Snow

Wouldn't it be nice to be little again and actually want to go outside in the cold, dark, night to shovel snow?  Daddy had some good company and a nice little helper when he had to shovel the driveway (YES we have a driveway!) last night.  I bundled her up good- 3-4 layers on top and bottom!

 He shoveled a tiny little "cave" for Sydney

 Loving it!

Getting cold...

By the way, having a garage and hence a driveway, and having to shovel that driveway, is TOTALLY worth it!  Not having to get into a freezing cold, frost/snow covered car every time I go out to it is literally heaven!  I am in LOVE with our garage.  :)  We'll have to ask Matt if he agrees, since I don't really actually shovel the driveway... but I think he still would feel the same way.  

Thankful

Our family project this month was to remember things we were thankful for.  Every night we would write down one thing we were thankful for and hang it up.  We could not repeat ourselves, but we could repeat others.  It was a really fun project!  Near the end, Sydney would end up listing 10 or more new things she was thankful for each night without any prompting. She really got the hang of it! A lot of Cooper's list came from her extras.  We found that listing every person we were thankful for, which started happening one night, was taking up our entire list, so we started writing "family/cousins" or "grandparents."  To sum it up, we really are so grateful for every person in our family... extended cousins and all! I loved having a reminder of things we were thankful for hanging on the walls in our home.  It has been so fun to stop every once in a while and read it.  On the last night of our project, I found I was a little sad, because I didn't get to list everything I was thankful for!  We really have been so blessed in our lives.  We have so much to be grateful for.

Daddy's List

Mommy~ Priesthood~ Book of Mormon~ cuddle time~ Sydney~ Cooper~ pictures~ birthdays~ work~ comfy couches~ to have a yard~ Sydney's smile~ food~ scriptures~ family~ Chris~ opportunities at work~ missionaries~ cookies~ friends~ snow~ the Spirit~ football~ grandparents~ turkey

Mommy's List

Temple~ our house~ Cooper~ marrying Daddy 5 years ago~ dates with Daddy~ the scriptures~ nice weather~ my baby girl Sydney who was born 3 years ago~ President Monson~ Daddy's job~ the pretty fall leaves~ laughing~ a garage~ Michael~ Allie~ grandparents~ movie nights~ mountains~ good health~ to live in America~ good friends~ missionaries~ being a stay at home mom and playing with my kids~ the gospel~ forever family

Sydney's List

my brother Cooper~ Mommy~ Allie~ Jessie~ Daddy~ missionaries~ Timmy and my friendship bracelet~ my ladybug birthday party~ Cinderella~ Belle~ my toys~ singing songs~ Temple~ Beam~ Mason~ Lisa~ yogurt~ grandparents~ dresses~ snow~ blankets~ cousins~ balloons~ clothes~ Pamps

Cooper's List

my sister Sydney~ Daddy~ bananas~ my blanket~ Mommy~ my sippy~ Alex~ naps~ snacks~ Book of Mormon~ church~ missionaries~ books~ cake~ Brett~ temple~ dancing~ music~ hugs~ pajamas~ coats~ my crib~ family~ playing~ reading

Today

Today...

Sydney "painted" Cooper's feet with milk on a comb dipped in her cup at lunchtime

Cooper shut Sydney in the dryer when she climbed into it for some reason

We all have been...

Missing daddy while he's at work

And I am enjoying these beautiful fall leaves outside our windows.  Aren't they gorgeous?

Sydney's Ladybug Party

Sydney's birthday party was so much fun!  Because Sydney is so into birthdays, I started asking her what kind of party she wanted a few months ago.  We came up with many options including a "pink" party, a Toy Story party, a Fancy Nancy party, and a ladybug party.  I kind of pushed Sydney toward a ladybug party mostly because I already had the cake pan... ha ha.  But I'm glad I did, because it turned out to be the perfect party for a bunch of 2-3 year old girls!  I had too much fun coming up with ideas and planning this party.  The little details are my favorite part, because they just made everything so "ladybug!"  So beware, there are a lot of pictures.  I am the first to admit, I have a problem of taking too many pictures.  I just love them.  Believe it or not, the pictures in this post are a VERY NARROWED selection.  I have so many more, and even so many that I have deleted.  So I feel like I stuck to the bare minimum for this post... lol.

First, I made Sydney's invitation in Photoshop, and we had them printed on photo paper from Walmart.  I sent them out postcard style, with the addresses on the back, so I didn't even have to buy envelopes.  It was actually very cheap, $0.23 per card, and I think they turned out so cute!

Decoration-wise, I just did black and red balloons and crate paper streamers, both of which are very cheap, but cute.  You sure can make the whole house feel decorated very easy with balloons and streamers!  I also made sure to make my food be a part of the decorations.  I was already doing food anyway, so making it match the decor, meant I had less to decorate.  It was nice to be able to decorate based off of colors, rather than finding "ladybug" everything, because it was easy to find things that were plain red or plain black, but it still had that ladybug feel to it.

I have had those red napkins for years... since Lisa's Bridal Shower.  I think I have used them at every birthday party since, and I still have a ton left!  

I found this ladybug iron-on decal for $2 when I was shopping, and just ironed it onto one of Sydney's white shirts she already had.  Such a cute, cheap detail!

The ladybug pinata... 

Black and red licorice.  We passed this around to the adults while Sydney opened presents...

 Matt and I made carmel/chocolate covered pretzels.  They were so yummy, and darling rolled in red sprinkles!

The inspiration for it all... the ladybug cake!  It turned out so cute!

When I was making it, Sydney would come up and say, "That ladybug looks funny mom!  We need to cover up all the brown (the cake)"  and when I was done, she kept telling me, "it looks GREAT mom!"  I'm so glad she loved it!

This was the first party we've had that we've invited more than just very close family to.  Usually our parties include my family, Chris and Lisa, and Matt's grandparents.  We decided that since we are in a house this year, and we probably won't be next year, we'd expand the guest list.  We added Sydney's friend Kate, with her parents Courtney and Tyler, and Sydney's cousin, Jocelyn, and her family.  I also thought it would be fun to do a few activities appropriate for 3 year olds.  First we made some ladybug headbands.  Then we went on a "bug hunt."  After that we did a "ribbon" pinata.  And ended the night with opening presents, cake and ice cream, and playing in Sydney's room.  I think it was perfect!

For the headbands, I glued these little black balls onto red pipe cleaners earlier in the day, so all the kids had to do was wrap the pipe cleaners onto headbands...

They turned out so cute!

All 3 girls kept their headbands on all night!

For the bug hunt each girl got an empty jar, a magnifying glass, and a list of bugs to look for.  Then they walked around the house and collected their bugs...

The pinata was so cute.  It just had ribbions hanging from it, so each girl took turns pulling a ribbon out.  Pulling the ribbon is supposed to open up the bottom of the pinata so the candy falls out, rather than hitting it with a bat, which 3 year old girls probably aren't very good at in a room full of people...

All of the kids enjoyed helping Sydney open presents.  She has been loving her new toys, which include many Disney Princess, Toy Story, Dora, and My Little Pony items.  Thanks to everyone!

Sydney ready to blow out the candles on her cake... one thing I learned, is to give the pieces with black frosting to the adults!

The girls enjoyed playing in Sydney's room with her new toys, while the adults chatted in the family room!

Jocelyn, Kate, Sydney

We had so much fun with all of our good friends and family!  You all made Sydney's birthday perfect!  She was so happy to spend her special day with the people she loved.  A special thanks to Matt's family who sent presents and phone calls our way!  We missed having you there.  It was such a fun day and something we will always remember!

 Sydney practicing putting up 3 fingers...

Our cute little 3 year old... 

We love you Sydney!

Sydney's Three!

Three.  How is it that when you get older time just seems to speed up, and go faster, and faster, and faster?  Three years is how long high school is.  Those years just dragged on and on.  But these past three years have literally flown by.  I have heard it only gets worse the older you get.  I remember oh so well the day I had 3 years ago.  It was one of the best days of my life.  Matt and I went to the hospital bright and early, after laboring all night, ready to move on to the next phase of our lives.  I was so excited to meet this little, active, baby girl, and yet so nervous about the kind of mother I would be able to be.  Would I be able to teach her the things she needed to know?  Would I be able to adequately take care of her?  Sometimes I still worry about those things.  Whether I was ready or not, our little baby was ready to enter life in the world, and I needed to step up and be the best mother I could be.  I have learned a lot from Sydney.  She has taught me how to love on a whole different level.  A level only another mother would understand.  I have learned that doing hard things makes us better people.  Not only was November 8, 2007 one of the best days of my life, it was also one of the hardest days.  It was hard work to get that baby here.  It has also been hard work every day since.  But, it has been the most rewarding work of my life.  I love to look at Sydney and see the little girl she has become in 3 short years.  As Sydney turns 3, some of the things that I love about her are:

How much she loves her little brother.  She loves to play with him, but she likes to choose which toys he should play with- her idea of sharing is letting him play with her toys, but it has to be a toy of her choosing.  She is a good big sister.  When Cooper wakes up from naps, she goes in his room and gives him toys in his crib, so he can be happy until I come in and get him.  Sometimes she even climbs in his crib to play with him.  She will often say, "I love him so much, he's so cute!"

Sydney is a little perfectionist in the making.  She likes to have her dolls dresses lay flat, and have their shoes match, and is very particular in many things.  She is such a great "mommy" and takes such good care of her babies, giving them blankets and kisses before they go to sleep.  Her favorite toy at this age is her Toy Story Jessie doll.  She carries that doll everywhere with her and even sleeps with her.

Sydney loves birthdays.  She always asks who's birthday is next, and has been so excited that hers is next, for a while.  We planned a "ladybug" birthday party for her, which she is so excited about.  Yesterday she danced around the house singing, "it's my birthday, it's my birthday!"

Sydney can be such a nice little girl.  She often tells me she loves me.  She will grab my face and say, "mommy, you're so beautiful!"  She always knows how to make me feel good, and is so forgiving of my shortcomings.  She likes to call me or Cooper "sweetheart" and "honey", which is so cute in her cute little voice.

One thing I have learned as a mother, is how much birthdays mean to moms.  I never realized how much I would treasure my kid's birthdays, because it reminds me of the special day that they were born.  It gives me a chance to remember that my daughter is a special gift, that came from my Father in Heaven.  I am so thankful for such a precious and amazing gift!

5 Years and Counting

I can hardly believe that Matt and I have been married for 5 years!  I feel like Matt has been a part of my life for so long, that I can barely remember life before he was in it... really we've known each other for a little over 10 years now!  But at the same time, these 5 years of marriage have just flown by.  Time flies when you're having fun, right?  I think we definitely look 5 years older.  Were we really that young when we got married?

I always love our anniversary, because I get to think about the best day of my life all day.  It was fun to wake up and think, 5 years ago, I was at the temple getting ready to get married...  I was so happy that day.  Nothing in the world could upset me.  It was the most perfect day I could have ever imagined, because I was lucky enough to be marrying a great man, who I loved more than anything.  Don't get me wrong, from the outside, not everything was perfect.  It rained.  And was freezing.  I forgot my jewelry and the back insert to my dress for the reception.  Matt's car was disgustingly trashed.  But, it was a perfect day in my eyes.  5 years later, I got to experience another perfect day.

Matt has had work off all week (he put in the request a whole year ago).  It has been so nice to spend the week together.  We slept in as long as the kids would let us on our anniversary.  Then Matt went out to the kitchen to feed the kids, but sent Sydney back into the room with a "present for mommy."  This is what Sydney brought to me...

A band to go on my wedding ring!  I was so surprised, and really could not believe it!  At least then I knew that we really weren't wasting all our money on food... I really haven't been able figure out how we could be spending so much money for a few months now!

It's so pretty, and big... going to take some getting used to!  Then we spent a few hours lounging around the house.  Watching movies and doing a few chores.  For lunch we had a picnic in our back yard as a family.  The weather was beautiful, and we had so much fun enjoying it together.

 Matt and I joked, what do you think our lives would be like if we didn't have our kids... Matt would probably be done with school.  We'd have our own house by now.  We'd both be working, and have plenty of money, and would probably be going to Hawaii, or even Europe for our anniversary.  But none of those things would be worth it.  Those two kids mean the world to us!  I'm so glad we got to enjoy spending time with them on our anniversary too.  They really are the light of our lives.  After the kids' naps, we took them over to Matt's aunt Jana's house.  Jana's family babysat them overnight for us, which was so nice of them!  Sydney and Cooper had a blast with them.  Sydney even cried when Matt picked her up because she didn't want to leave.  After we dropped them off, we did a little birthday shopping for Sydney, and then we started driving downtown for dinner.  Matt surprised me with reservations to...

Ruth's Chris!  It was quite the dining experience.  The food and service were both absolutely fantastic!  The table was lined with rose petals and we received a free dessert because it was our anniversary.  Seriously, it was something I will always remember.  After dinner we went home where we planned to watch movies, and just have a fun night without having to worry about taking care of the kids.  We rented the movie Karate Kid and took our mattress out into the family room.  We don't have a tv in our room, so we thought it would be fun to watch a movie "in bed" and this was our solution.

It was a lot of fun actually.  Putting the mattress in the family room made it feel more like a special night, because it was something out of the ordinary.  We actually left it out there for a few days, because the kids came home and loved having it there.  We would read books together and watch movies all as a family in bed, in the family room.  So fun!

I really am so grateful to have Matt in my life.  He has given me anything I could have ever dreamed.  Because of him, I have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom with my two beautiful children.  He works so hard at work in order to provide for us.  You know how many people tease that their husbands forget their anniversary?  Well not this man.  He has been working overtime, and saving money, for months so that he could make our anniversary special for me.  Having a new band on my ring, and a nice dinner were definitely wonderful gifts that made me feel very special.  But he makes me feel special every day.  He understands me when I get frustrated and helps me with the kids.  He is patient and kind.  He is a great father and an amazing husband.  I am never worried that our family won't be taken care of, because Matt does all he can to provide for us, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  I am grateful that he is a worthy priesthood holder.  I am grateful beyond words that I married him in the temple 5 years ago, because I am so excited to spend eternity with him!  Thank you Matt for all that you do.  I love you.  The past 5 years have been amazing!