on how you've gotten your kids to cleanup quickly and happily are welcome. (I've tried many incentives and the cleanup song) She usually just says, "I need help mommy." (which of course I am already doing)

-Similing for pictures no matter how hard we try (see below) 

Favorite quote: After asking her to say the breakfast prayer, "We don't have to say prayers, it's Saturday." (They have to do garbages every day of the week besides Saturday and Sunday)

Avery at 3 (this Saturday) 

Loves:

-Cuddles with me. Whenever I'm tucking her in she says, "cuddle with me." I love that she loves cuddling with me and will cherish it while it lasts. 

-Taking care of her babies. She sings to them, tucks them in, feeds them and just carries them around so sweetly. When I ask her what her Dolly's name is, it's usually "Adelyn." 

- Telling me who she loves. "I love _______ mommy."  

- Making huge messes. This girl is usually the leader when it comes to something being poured or dumped out all over. When I tell people I have twins, they usually say, "Oh I bet that's so nice they have someone to play with." The girls love each other but play a lot on their own. The only time they really do something together is when they have gotten into trouble. It is so much easier to be naughty when someone is doing it with you. 

Hates:

-Being in trouble. She gets her feelings hurt very easily and has a cry that kills me to listen to, it's heart wrenching.

-Doing the garbages. It is a struggle every morning to have them each bring a few garbages to the door.

-Dogs. They used to love them but now both girls are afraid of them.

Favorite quote: I had an upper leg injury from running a few weeks ago and had a hard time walking. While she was constipated on the toilet she said, "They're both awesome owies on our bum mommy."

I can't believe I will have three year olds in just a few days! love these kids and being a mom so much even though they can certainly test my patience like crazy. They are all at fun, busy stages and it's times when I forget everything I have to do and spend a few minutes cuddling them to sleep or reading to them at the most inconvenient times I am reminded just how precious children are and how I need to cherish this special time. 

Life is Precious

Wow, I am actually updating my blog! And it is because I feel like I should tell/write an experience I had, even though it displays what a foolish mom I can be...

Yesterday Tia and I wanted to meet up for dinner at the food truck roundup. He goes straight from work to the frontrunner to class in the evenings and we thought it would be fun for the kids to see him before class. I tried to find a parking spot for forever! After circling around three different times, and realizing Tia was going to be late for class because we were running late, I finally decided to park close across a busy street and called Tia  who had just gotten off the train, to come help us cross the street. So I got out of the car with the kids and held Christian, in one hand and Avery's hand in the other, who held Adelyn's hand. We walked on the sidewalk and waited on one side of the street when we saw Tia walk up to the sidewalk across the street. (I know, I know, so not smart.) All of a sudden, I saw this little figure in bolt out in front of me in the street. Adelyn had let go of Avery's hand (something she of course never does) and started running across the street to go see her daddy. Her life flashed before my eyes as an oncoming car came to a stop in front of her. I said so many prayers of gratitude last night and Tia and I cried together thinking how different our night could have been...

I am so grateful for the huge wake up call and to have her precious life spared. Here are a few things I learned and I hope you can learn from my experience.

1) Life is so precious and fragile. Adelyn had been a little stinker the few days before, stayed up until eleven the night before because she kept getting out of bed, and was kind of driving me crazy. But in an instant, none of that mattered and I was reminded she is among my greatest treasures here on earth and that I can never take her terrible-two self for granted.  I held all my kids in my arms tighter and longer than I have in a long time as I tucked them in bed and thanked Heavenly Father for opportunity to be their mom.

2) I must be more assertive and  alert while driving. I shudder to think what would've happened if that person had been texting, or looking down at his i-pod to change a song. Of course I was too shaken up to even look at the person but I wish I could somehow find them and give them a huge hug thanking them for being alert and sparing my little girl's life.

3) When my mom was set apart as a missionary, she was told that my dad and others who have passed on before would watch over her kids and grandkids while she was gone. Adelyn and my mom have always been really close and I know that she was protected by family on the other side. I am so grateful for the blessings my family is receiving from my mom serving the Lord and for angels to step in and cover where I failed.

4) Always try to keep my kids as safe as possible, especially when I don't have enough hands to hold each of theirs. It doesn't matter how stressed I get, how late we are, I should never compromise my kids safety.

I am so grateful for a second chance and the reminder to hold my family and loved ones close and remember the things in life that matter most.

Falling

So...I uploaded them in the wrong order of events, so here is our last few weeks backwards:

Today. I can't even believe how beautiful everything is. The colors are so vibrant and I love this time of year. We were able to spend some time outside and with the Purcells:

 

Date Night, first hot chocolate of the season! 

 
Coming back from Cali. The day before coming home, I was kind of freaking out wondering what I had been thinking to drive ten hours alone with three kids two and under.  Miraculously, the kids were so so good. We only had to stop once for gas and to get wiggles out. Our sweet Daddy who we had missed had dinner all ready for us when we got home!

 Our time in Cali with the Waldrons. I love that the kids are getting old enough to get excited to see family they haven't seen for a long time. I especially loved watching Matthew and Christian interact. Sara teaches preschool in her home and the girls got to be a part of that. She is such a fun mom and teacher and I loved learning from her. It was so nice to let the kids play outside in their fun backyard and go on walks. We had delicious food including T-bone steaks, homemade honey oat bread, chili, hazelnut chocolate chip cheesecake, homemade pizza and lots of other goodies. Yes, we were spoiled! Thanks Waldrons!

Our time at Becky's. Yes, we were spoiled here too. Besides walking into her house with little gift bags for the kids, she flew to Vegas so she could drive with me those last few hours, that saved me! She had a treat yo-self day planned for us and made me a lunch of salmon, asparagus, raspberries, and greek yogurt. Oh, it was yummy. We went and got pedicure massages, dinner and enjoyed relaxing together. We went to a cute pumpkin patch with her boyfriend, Ryan. We also went swimming at her pool a few times. Swimming in October is awesome! Thanks Becky!

 
At home before Cali: 

Thomas's were here and I'm so sad I hardly took any photos! Below is Avery saying goodbye to Brigham and an AMAZING family dinner while they were here including my mom's delicious homemade rolls. While Thomas's were here, we went on a few walks, had a girl's trip to the mall, went up to visit Uncle Benjy and just enjoyed being together.

Life is good. While there have been some challenges including Tia being laid off last month, we are constantly seeing blessings daily. We have loved spending more time as a family and are loving this beautiful fall season! 

Happy Halloween this week!