Updates for June

We have been super busy and productive so far this summer. I can thank Makayla and Caden for that; we're up at 7 every morning. It's amazing what you can get done in the mornings! The kids and I have had a lot of fun so far this summer. We have spent a lot of time on our swing set. Both the kids love it.

And the big kid loves it too!

I wanted to start a new tradition with the kids: Friday Family Date. Every Friday we go out on a date with the kids (now that I'm reading it, I realize it didn't really need an explanation). I'm hoping we can keep this tradition going and when the kids are older they will be able to pick where we go on our dates. For this FFD we got Cafe Rio and then went to the Herriman Splash Pad. Makayla loved it.

And Caden had a good nap.

FFD was great until we were pulling into our garage and Makayla puked all over our car and her car seat. We spent the rest of FFD cleaning up. Hopefully not all of our dates will end in throw up.

We have also been busy going for walks around the neighborhood

And helping Daddy water our new trees

Grandpa and Grandma Evans had all the kids over to play on the Slip-n-Slide

It was hard to tell who had more fun, the kids or Grandpa.

Makayla had her first t.v. dinner.

 Then we had spaghetti night. I think she liked the spaghetti more.

 Kayla still loves to play on her stair. And she is learning how to say "cheese" when I take a picture of her.

 Makayla is still the best little helper. If Caden is crying she will run to find his binkie or blanket. She was entertaining him while Caden was working on his tummy time. I think she is poking him in the eye, but it was the thought that counts.

We got a new iPad... well I should say the school got me a new iPad. I downloaded a game for Makayla (there's an app for that). She had seen me playing around on it and when I let her play with it, she immediately knew what to do. I think this generation was made for technology. Even at 16 months she knows how to work an iPad.

 June hasn't been all fun and games; Kayla got her first owie. We were at the scrapbook store and Kayla was in the stroller. She was getting bored and started standing up in the stroller. I told her to sit down, which she did, but then she started standing again. I turned my head for a split second to look at something and then I heard a thud and heard Makayla start crying. I picked her up, consoled her, and she laid her head on my shoulder and fell asleep. I thought everything was okay until I went to load her in her car seat and noticed her owie.

 Obviously Makayla forgot about it as soon as she had her blankie, but I felt like the worst mother.

By day two the scrape above her eye was healed, but below her eye looked worse. We can't go out in public now because people will probably think I abused my child. I know it is not the first scrape she will have, but I still feel horrible.

My favorite thing Makayla does is she likes to get ready with me in the mornings. I will put her up on the counter while I put on my make up. Makayla loves to look at herself in the mirror and pretend to put on make up too.

Some other cute things about our little stinkies at 16 months:

-She is understanding so many things and loves to play "where's the..." When we look through her Baby Einstein book she can point to all the animals, fruit, and other objects. She can understand a lot of simple commands

-Her vocabulary is increasing everyday. She can now say "mom," "dad," "nose," "mouth," "shoe," and "cheese." She also jabbers in her own little language that cracks me up all the time.

- She loves to waive at all the cars that drive by, or the airplanes, or the cashiers at the store.

-If she burps or passes gas she goes, "Wooah"

-She loves to go to Grandma's house to play.

-She is a really good helper. Makayla will get me a diaper when I change Caden, or help me load the dishwasher.

-She likes to pretend she is talking on the phone.

-She hates to have elastics in her hair. I will put her hair in pony tails and she will take them out within the hour.

-She insists on using a spoon when she eats and she is getting a lot more coordinated using utinsils.

-6 more teeth poked through this month... that's a total of 12 teeth now.

-Makayla gets slightly jealous if someone is paying too much attention to Caden and not her. And by slightly, I mean she screams and tries to pull Caden out of my arms.

As far as our little man goes, Caden is getting so big! At his 2 month check up on June 6 he weighed 12 pounds, 6 ounces (50%) and was 23 inches (50%).

Caden has not lost any of his hair. I love being able to spike it.

Caden smiles all the time now. His smile just melts me every time.

 I love about our little man's big eyes. I love when he looks up at me when I'm feeding him.

Some other things about Caden at three months:

-He coos all the time now.

-He is sleeping about 8 hours straight now. He will go to bed at 8 ish and usually wakes up around 4. I put him in bed with us and he goes back to sleep until 7 when Makayla wakes up. I love being able to have a good stretch of sleep now. Honestly, though, I don't mind waking up with Caden at night. It is the only time that the two of us can be together. I love holding him in my arms and rocking him while he looks up at me with his big eyes and smiles.

-We have him on somewhat of a schedule and a routine now, which makes things a lot easier.

-Caden loves to be wrapped up tight with a binkie in his mouth. Even in this hot weather he still likes to be

wrapped up. He will be sweaty, but he is content. I think that was part of the problem with his fussiness in the beginning. We just needed to figure out what our little guy liked.

-Caden is so good to put up with Makayla's good intentions.

-He loves to be held.

Tyler and I have also had a great June. We celebrated our three year anniversary. We went out as a family on our actual anniversary day. Tyler got me a bouquet of chocolate dipped strawberries, a balloon, and a really sweet card even though we said we weren't doing gifts.

Then the following Saturday we went on a real date. We went to a movie and then to a nice dinner. It was so nice to sit down for a meal and not have to fight kids to be quiet the whole time. We really lived it up, too. I tried calamari for the first time, had Oscar style filet mignon, and ruined my diet with dessert. It was totally worth it!

So is this guy! I'm so lucky to be married to him!

Tyler has been on a business trip to Canada this week. He comes home tomorrow and I can not wait!! This single-mom-of-two business is really exhausting. It will be nice to have him home to help me out, plus Makayla just adores Tyler and loves it when he plays with her.

There is bad news about Tyler coming home though,  I have to start making the bed again and I can't stay up until midnight blogging. The things I will do and give up just to have him home... 

Thanks for reading!

Three, Two, One

Three Years...

Two kids...

One happy life together!

Happy Three Year Anniversary to us!



We love our Daddy!

Happy Father's Day Tyler! Can you believe that we already have two kids? If I haven't told you enough already, thanks for being the best husband and dad! I love you!

We wanted to make Daddy's Father's Day weekend special so we started celebrating on Friday. When Tyler got home from work he got to open two of his presents early then we went to his favorite restaurant, El Rancho Grande. On Saturday and Sunday we had three different family parties to attend. It was a busy weekend but we loved being able to spoil our favorite dad!

Makayla absolutely adores Tyler. They love to watch Sesame Street in the mornings all snuggled up, play on the floor, or work outside together. Makayla is really "Daddy's Little Girl"!

 Even though Caden is only 10 weeks old, you can tell how much he already loves his dad. Caden smiles so big when ever Tyler talks to him.

 This is Kayla and Caden's gift to Daddy. I think it sums up exactly how we all feel about him.

I really can't say enough about Tyler. He is the BEST husband and dad. He works so hard at work and then comes home plays with the kids. He is so sweet to me and the kids. Every day when he walks in the door he is so excited to see Makayla and Caden. Tyler loves to wrestle on the floor with Kayla or chase her around the house and he loves to snuggle with Caden before he goes to bed at night. The thing that I love most about Tyler is that you know his family is his first priority. He loves to spend the weekend and every spare moment with us. We couldn't ask for a better daddy!

And as long as we're on the topic of great dads, have I told you how great of a dad I have? My dad is the best! Since I was the only girl growing up I definitely hold the title of Daddy's little girl. I remember my dad was always so supportive of every thing I did. He was at every single dance concert I was ever in. He would sit through three days of dance concerts when I was in high school and he never complained once! I remember my dad teaching me how to water ski, fish, change a flat tire, and check the oil. And even though I don't do any of those things now, I love that my dad took the time to show me and make me feel like I was special.

But not only do I have a great dad, I have an amazing father-in-law, too! If you are around Tyler and his dad for even a minute you can tell the special bond they have. Craig is so good to give us advice. If we are ever contemplating a big decision, we always consult Craig. He always listens to us and helps us feel confident in our decision. Craig is also so good to come over and help us when we are working on a project (and trust me, we have a lot of them!) Tyler and his dad are probably the hardest workers I have ever seen. I feel very lucky to have Craig as my father-in-law!

It was an...

Itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow poka-dot bikini

That she wore for the first time today!

Thursdays are play group days and today we went to Rosecrest splash pad. Makayla LOVED it!

Why I Love My Job...

Today I finish my 6th year of teaching. Six years seems like a long time, but in that time I have worked for three different schools.  I taught for three years at Copper Hills High School in West Jordan where I taught 10th and 11th grade English.
 
When we got married we knew it would be easier for me to try to get a job teaching in Richfield than for Tyler to find as good of a job in mining in Salt Lake. We heard Richfield was a clicky town and everyone told me I would need "connections" to get a job there. I somehow lucked out and got a job teaching at Red Hills Middle School teaching 7th and 8th grade English. I taught for two years there before we decided to move back to Salt Lake.

By this time Makayla was only 6 months old and I had to decide if I wanted to work or stay home. It was a tough decision, but I decided that I wasn't ready to give up teaching yet. Tyler works incredibly hard to provide for our family and because of that, I don't have to work full time or even at all. I was so lucky to find a part-time position at Oquirrh Hills Middle School this year teaching 8th and 9th grade English. It turned into more of a 3/4 time position, but I still love the fact that I can get up every morning to get ready to go to work,  have some "adult" conversation with teenagers, and then come home and be with my kids. It really gives me the best of both worlds.

When I went to college I knew exactly what I wanted to major in, teaching. Sure I wanted to inspire the minds of tomorrow, blah, blah, blah. But my real reason for wanting to be a teacher was that I wanted to have my summers off. I have priorities, you know. I need to enjoy my flip flop summer.

The kids and I have big plans for the summer. We plan on wearing flip-flops every day, sleeping in (maybe until 7 at least some mornings?), eating otter pops on the porch, going to play group on Thursdays, meeting Daddy for lunch, playing on our swing set, going to the zoo, going for walks at night, and enjoying every moment of our flip flop summer! It's a tough life, but we will somehow manage!

Missy and Mister

I L.O.V.E. this picture. Seriously, how cute are these two all snuggled up in our bed? I had to go back to work for two and a half weeks so things can sometimes get a little hectic when were trying to get everyone ready in the morning. But this particular day we had to take some time to snap a picture. Sometimes when Caden wakes up at 4 in the morning, I put him in bed with us until Makayla wakes up at 6:45. She likes to have her bottle in our bed while watching the end of Sesame Street. It usually gives me and Tyler just a few more minutes to finish getting ready. But it's moments like this that make it hard for me to go to work. Good thing our flip flop summer is just around the corner!

We didn't want to send Caden to daycare at only 6 weeks old, so we asked family to watch them while I went back to work. Thanks to my mom, Terry, and Craig for taking days off to watch our kids.  Makayla would get so excited when they would show up. She would go into panic mode because she didn't know what to show them first. She would run around screaming trying to find something to show them. Sometimes it was a toothbrush, sometimes the remote, and sometimes her books.

Binkies... they are a necessity in our home. Mostly for Caden. It seems the only way to get him content is to stick a binkie in his mouth. I don't love this at all. I don't want him to be 3 years old with crooked teeth because of his binkie. But I guess we do whatever will keep our kids happy, right? Now Makayla is a different story. She never liked her binkie... until Caden came along. Now she likes it too. At least she found two of them so that she could share.

These two are pretty cute together. Kayla is very attentive to her little brother. If he is crying she tries to find his blanket or binkie. And Caden is pretty patient to put up with Makayla poking him in the face, eyes, stomach... the list goes on.

 My 6 weeks of maternity leave went by too fast, but the kids and I did have fun while I was off. We had Otter Pops on the front porch

Kayla and I plan on having an Otter Pop a day during the summer. Big plans, I know.

Our little Stinkies is obsessed with grapes. If you give her grapes first she refuses to eat anything else for the meal. Good thing Tyler and I are smarter than our 16 month old because we figured out real fast to give her grapes last.

A few more random pictures of Kayla during May

She loves to play the piano. I think Tyler would love it if she would follow in his footsteps.

One of the things our little girl loves is books, especially her Baby Einstein books. Maybe she'll grow up to be an English teacher someday! I would love it if she followed in my footsteps!

 

And we can't forget blankie with our books.

If Makayla was in charge (and she usually is) we would be outside playing on the swings or running around the yard. She knows that if we put her shoes on, she gets to go outside. If she's not outside, she's wishing she was.

Our little diva...

Some other things about our little girl at 15 months:

Makayla is so close to talking. She jabbers all the time and can say a few words. We're working on saying "love you".

She can understand a lot of what we say. Yesterday we were looking at her books and I would say things like, "where's the kitty?" or "where's Elmo" and she could point to them! I also said to her, "Kayla we need to go do your hair" and she pointed to her hair! We also like to play the game of "where's your nose, ear, mouth, etc". She points to her ear no matter what body part we say. Still working on mastering that. But Makayla's favorite game is to play "Where's my belly button?" She pulls up my shirt and sticks her little finger in my belly button and laughs. Cutest thing ever!

Makayla is a social butterfly. She loves to show off to whoever will watch her. She also likes to make friends where ever we go. The other day I took her to the store with me. As we were walking down the isle, she saw this older man. He was in his mid 40's, bigger, with a mustache, and an ornery look on his face. Makayla saw him, waved and said, "hi-ya". At first he didn't really know what to do, so he kind of ignored her. Well, we saw him on the next isle, and the next, and every time she saw him she would get this big grin on her face and smile. By the end the ornery, old guy was smiling, waving, and making silly faces at her.

Makayla loves music and dancing. If you tell her to dance she puts her hands up and rocks back and forth, or if she is really excited she will stomp her feet a mile a minute! I can't wait until she is old enough to put her in dance.

She knows what airplanes are and likes to wave to them.

Now on to Caden...

And how about our Mister! I hate to say it, but Caden is a little more challenging than Makayla was as a newborn. He seems to cry a lot more and doesn't sleep for long periods of time. One of the things I struggle with is that he will fall asleep in my arms and be OUT. You can hear his labored breathing and see his eyes rolling. So I go to put him in his crib and as soon as I set him down, he's wide awake. I try letting him just lie there, but a few minutes into it he is crying, so I pick him up again and start the process all over. Sometimes this can go for an hour or two before he is in his crib. And sometimes he wakes up at 2:30 in the morning and is wide awake... for two hours! Newborns are hard, but I think a lot of it is just figuring out what he likes.

We have figured out that he loves to be wrapped up tight with a binkie in his mouth. This is usually how he is found...

 

The cutest thing about Caden at almost 2 months is that he is starting to smile. This picture doesn't capture just how cute is smile is, but it's close. I love that he is starting to recognize me!

 

This picture was taken at Grandpa Collard's birthday. Caden loves to be held.

Even in a diaper Caden is cute. He is getting pretty chunky and has fat rolls on his arms and legs. He has his two month check up next week and I predict he'll be about 12 pounds!

Thanks Auntie Em for his shirt! Emily does indeed rock (and all of his other aunts too!)

Everyone says that Caden looks more like me than Kayla ever did (let's face it, Kayla is mini Tyler). I'm so glad that at least one of my kids looks like me! I can definitely see Thomas in him. I don't know if that is entirely a good thing though... it's no secret that the Thomas' are hairy people (my sister-in-laws can confirm that my brothers have some of the hairiest legs of anyone). Poor Caden is already proving to be hairy. He even has a hairy bum! (To save him from being embarrassed about this, I won't post a picture of his cute bum). But who can resist this cutie?

You're probably thinking, "Wow, Caden seems like a really happy baby. He's so content all the time". You would be wrong. Caden can get mad like the best of them. Especially if he feels like we left him alone. Poor Caden. I choose to take the time to find my camera and take a picture before I picked him up to calm him down.

  

Some other things about Caden at two months:

His nicknames include Fella, Mister, and Buddy-Boo

He's starting to smile and coo

Caden is a champ and we feel so lucky to have him in our family!

For Memorial Day we went to Tyler's Grandparents' cabin in Mt. Pleasant. I had never been, so it was fun for me to finally see what everyone has been talking about. We spent the weekend going for walks with Daddy

Going on wagon rides with Carson and Colton

Hanging new cabinets in the kitchen and goofing around with these lurps

Everyone got to snuggle with Caden. He was held the entire time! I'm sure he felt pretty spoiled.

We celebrated Aunt Karen's 60th birthday.

  

And sat around the campfire singing and talking.

Do you know why I love Memorial Day? It means summer is finally here and I get to spend every day with my adorable kids for three whole months!

Mother's Day

I remember being little and asking my mom on Mother's day, "How come there isn't a kid's day?" Her response: "Every day is kids day!" I just thought there should be a day for kids to get presents, but now that I'm a mom, I feel the exact way my mom felt years ago. Every day is kid's day! My entire day revolves around Kayla and Caden. Most of it is good things like having Otter Pops with Makayla on the porch, rocking Caden to sleep at night, or taking them both to the park. Sometimes it is stressful things like wondering about Makayla's cough, or being awake at 3 am trying to get Caden to go to sleep, or changing 10 diapers a day. It is easy to focus on the exhausting moments of having two under two, but the good moments outweigh the bad. I L.O.V.E. being a mom to two happy, healthy kids who keep me laughing, busy, and proud. Tyler and I were having this conversation last night after Mother's day. I told him when I was growing up, all I ever wanted was to be a wife and a mother. Sure I wanted to be a teacher at some point, but that was secondary to being a mom. And that moment is here; I'm a mom and I love every day of my crazy, rewarding life.

 Mother's day was so perfect this year. I thought last year was great because it was my first Mother's day, but this year I have my handsome little man to make it even more special.

This was the best picture we could get of Makayla. I guess there were more interesting things to do than smile for the camera.

Tyler and Makayla made me breakfast that morning.

 And Caden had a surprise for me. He got me a necklace with his birthstone to match the one Makayla gave me last Valentine's day. I love it!

And Makayla gave me a gift card to Buckle. I felt like one special mom!

Later we had my family over for dinner. My grandma came so we took the chance to get  a four generation picture with the moms.

Speaking of mom's, I have some pretty special moms in my life. My mom is the best! I love living back in Salt Lake because we can do more things together now and she is always so willing to help me out whenever I need her. My  mom has always been such a good example to me and I just don't think I would be as good of a mom without her to guide me.

My Grandma is pretty special too. For being in her late 80's she still gets around pretty good and can always make us laugh. At our party she reminded us that without her none of us would be here, so we better be nice to her! My grandma is someone I really look up to. I remember how patient and loving she was with my grandpa as he struggled with Alzheimer's. I have never seen someone so devoted to their spouse. My Grandma is the epitome of enduring love.

And of course my mother-in-law Terry. Terry is the most thoughtful person you will ever meet. She is always thinking of us and ways she can help us. She is so cute with her grand kids and you can tell that they are always on her mind. Terry always makes sure to call us to just see how we're doing and I love that she has raised such a good son.

There's no better calling in the world than being a mom!