Dance Parties

I'm so glad that Spring is finally here! I think this might have been the longest winter for me--it was tough trying to think of new ways to entertain the kids when you can't go outside all the time. One thing that helped us survive through those long months were dance parties. I turned on music one night and told them to dance around. I couldn't believe how much they loved it. It has become a nightly tradition. Their moves continue to impress and improve. :) Here are some pics of one fun dance party!





Claire is our little gymnast. She loves to do somersaults and is almost able to push herself over.



It's a lot of fun and I'm hoping even with the warm weather and the countless hours we are going to be outside we will still find time to have our parties!

Easter!

We had a great Easter. The kids are starting to really enjoy all the holidays. We did a lot of fun things throughout the week and weekend. One of Jaxon's favorite things was going to the library for a bunny story time with our neighbors and then decorating cupcakes with them later in the afternoon.



Saturday was a packed day. We started off with a brunch at my Grandma's house. It was a birthday brunch as well as a going away party for my brother who is moving to Houston. We always enjoy the company and food at Grandma's. It is so hard to get a good family picture with everyone looking, but we managed to get a semi-decent one.



We also had a family party and Easter egg hunt with my Dad's family. Luckily, it started to rain just as we were about to hide the eggs so it was easy to move inside.



The Easter Bunny came on Saturday night and left a trail of candy from our door to the family room . Jaxon and Claire both had so much fun finding everything.







Jeff had the stomach flu, so he kept Claire home with him while Jaxon and I went to church. I was bummed Claire didn't get to wear her Easter dress, but there's always next week. Jaxon looked so handsome and grown up in his Easter outfit.



After church, we went to my sister's house for an Easter dinner and birthday party for our niece. We had a lot of fun with our family. My mom was up for the week so it was great that she was there with us. We had yet another Easter egg hunt, but Jaxon still had as much fun as the first time. We will be eating Easter candy for a long time.

Fun in the Shower!

Yesterday morning, Jeff started the shower and ran into the other room to grab something. When he came back, this is what he found.





How they both got in the shower that quick I'm not really sure. We laughed about it and let them play for a while.

St. George

Temple Open House

On Valentine's Day, all of my extended family got together for a brunch at the clubhouse.  We celebrated everyone's birthdays for the quarter which included my Grandpa who turned 85.  My grandparents are amazing people and I am grateful for the the times we get to spend with them. After the brunch, we all went to the Draper Temple Open House.   Jaxon and Claire did surprisingly well. The highlights for Jaxon were the bus ride, the elevators, and the cookie at the end.  

More Birthday Fun!

   

 

Since my parents were in town, we had a big combined birthday party for Jaxon and Claire on Friday.  The only thing Jaxon wanted for his birthday was a cake with little carrots on top and chocolate at the bottom.  He saw one at Costco and couldn't stop talking about it.  It ended up being a big hit and all the kids loved the carrots.  Claire wasn't shy with her cake and went for it face first.  We opened gifts, ate cake and ice cream, and enjoyed being together.  Thanks to our families for coming and always supporting us!

Valentine's Day

Jeff and I celebrated Valentine's day early and of all days on Jaxon's Birthday. But he was able to spend it with my mom which I'm sure was more fun for him anyway.  Jeff's work was sponsoring the dinner and the ballet Madame Butterfly.  It was fun to get dressed up and go out.  The dinner was at the Wells Fargo Building which had an incredible view.   We had fun at dinner-mainly making fun of the variety of people that were there.  There was a silent auction and I still regret not bidding on the Wells Fargo cookie jar.  Not really--it was really ugly.  On the way to the ballet, Jeff and I were walking out the revolving door.  He thought it would be funny to push it really fast and it was funny until I managed to pull the handle off the door. Oops!   

The ballet was incredible.   It was amazing how well you could follow the story with the dancing and the music.  We had excellent seats and I enjoyed every minute of it!  We had a wonderful early Valentine's Day!  

Jaxon's Birthday

    

   

Jaxon's birthday was last Thursday.  It's fun that he is at the age where he can now pick what he wants to do.  He chose Gymcats for our activity.  There were only a few other kids so Jaxon was able to do whatever he wanted.  He loved the rope and was laughing his head off because Claire was afraid of it.   

For lunch, he originally wanted to go to the telephone place (aka the Training Table).  But knowing how much he loves water fountains and waterfalls, I thought he would love the Mayan. So I spent the whole day on Wednesday talking up the restaurant and convincing him that's where he wanted to go--which wasn't hard to do--he was sold when I mentioned waterfall. Anyway, after Gymcats we drove to the Mayan and realized it isn't open until 4 p.m.  Normally, we could have just gone later, but Jeff and I had evening plans.  At first I thought he was ok, but he just got more and more sad and I could tell he was trying not to cry.  Way to go Mom--ruin his birthday!  I felt so bad.  He eventually did break down and acted completely heartbroken.   After some hugs and a promise to go there soon, we ended up at the Training Table and all was forgotten with his fries and ice cream sundae.  Phew!  

My mom was in town for his birthday, so he was excited to spend the evening with "Suzanne".   Jeff and I had tickets to the ballet since his work was sponsoring it (post to follow).  He had a great time playing with his toys and even though I told him not too--tackling Grandma!  He is an unbelievable kid and I am amazed everyday by the things he knows and learns.  He cracks me up all the time and I feel lucky to be his mom.  We all love Jaxon and the energy and love he brings to our family!!  

Claire's 1st Birthday!

 

I can't believe that Claire turned one last month.  It seems like yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital.  She has been such a blessing in our family!  We love her so much! 

We took the kids to the mall to celebrate her birthday.  Jaxon and Claire had a blast together in dino town.  They also loved the carousel and eating at Hot Dog on a Stick.   Jeff and I wanted to get Claire's ears pierced for her birthday.  I'm sure that's what she always wanted!  She did great and hardly cried.   The earrings look adorable.   She loved sharing her cake with Jaxon.  It's a toss up who ended up with more cake on their face by the end!  

Big Week!

This week has been quite the productive week.  I started potty training Jaxon on Monday which has gone fairly well.  We bought a potty watch which reminds him when to go and plays fun songs. Jaxon has loved it and I would recommend it to anyone trying to potty train. We also made him a sticker chart so anytime he goes he gets a sticker.  When he fills up the whole chart he gets a fish. He's been doing really well and I am excited to only have one kid in diapers.  Claire has started taking steps this week.  She takes a couple steps and then falls down and starts laughing.  She thinks it is the funniest thing in the world.  I give her a couple of weeks before she is walking everywhere.  Being a mom is the greatest.  I love watching the kids grow up and learn new things-even though I wish the time didn't go quite so fast!  :) 

Trimble Games

Music: Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Christmas 2008

Music: Garth Brooks- White Christmas

Jaxon has loved all the snow we've gotten so far.  He would play in it for hours if he didn't get cold.  His favorite thing is to kick off the icicles.  Still on his list to do are sledding and making a snowman.  

We went to our ward Christmas Party last Saturday.  After breakfast, the primary did a nativity reenactment and then we waited for Santa to arrive.  Jaxon was a little skeptical at first, but wanted to ask Santa for another Christmas tree and where his sleigh was.  Jeff and I both thought he wouldn't sit on Santa's lap, but he surprised us both.  Apparently, he had so much fun, that he wanted to go straight to the mall after and see Santa again.   Claire also did very well--she was fascinated by him and just stared.