EAstEr wEEkEnd

We had such a fun Easter weekend this year. The kids are totally into holidays now and so everything is quite an adventure.
We dyed Easter eggs on Saturday evening. This year I let Kai pick out the egg coloring kit. He was so excited as we stood in the aisle and he carefully looked at each kit before deciding on one. I just put it in the basket and didn't think twice about it until we got home. When I was unpacking our groceries I finally looked at the dying instructions. It was a totally different kind of kit than I had ever seen. We didn't actually need to dip the eggs in cups or anything with the kit Kai picked out. This year we just added drops of color into a bag and the kiddos just rubbed the color onto the egg. I must admit I was totally prepared for a messy egg dying activity this year and was pleasantly surprised when there was hardly any mess at all. It was awesome!
Here are some of our pictures from our MESS FREE egg dying evening.
***Also, a bit of a disclaimer...I recently bought a new lens and have been playing around with it. So, a ton (MOST) of my pictures aren't in focus like I would like. But I'm learning.
Again, when I tell Kai to smile...he squints.
The next shot I told him to open his eyes and this is what he gave me. Classic.


Kai was totally into the egg dying this year.

So cool that the kids got to touch the eggs but finish the activity with CLEAN hands. RARE for Cic.




Our finished product.

Kai is starting to be such a poser.
Cic was begging to take a picture "just like Kai" but when we sat her next to Kai and he (heaven forbid) put his arm around her...MELTDOWN.
As soon as Kai took his arm away...everything was right in the world again.
L.O.V.E.
Easter Sunday.

My Mom bought Cic an Easter Dress and Cic was so excited. As soon as I put it on her Kai said, "Oh Cic, you look petty."

Kai told me about his lesson in church today.

"Jesus was praying and the mean guys came. Then he was bleeding. Jesus died. He came back to life."

After church the Easter bunny stopped by and left some baskets for the kids.
Cici's Easter basket
Kai's Easter basket
Kai when he found his Easter basket. So glad I captured this excited face.
Heaven on earth...
K...This is the face that I see every day. EVERY DAY. Cic has this face that she pulls at different times when she is really happy or surprised. It is so funny. I can't get enough of it. She pulled it today when she found her Easter basket. Love.
More of heaven on Earth...
My Mom sent some of the goodies for the kids baskets. She always knows the right things to buy that will just thrill my kids. Thanks for thinking of us Mom! You are the best!

Easter Egg Hunt

The weather kept saying that it was going to rain all weekend and it really didn't. So, after church I decided that the weather people were all wrong and opted to defy the odds and have our hunt outdoors. I came inside to gather everyone up and on our way out the door to hunt for eggs it started to sprinkle. AWESOME. So, we bundled everyone up and told them to hurry and grab the eggs as fast as they could. Kai loves anything competitive and was excited to see if he could "beat Cici."
We had so many eggs in the backyard that Ben had to empty Kai's basket a few times b/c it was overflowing and Kai couldn't pile on any more eggs.
Cic was excited but in no hurry to gather a ton of eggs. She quickly learned that the eggs had candy in them and was more interested in eating the candy inside of ONE egg than gathering several.
Again...the face. This is what happens when you tell Cic to smile.
...and again...
Kai was so proud of his haul. He went through each egg and sorted through all the candy...totally organizing it. Kinda OCD. I was so proud.
I couldn't hold still long enough for this picture to be in focus, but I love in anyway. Cic is OBSESSED with Tinkerbell. She got some new "Bababell" (also known as Tinkerbell) jammies for Easter and couldn't have been happier.
My loves before bed tonight.

Happy Easter everyone!

SMoRGaSBoRD

I would have posted these pictures sooner but our laptop has been in the shop so I am a bit behind. Days seem to be flying by and life is crazy. I am trying to get caught up on everything b/c after the baby comes, I know that I will be too exhausted to do any of this.
We went to Utah a few weeks ago for a baptism. Probably our last trip before the baby comes in July. We were a bit nervous about the roads b/c the weather is still a bit unpredictable and we didn't know if the pass was even going to be open. Luckily the roads were excellent (other than wind) on our way up.
It was kind of a crazy trip since we planned on simply going for a baptism and about a week before we left found out that my parents were going to be in Utah the same weekend. My dad has an arrhythmic heartbeat and was having a procedure done to help correct it. My parents try and down play these things so no one freaks out, but it turns out it was a pretty big deal. The doctors wanted him in ASAP in fear that he was at risk for cardiac arrest at any moment.
We stayed at Ben's brothers house and hoped that the kids would get along well with their cousins. Unfortunately my kiddos became leeches and wouldn't let go of me the entire time we were around Ben's family. I think they just were unsure of their surroundings and the new faces. It was exhausting and a ton of work. I had whiny kids and there were times when I wanted to breakdown myself. We had a weekend with no naps and a go, go, go schedule.
There weren't a lot of smiles to take pictures of while we were there, but Ben did manage to capture this one of Kai.
We went out to Pirate Island with my Mom, Dad, my brother Travis' family, and my brother Forrest with his family while we were there. It is SOOOO much cleaner than Chuck e Cheese. The kids had a blast! My parents are always so good at trying to come up with activities that the kids will enjoy and trying to make fun memories together with everyone.
I brought my camera and was excited to get some fun shots with my brothers and their families, but my battery died after a few shots. I am waiting for my brothers to e-mail me some of the group shots so this is all I have from our fun night together.

I love this pic of me and my Mom. Totally an accidental picture. I don't know why I never noticed it as a kid but I have the exact same eye color as my Mom. My Dad once bought me a Sunflower b/c he said those flowers reminded him of me b/c I have a sunflower around my eyes.

Now whenever I look at my eyes in the mirror, I see my Mom. What a great reminder of her that I have. Glad that I get to share that with her. Love you Mom!

Cicilee wants to do whatever Kai does. Since Kai is totally into racing games lately, I couldn't get her off the racing games for most of the night. She was so serious about it too.

The next day was Ben's nieces baptism. It was awesome to be able to attend and Ben was able to participate. I spent the majority of the time in the hall with my screaming/crying kiddos. It was rough.
Here is Kai after the baptism sitting in time out. This is the "happy face" Kai had for most of the day.

Then there was Cic. Just wanting to be held. I am trying to enjoy her snuggles and give her what she wants b/c I know that in a few months her world is going to change.

During the trip, I had diagnosed her clinginess as the start of the terrible two's but she's back to normal again...Thank Goodness!

Ben's niece, Hannah after her baptism. Hannah was the ONLY person that Cicilee would play with. She absolutely adored Hannah.
Kai and Cic slept together while we were there. They are really starting to be such good friends. I love it!
Ben and his folks.

We stopped by the hospital on our way home and visited my Dad. He looked AMAZING! Kai and Cic were a bit shy when we first got there but once my Dad showed Kai how to push buttons and make his bed move Kai was all about it.
Turns out my dad's heart was only functioning at 40%. So glad that he is doing well and feeling better. Wish we lived closer to them. Kai and Cic sure love 'em.

When we got back, Kai and Cici's bunk bed arrived. I looked and looked for bunk beds and couldn't find any (affordable) that I liked...until I found these at Walmart. I was thinking, "Ya right" but then I read all the reviews that people had written and thought we would give it a go. They were super cheap and I love them. The kids are still kinda rough on furniture so I won't be devastated if these get beat up b/c we didn't pay an arm and a leg for them. I would totally recommend these beds to anyone that is looking.

This isn't a very good picture of the room but I wanted to post a pic anyway. I found the dresser, and toy chest on craigslist and we repainted them. The room used to be blue. I bought solid white curtains and sewed a green panel to the bottom. There are still things that I am working on. Kai and Cic just completed some artwork for the wall, I am working on the letters for their names, and I still haven't bought knobs for the dresser yet. It's kinda a work in progress still. I'll post some more pictures once it is complete. At least it is "complete" enough for them to sleep in it now though.

Kai loves painting. I repainted the wall mobile that I made for his room when he was a baby recently and he helped a little. Ever since I painted it, he has been asking me if he could paint again. So, we headed over to JoAnn's and bought two of those $1 birdhouses.We decided to paint them and send them to my Mom for her garden. I love gardening but my Mom LOVES it even more. We thought it would be fun to have a little piece of the kiddos in her yard. Kai was so excited! I picked up some paint in the children's section (not even reading what kind of paint it was) and headed home to please my little artist.

Kai gets very serious about his painting. Won't talk and is totally "in the zone."

Then there is Cic...

A totally different story all together.

I stripped her down for the project b/c Cic has never been a "clean and tidy" kind of girl.
Kai is doing this thing lately where he just squints when you ask him to smile. Kinda makes me wonder just how many wrinkles I have around my eyes...Is that what he thinks I look like when I smile?
Serious business.
Notice the difference between the picture above of Kai and this one of Cic? They are both focused on painting...Kai painting the house and Cic painting HERSELF. She started painting her fingernails in this picture.

Then her tummy, followed by her legs, then her ear and so forth. I kept telling her to keep the paint on the birdhouse...she didn't care what I had to say though. Signs of a true artist. :)
Love these next three pictures.

These perfectly show the difference between Kai and Cic.

Maybe I should have bought body paint for Cic?

Seriously? Check out how CLEAN Kai is when painting. Hardly even uses his napkin.
She got paint EVERYWHERE. It was in her hair, the chair, the floor, her mouth, ears, bellybutton. I started cleaning her off and suddenly realized that it wasn't coming off. Ya, I was in such a hurry to buy the supplies that I didn't realized that I had bought acrylic paint for the kiddos. Glad that it eventually can come off but it didn't come off easily. I gave Cic a bath and it didn't all come off for about 4 days. She hated every bath time b/c I was trying to scratch it off and comb it out of her hair. Poor thing. Lesson learned...PAY ATTENTION to what you buy in the kid aisle, Ashley!
Our neighborhood had an Easter Egg hunt last weekend and the weather was FABULOUS! Colorado has been such a tease lately with hot and cold temperatures so it felt nice to be able to to out and enjoy a warm day collecting eggs. It looks like Easter Sunday will be raining again this year so at least the kids got to have one Easter Egg Hunt outdoors this year.

Ben snapped these three shots of Cic and I LOVE them.

In thAnsItIOn

We are in the process of putting Kai and Cic in the same room for a while. I have been so busy buying and refinishing furniture, shopping for bedding, repainting the room a new color, working on curtains, etc. I even had to sell Kai's bedroom furniture, which was kinda sad b/c I can remember how excited I was to buy it for him. The whole experience has been so fun though. I love it!
I shopped and shopped for beds for the room. My dream was to get two twin beds to fit in the corner along both walls with a side table in the corner. I REALLY wanted that to work out, but alas our rooms in this house are SO small and it wouldn't fit. So, I finally agreed to go the bunk bed route. I am really nervous about this b/c I can imagine Cic climbing up to the top bunk and Kai pushing her off.
Anyway, most of the room is done (minus a few details) but we are still waiting on the bunk bed that I ordered to arrive (that is LATE by the way.)
We bought Cic her own twin mattress and were too excited not to try it out, so on Monday we let the kids start their adventure together. We THOUGHT it was going to be a breeze. The mattresses are on the floor side by side but Kai wanted to sleep with Cici so they are only using one mattress anyway.
Everything went well initially. We did out bedtime routine, everyone was in bed tucked in and said a sweet, "Goodnight." Ben and I walked downstairs and gave each other the, "That was EASY" look. Then the crying started. Cic was so scared and it took a while to comfort her. It was after all her first night without her crib. She missed it. It took probably a full hour for her to relax a bit. Relax might not be the right word though. After that hour, Kai and Cic realized that they had a room to themselves and began playing and playing and playing. It was a NIGHTMARE!
My kids are known to be in bed some nights (at the earliest) by 6:30pm. (I know that is early...It's usually about 7 or 7:30pm.) Monday when they shared a room for the first night, they were still up and running around in their room at 10:30pm.

I couldn't believe it! After going in and reinforcing that it was bedtime, Cic started to cry again.

We decided to let her cry it out. Ben overheard a sweet conversation between Kai and Cic...
Kai said to Cic, "It's OK Cici. There aren't even any spiders in my room."

When Ben told me this, my heart just melted. Kai kinda has a thing about spiders. We don't have any in our house, but he LOVES spider man. He LOVES everything about spider man...everything but the spider part. I think he might be afraid of actual spiders. We have had to tell him time and time again that there aren't any spiders in his room. I guess he thought that is why Cic was crying. It makes me happy that he tries to cheer her up. What a good big brother.

Now, only if we could get this bedtime thing down AGAIN. Last night wasn't any better. Their lack of sleep during the night makes for LOOOONG and whiny days.
This is the exact reason why I wanted to combine them early on. I am hoping that combining them three months before the baby arrives will give them plenty of time to get used to it before their world is turned upside down with a new family member. That way, I will only have one kid up all night. :)
One can dream right?!

"...To THe MooN aND BaCK..."

I had an experience tonight with Kai that I always want to remember...

We did our regular routine...bath, read a story, say prayers, go to bed. It was a normal evening and Kai helped me tuck Cic in her crib before we went to his room. He jumped right into bed since he didn't nap today and was pretty tired. He gave me a huge smile and I immediately knew that he wanted to play our "I love you game."
I started it off.
Me~ "I love you Kai. I love you to the moon and back one time."
Kai~ "I love you to the moon in back two time."
Me~ "I love you to the moon and back three times."

This game is played until I finally give up and tell him he must love me an awful lot. He always wants to "one up" me. He's usually satisfied if I have a big enough reaction to his number.

Tonight we played to the number six and then I agreed and said that I loved him to the moon and back six times too. I was standing in the doorway when we both laughed and I thought the game was over and he was satisfied. I came downstairs and started picking up the house and all of a sudden heard Kai sobbing in his room. I was so confused because I had just left his side and he was happy.
When I opened his door I found a sad little boy. Kai was laying in bed, his cheeks wet with tears, and his eyes were all welled up.

Before I could even get a word out, he started up in a weak voice, "I love you in the moon and back like..."
When he says "like" instead of a number it means that he needs help with the next number and is waiting for me to answer him.
I guessed and replied, "six."
He started crying, "no."
So, I guessed, "seven."

All of a sudden the tears stopped. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, "I love you in the moon and back seven time."

He then rolled over to go to sleep.

He was just frustrated that he couldn't remember what came after six...wanted me to know that he loved me more than six times.
Oh Kai, I love you. Thanks for making my day. You always know how to make me feel so special.

a NeW LoVe

One of my very best friends burned me a cd for my birthday and included this song on it. I know it's probably not a new song to anyone but me, but I am so in love with it. It is my new favorite song and I can't get enough of it...or any of Josh Radins songs for that matter. Thanks for thinking of me Ang.
Enjoy!



I have heard this song of his before but just had to include it. Lovin' me some slow songs lately.

"EvErythIng Is gOnnA bE AlrIght"

We have really been put through the ringer this last week with Kai getting sick. Kai and I both got sick, but he really struggled getting over it. He was totally out for about 5 days straight. Kai is a little guy and with this sickness brought weight loss. He just isn't the kind of kid who can afford to lose weight so the doctors wanted to see him. He was prescribed anti nausea medication and was put on probiotics. They told me that if things didn't improve by the next day that he would have to be admitted.
Sure enough, the day after he was given anti nausea medication things started to improve but he was still struggling and had no appetite for food or liquid.
He finally started to perk up and show some life later on this week. It was so frustrating because every time I thought that things were turning around for us, he would take another dive. We had several sleepless nights and load after load of laundry.
To make matters worse, the weather has been so nice but we have spent all our time indoors recovering. Poor Cic has really wanted to get out and play and we just couldn't. It honestly felt like we were grounded.
We finally left the house this weekend and went to dinner and shopped. It was the BEST WEEKEND. It even felt good to just get in the car and go for a drive. Just to leave the house...HEAVEN. We've felt so cooped up and it was just what we needed.

Kai was assigned to give the talk in Primary today. I can't believe I have a kid old enough to be in Primary!? He spoke about King Benjamin and the importance of service. He talked about different ways that he can serve each family member and held up pictures he had colored illustrating each act of service. He loves King Benjamin. Every time we talk about King Benjamin he says, "Just like Daddy. My Daddy name is Ben."
I was really nervous that Kai would get up to the front of primary, have stage fright and that I would have to give his talk for him but he did it! HE gave his entire talk. Sure, he was shy and a bit soft spoken but he gave his talk and that's what's important. After we practiced his talk last night before bed, he told me he wanted to wear his suit to church.

Here is my handsome man today after church. He looks so mature in this suit.

It was nice weather today, but super cloudy so the lighting was pretty dark. Cic sat next to Kai on the steps and wanted to take some pictures and I just can't say "no" to pictures of these two cuties!
Ben stood behind me making faces at them and they couldn't resist making them right back.


I love when these two love each other.

Kai is growing up so fast. He is the sweetest little man and takes such good care of me. I know that it should be the other way around but he is always so concerned with how I feel, and how everyone feels for that matter. He is a nurturing little kiddo and I love him to pieces.


Another development this week are our first blooms of the year. I look forward to Spring more than any other season. I love to see flowers come up and start coloring the ground. Everything is still brown and dead so these spots of purple around the yard are just perfect.

I finally can say that Kai's flu is past us and that "Everything is gonna be alright."

A gOOd mOm

We had a really rough weekend. Kai came down with some sort of stomach bug on Saturday morning. We cancelled all our Saturday activities and stayed home with our little "sicklette." Whatever it was, he was hit hard and as the day went on he only got worse. He couldn't keep anything down, developed a fever and was just miserable.

At the end of the day I read my lethargic little man a book as he laid in bed totally helpless. It was heartbreaking to see. We said our prayers and I tucked him in.

Me: "Kai, I'm so sorry you're not feeling well. You have been such a good boy though. I love you."

Kai: "You were a good Mom."



It's these little comments that make being a Mom worth all the cleanup that takes place when your kids are "down and out." Kai I love you!



I went to bed wishing that I could take away his sickness and apparently I tried. I came down with the same thing on Sunday and luckily Ben was home to help out with Cici. Kai and I pretty much slept the day away and stayed in bed snuggling together. We were miserable. Kai didn't move almost all day. He didn't have energy to do anything. He kept thinking that my belly looked like a comfy pillow and his pressure on my stomach only made me feel worse.
All day I kept thinking of his comment, "You were a good Mom." I hope I never forget it.
I'll admit that wanted my Mom yesterday. She was always so good at taking care of me when I didn't feel well. I hope that I can be that kind of Mom to my kids.

It's A bOy!

We went to the doctor last week and found out that we are expecting another little man!
We are thrilled and so excited to meet him. I find myself watching Kai and Cic now wondering how this new addition will change our family dynamic. Each child has brought something new to the family...Kai is my little cuddle bug who is so inquisitive about everything and always concerned with how everyone is feeling. Cic is "Miss Independent" and a fireball. Both totally unique and both hold my heart in their tiny hands. They consume so much of my heart that I wonder how it is possible to love yet another!? I know that it is though, and can't wait to experience the joy of seeing our new little man for the first time and holding him in my arms. Having a baby really embodies, "Love at First Sight."
It is so overwhelming and I am so happy we get to experience it again.

Actually, I was really nervous to find out the sex of this little one. I felt guilty. This might be our last one and I felt like whatever the sex was, someone would lose. If it was a boy, I would feel bad that Cic would never experience what it was like to have a sister. If it was a girl, Kai would never experience what it was like to have a brother. I was excited when we saw that it was a boy but my heart ached for Cic a little.
I grew up with two brothers (one older and one younger actually, JUST LIKE CIC). I ALWAYS wanted a sister. I always admired my friends who had sisters and were really close with them and could stay up late and talk about boys, have things in common, etc. Playing sports my whole life gave me "sisters" though. My teammates became my sisters and I loved them. Now, my close friends are my sisters. I am blessed to have such great friends.
I guess I just haven't had a good experience with brothers. Either actually. It's still not a great experience. I try to be ok with it, not let it influence the way that I raise my kids, but how could it not? They say that the best predictor of the future is the past.

How do you teach your children to really love each other? To protect each other? To never turn their back on one another? Never cut each other out of their lives? To be there for each other. To be...a family? To be proud to be related to one another..."THIS is MY sister." THIS is MY brother.

Ben has been so understanding with my concerns. He has been absolutely amazing and so sweet. Hopefully we will be able to raise a close family who loves each other. My past (or present for that matter) does not predict our family's future.

Here is the baby bump at 21 weeks...

I had to include some pictures of the brother and sister waiting patiently for the arrival of their new brother.
Putting their arm around one another...
Kai knew we were going to have a boy from the beginning. He couldn't be happier with the news.
Only a few more months with just two kiddos.