Ride Em' Cowgirl!

Sydney got to dress up as a cowgirl for a birthday party a couple weeks ago.  She absolutely loved it!  She kept the whole outfit on, and carried Jessie around all day.  We went to IFA to look for a cheap cowboy hat for her and to buy some salt for the water softener, and now when we pass it she always calls it the "cowgirl store."  She was very insistent that she had a cowgirl hat on and cowgirl boots.  If anyone told her they liked her cowboy boots, she made sure to correct them!  We sure love our curly-haired cowgirl!

In other Sydney news, she gave the talk in primary last week, on The Scriptures Teach of Heavenly Father's Plan.  She was so excited to give the talk and did a great job.  I can't believe how old she is getting!  She has had a lot of fun making friends in the ward and neighborhood.  It is fun to see her interact with other kids, because she has always had to play by herself so much.  She talks about her friends all the time and always looks forward to church and playgroup.  I think it will be hard on all of us when the time comes that we have to move!  Sydney has quite the imagination.  It is fun to hear her play with her toys and carry on full conversations with them!  She still loves to call anyone on my phone, and now leaves detailed messages for them if they don't answer.  Her message usually sounds something like "Hi Grandma, this is Sydney.  Do you want to make cookies, and go to Chick-Fil-A, and eat lunch?  Ok?  Call me back.  Bye!"  She and Cooper butt heads quite a bit now, because Cooper has learned the word "no" and isn't into sharing.  So Sydney has learned to let him have what he wants more often.   And they are both learning valuable lessons in sharing.  The other day, Sydney pulled out a blank photo book and made up a story, "reading" it to Cooper.  They do enjoy playing together, and Cooper is always following his big sister around the house.  It's so fun to watch them become better and better friends!

Happy Dalentimes Day!

I had pretty high expectations for Valentines Day, as I do for almost anything in my life.  I visioned pink, heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast, heart-shaped sandwiches for lunch, and pink juice with heart-shaped ice cubes to go along with dinner.  In my mind, my kitchen was decorated beautifully, with hearts all over, chocolates and yummy valentines treats on the counter, and I was all caught up on laundry, ironing, with a perfectly cleaned house.  Ha ha ha... what can I say, I'm a perfectionist!  Needless to say, with Sydney being sick most of the week prior to Valentines, and Cooper being sick the weekend prior to Valentines, and both Cooper and me being sick on Valentines, most of my plans did not come to pass.  We did make it to our Valentines play group party, mostly because Sydney had been so excited for it.  The kids decorated some cookies together and passed out Valentines to one another.  Cooper was perfect pretty much the whole time.  I gave him an unfrosted sugar cookie and he carried it around, eating it the whole time.  It really took him about an hour to eat it, and he was as content as ever.  Then when his Valentine bag was full, he carried that in one hand and the cookie in the other.  We had a lot of fun at play group, as we always do!  We sure have loved living in this ward!

Decorating cookies

Cookie in one hand, bag in the other

Cooper and Bailey

After play group we all took naps and rested for a few hours.  Then I did make to-die-for- Oreo Truffles, since that was my Valentines gift for Matt, and I got the kitchen table decorated with hearts and candies. When Matt got home we fed the kids some dinner, delivered some valentines, and put them to bed.  Then Matt made a delicious steak dinner with mashed potatoes and asparagus.  It was his valentine gift for me, was my first meal of the day (at 10 pm) and really was SO GOOD.  After dinner we cuddled, watched a movie, and I fell asleep on Matt's chest.

The kids with their valentine boxes/bags

Yum!  Oreo Truffles

Reading my valentines to the kids

Our day was full of runny noses, coughs, a messy house, tons of laundry, lazing around, and pretty much nothing I imagined.  But, it was a perfect Valentines Day, because it was full of LOVE.  I loved hearing Sydney tell everyone "Happy Dalentimes Day!"  I loved watching Cooper walk around eating that cookie at play group.  I loved having Matt come home and take care of his sick wife and kids.  I loved eating dinner with him, just me and him.  I loved falling asleep while watching a movie with him.  There was no pressure to have everything perfect, because we love each other when life doesn't go as planned... which is most of the time :)  To my 3 Valentines: Thank you for making my life lovely! Happy Valentines Day!  I love you!

Matt's 27!

Matt turned 27 on Saturday!  It is still so crazy to me to think that I've known him for more than 10 years now!  The other day I was looking through some of our letters while he was on his mission.  When he turned 20, I sent him a letter telling him how old 20 sounded.  When he turned 21, I told him that 21 didn't seem that old because all the guy friends we had were at least 23, since all the guys our age were on missions.  Ha ha ha... it was fun to read through those letters.  Funny how at 19, 20 seemed like such a big jump... no longer a teenager.  Now, it seems so young.  It is weird to think we are in our "late 20's now!"  AAAHH.

Anyway, we had a fabulous BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!  On Friday night Matt and I went out to a nice dinner at a restaurant called Tiburon.  It was delicious!  Saturday morning I made a yummy "Bubble Bread" for Matt's birthday breakfast, and then we had a lazy day around our house, watching movies and the BYU basketball game.  Go Cougars! Then on Superbowl Sunday we had a small birthday/superbowl party for Matt.  It was fun to be able to celebrate all weekend!  I still can't believe how much junk food we ate in those 3 days!  We will be having birthday cake for our Family Night Treat tonight, and then hopefully I will have all the junk food out of my house so it doesn't tempt me anymore :)

Loved seeing my two guys watching the pre-game show together!

Can you tell we wanted the Packers to win?  

Packers colors were much better for decorations anyway...

The chocolate peanut butter cake... so yummy!  It was rich, which I liked because one piece was perfect!

Look at all those candles!

Happy Birthday Matt!  We love you so much!  You are the best dad and husband we could dream up!  Here's to 27!

Sleeping Babies

Last night I went to a baby shower for one of my best friends from high school.  It was so good to get out and see old friends and take a break from my motherly duties.  Allie watched the kids for me, which I always feel good about.  I love that she is always so nice and willing to babysit.  It's so reassuring to me to leave my kids with someone who loves them and who they love and want to be with!  I got home and both kids were fast asleep in bed.  It was so nice to skip the whole bedtime routine and see them peacefully sleeping, but I was a little sad because I didn't get to tuck them in, give them kisses, and remind them that I love them before they went to sleep.  There is a song by Taylor Swift titled Never Grow Up.  I cry every time I hear it, because it is so true to my heart.  The lyrics for the first verse and chorus are :

Your little hands wrapped around my finger

And it's so quiet in the world tonight

Your little eyelids flutter 'cause you're dreaming

So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light

To you, everything's funny

You got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up 

Just stay this little

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up 
It could stay this simple

I won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
No, no one will desert you

Just try to never grow up, never grow up

Last night, I went into each of my kids' rooms to watch them sleep for a moment, with the words of this song in my heart.  I kissed Sydney's forehead and thought about how big she was getting so fast.  How it seems that just yesterday she was a little baby.  I found Cooper in his usual spot, in the corner of his crib, laying on his tummy, with his blanket up by his face, and his legs tucked up underneath him.  I put my hand on his back and felt him breathe for a minute, just wishing I was tall enough to be able to kiss his forehead too, and thinking before I know it, he'll be as big as Sydney and all his babyness will be gone.  When my kids are sleeping, it is only too easy to remember that they are gifts from our Father in Heaven.  They are so innocent, pure, and beautiful.  

When you are a young or expecting mother, it is common advise to not let a moment pass you by, because it goes by so quickly.  During busy, hectic, days it is so easy to forget that advise.  But every time I see my kids sleeping I remember it.  I am so grateful for those moments because they help me keep a big picture in my mind.  They help me forget the laundry, the cleaning, the toys scattered all over the floor, my messy hair and sweats, and they help me remember our Heavenly Father's plan.  They truly are spiritual moments for me and I love them.  

Every once in a while I take a picture of my sleeping kids... most of the time, it's if they fell asleep in a funny place, because I sure wish I could fall asleep anywhere.  And sometimes I just really want to capture their peaceful faces and the memories that come with watching them sleep.  That's a hard thing to capture on camera, but I guess it's my way of trying to hold on to those moments for as long as I can.  So here are some of my favorite  "sleeping pictures" throughout the years.  Some are funny and some are tender, because I want to remember both of those feelings!

Sleeping in her stuffed animal basket

Sydney went through a phase where all her dolls had to take a nap with a pillow and a blanket (aka washrag) at the same time as her....  This is what her room looked like every day at nap time...

Falling asleep eating...

My favorite picture of them all

I know that parents of this generation face some tough challenges in raising our children.  I don't even want to imagine what the world will be like when Sydney and Cooper are teenagers, but I have hope that I can remember these moments throughout hard times, now and in the future, because when I see their innocent sleeping faces, I want to fight for them.  I can't stop them from growing up, but hopefully I can make life fun, happy, joyful, and good for them.  More than anything, I want my kids to know how much I love them, and that with the gospel they can make it through anything!