Sunday Afternoon

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Today we had a blast after nap time. Last night we bought a cheap little birdhouse and Addison had a blast painting it! She picked green for the roof and pink for the actual house and then put purple polka dots on it! It is so cute. (I didn't take a picture of the final project other things called my attention!) I think we will put it on a log outside for our flock of sparrows we have currently living in our rain gutters on our back porch. Clark enjoyed ice cream while Addison painted. I wasn't brave enough to let him use the acrylic paints. He enjoys water colors but mostly just puts them on his fingers and tries to eat them so naturally I didn't feel like wrestling the paints away.

Big Boy Bed

So Addison got a comforter on her bed because I am sick of a messy stack of blankets on her bed although she still insists on her "dotted" blankets and "square" blanket being in bed with her. And Clark has advanced to the ranks of a toddler bed. As you can see he doesn't particularly like it and maybe it was premature but it worked wonderfully with Addison because she didn't realize she could get out of it so naturally I thought let's start Clark early (even though we don't need to) because it will be easier. Well he is not his sister but although it hasn't been as easy as a crib he has done pretty good. We usually falls asleep within 10 minutes of being rocked and then we lay him down. The nights we put him down awake he tries to climb out unless we are sitting on the floor by the bed. He almost acts scared. Maybe he doesn't feel quite as secure in the toddler bed as he did the crib. Overall though it's been good... Okay I think I am done with this post now too. I am using this as my journal since I am not very good at writing about events in my journal. I am much better at expressing my frustrations in my journal and I don't want my posterity to think I am just a pessimistic person because I do try to be optimistic. :)

Out door fun

So as Tyler and I have been working on the yard the kids have been enjoying tromping through the mud and putting sand all over the yard... well mostly in a pile outside the snow covered sand box. We had a few beautiful days last week and the week before that we were able to get 3 and a half garden boxes done and our fence up! Progress is beautiful! I can hardly wait to plant grass and flowers, but I guess that will have to wait. The weather isn't that warm yet... Plus there is the shed to build and rocks to place for a path around the garden box and we want to do a terrace flowerbed up front and possibly a small one around back. Our yard needs lots of work but it will be beautiful when it's done or at least a lot better looking than now. :) We have been working on the inside as well. Last month I got both bathrooms painted and painted a blue accent wall in the living room. Tyler has been working on the plumbing and starting up a tree business. First he has to have trees so he has 243 seeds planted in our unfinished basement. I wish him luck on his tree journey. He just barely wondered about what he is going to do with so many trees if no one wants them. :) It is a wonderful life indeed even though it has it's moments! Both kids are growing and learning so much. Addison can do very simple math and clark is really working on talking and communicating. He has started doing signs like "more" and "help". Sometimes he will say an entire sentence and it is clear as ever what he said but most of the time he still doesn't talk much. He is going to start talking in full sentences one day and our mouths will drop to the ground. Well I have a few more pictures to post....

Winter days....

Okay so here are some things we have been doing to pass the time this winter... We are getting a little bit of spring fever since it's been so warm. We worked on our garden boxes this weekend and cleaned up the outside a little bit... (dog poop and such :) The kids had a blast and got covered in mud since our yard is more dirt than grass. They had a great time though so it made it all worth the clean up. The pictures include reading books, going to the park, and watching Hercules to man a few things. Addison has LOVED play dough... I have too! She will sit and play a story for well over an hour with play dough and some of her littlest pet shops. She makes all sorts of things like cars out of it and some times the pets go to the beach and make footprints. It's fun to see her imagination take off. I never quite know where we will be that day or who we will be with Addison calling the shots. Clark is getting a lot more verbal. He doesn't say many words but then he will surprise us by saying a complete sentence. Tonight he did animal sounds 5 or 6 different animal sounds as Tyler was playing with him asking him what each animal says. I am so grateful I get to be apart of their lives and see the new and exciting things they do each day. What a blessing our sweet kids are!

Snow Day!!!

We had a blast on Saturday playing in the snow. We started out at our house but ended up down the road at the Jr High sledding down the hill. The kids enjoyed it and it was fun to hear their giggles as we went down the hill. Clark got so worn out he fell asleep in the stroller on the way home... He had a lot of extra weight to drag around with him through the snow... that can make a little guy tired. We are so excited for this new year and all the possibilites that come with it. Hope everyone had a very wonderful holiday season. May the Spirit of the season stay with us throughout the year!

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas day was wonderful! We had a fun time opening presents and being together. It was so much fun to have my parents with us. It was also neat to be able to go to Sacrament meeting on Christmas! The music and Spirit there was beautiful. We took it easy and just enjoyed playing with all our new toys and gadgets.

I forgot to mention in earlier posts that between Addison's birthday and Christmas Tyler and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We had a great time getting away for a few days while my parents were gracious enough to watch the kiddos. I am so grateful to be married to my best friend. He is such a strength and comfort to me. Thank you Mom and Dad for watching the kids so we could spend some time kid-free! :) We truly enjoyed it!

Christmas Eve Day

We had a great time this year in our own home for a change. We decided that we needed to start/continue on traditions and one of those is having Christmas at our home. All other Christmases but one we have woken up in somebody else's home and we decided that we wanted to be home for a change. :) Christmas Eve Day was a lot of fun. We played games, ate good food (we did our big Christmas dinner a day early with yummy ham and trimmings), Addison mailed her letter to Santa (I forgot to have her mail it early, good thing it's day delivery to the North Pole!). We also enjoyed the evening watching the First presidency Christmas Message that we missed earlier in the month. After that Addison dressed as "Mary" and her baby doll dressed as "Jesus" with Clark as the "shepherd" reenacted the manger scene as I read from the scriptures. I don't think I have ever seen Addison be so sweet and soft with her baby doll. It was so special. Clark got a sheep stuck on his foot... it was pretty funny. Addison and Clark then got to open a present from Mom and Dad (a tradition from Tyler's family that he wanted to carry on). They both got to open a present and both presents were for both of them... if that makes any sense... After that Addison sprinkled reindeer food outside and put a cookie and carrots out for Santa and his reindeer. It took Addison a little while to calm down enough to finally fall asleep, but Clark was out fairly quick after a busy day. More on Christmas to come....