Spring Break Run Down...

Wednesday the kids got out of school early so that Spring Break could begin! We decided to start the break off right away with a trip to Jumpin' Jacks! The kids could have stayed longer than the 2 hours we were there... but us Mommies had sore booties from sitting so long!

Friday I treated these cuties to a movie. I was a little hesitant to join them, after all, it was Hannah Montana. But ladies.... take your girls! It was a great movie! They had such a great time! Thanks Alissa for letting Brynn play while we went!

Great Grandma invited us to an Easter Egg Hunt at her apartment Saturday morning. The kids were so excited! They had a fun time running after the eggs, eating cookies, winning prizes from the raffle, and visiting the Easter Bunny! Thank you Great Grandma!

Uncle Chad and his band (Travisty) had a show in Provo Saturday night. We decided our kids needed to become his "groupies!" It took all of them some getting used to with how loud it was, but they had a great time with their cousins watching their cool uncle perform!

Now Spring Break is over.... it will definitely be missed!

HAPPY EASTER!!

Proud Mommy moments....

Today is just one of those days..... I am a very proud mommy! Justin had his therapy this past Tuesday and one thing (among many others) we have been working on is getting him to grab a snack out of my hand and put it in his mouth. What would come so naturally easy to a typical child doesn't come so easy for him. What one child can do in one step, we have to teach him in ten steps over, and over again. Practice will make perfect! I was so proud of him when he finally was able to grab that little treat out of my hand! He didn't realize that it was stuck under his thumb, but at least he was able to get it! I just had to put his hand toward his mouth, and in it went! We have also been working on sign language for "more." Right now he has no idea what Mommy is doing, or why I have his hands move.... but he will get it!

These pictures are some of my recent favorites! I absolutely adore my kids with all of my heart and love how much they love each other! I think these pictures are just so sweet!

Family fun!

Who doesn't look forward to a Saturday full of fun?! Once Daddy came home from a short day of work, we decided to head out to lunch and a movie! We saw Monsters vs. Aliens. The kids loved it! Any movie that can keep Brynn's attention is awesome! (I think it would have been so much better in 3D... but Brynn wasn't about to wear the 3D glasses.) Justin watched the first 5 minutes, then decided that napping was a much better idea!

After the fun time as a family, April said she would love to spend some time alone with me. (Gotta take advantage of those days while I can!) Tyler was the cool Dad and hubby that he is, and sent us on our way! We spent 4 hours together. I am so sad that I forgot my camera. We had so much fun picking out the kids' Easter clothes together. She is a bargain shopper like me and I LOVE IT! I think her favorite part was our pit stop at the Chocolate Factory where we shared a yummy carameled apple! I love a Saturday that is full of fun!

11 months already!?

Today my sweet little man is already 11 months old. Do you realize what that means? Just one more month from now he will be the big O-N-E.... I'm not too happy about that. He is growing up much faster than I'd like. I feel very blessed to have him because of the fact that he is still a baby in many ways. I don't have to let that go as quickly as I did with my girls. He isn't crawling, cruising furniture or walking like most 11 month olds.... but he is getting so much bigger and stronger! His personality is really coming out now. He's just so much fun to have around! Random post... I know... but that's what I was feeling all day today. I love my baby!

Smile that frown away....

Oh... poor Brynn. (or not) I had to capture these pictures of her. Yesterday we were waiting in the car for the girls to get out of school. She was begging me to let her play on the school playground, but I knew the bell would be ringing within minutes. I told her that there wouldn't be enough time today. The faces of "poor me" started! I grabbed the camera to show her what she looked like when she was mopey.

Once she saw how terrible she looked, she turned that frown into a smile immediately! Hmm.... I wonder if this will work on the older girls as the attitudes begin to come out! I'll have to keep you posted on that one!

Bye-bye oxygen!

Today was Justin's 6 week follow-up from his PDA closure with his Pediatric Cardiologist. We have been anxiously awaiting this day. They were really hoping that they could get an accurate echocardiogram with him awake and moving.... and so were we! They needed to make sure the closure worked and that he was no longer leaking blood. They also needed to check his oxygen level. Lucky for us, he cooperated! He stayed amazingly still! (Smart boy.... he knew he didn't want to have to be put under again!) They did the typical height and weight measurements and he is currently in the 40th for weight and 68th for height on the Down syndrome chart! Next up was an EKG. That was new for him! He was loving all the wires hooked up to his body. Brynn thought it was pretty cool to see Justin become some what of a Transformer for a moment! Finally.... in came the Cardiologist! She took a good look at everything and listened carefully to his heart. "He sounds and looks PERFECT! You may take him off of his oxygen now. We'll only need to see him once a year or so just to keep a good look at him." Wait.... did they just say NO MORE OXYGEN AT NIGHT! WOOO HOOO! We were told he could be on oxygen up to ONE YEAR! It's only been 3 months! That is what we were hoping for! We were so thankful that his closure took and is healing beautifully. But to not have to deal with oxygen anymore is wonderful! He is quite the trooper!

Sorry about the blurry pictures.... I'm not professional! He sure was one happy boy today!

Disney on Ice!

Thanks to Alissa and her wonderful hook-up, I was able to take April and Taylee on a Mommy daughter date with my sisters and their girls to Disney on Ice! It was the 7:30 p.m. showing, so I chose to keep Brynn home with Daddy and Justin. She was in heaven with Daddy eating steak and watching movies! (I'll consider taking her when Cars or Dinosaurs are part of the show!)

I didn't think to pull out my camera until later, so we don't have any pictures of The Lion King. We were also able to enjoy scenes from Lilo and Stitch, The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan! Thanks again Alissa! We had a fun night!

Double the fun!

It has been blowing me away lately how quick my "not so little" girls are growing up. I'm excited for the future but at the same time I am so sad to see them grow up. It's a hard switch from "Mommy" to "Mom", but I am going to welcome it with open arms!

I was scheduled to volunteer in their classes yesterday, so I decided to change things up a bit. I woke them up before their alarm went off and told them I was taking them to breakfast! They were so excited!

I love you with all my heart April and Taylee and hope to enjoy many more fun memories with you sweet girls!

Bribery works!

So I have been trying to get Brynn to practice writing her name since she was 3 (she will be 4 this June). She is the stubborn one of the group and I just couldn't get her to cooperate. Knowing that she will be in pre-school this upcoming year made me want her to do it even more! She has always been able to outsmart me, but not this time! She was begging for ice cream after her lunch. So why not use it as bribery?!

That's all it took! I know it isn't perfect, but it's not bad for her first time. Now hopefully she hasn't caught on to me!

Summer Love!

As I looked out my window this morning I saw the most horrific thing! SNOW! I decided to write a post about why I LOVE summer!

i can get a pedicure and actually enjoy looking at it

i can walk the kids to school

i can take walks... period!

i can leave the house faster than I can in the winter

my wood floor stays clean

my carpet stays dry

i can buy a bunch of flip flops and only spend $20

i wear sunglasses as a headband when it's a bad hair day

my flowers bloom (if I'm lucky)

i can go waterskiing

my laundry load seems lighter

i actually see my neighbors after the winter hibernation

making slurpee runs

taking the kids to the park

opening my blinds and feeling the sun

basking in the sun

watching the kids play outside

summer clothes are much cheaper than winter clothes

i can put the winter clothes away!

i can take a vacation anywhere and be happy

What is there not to love about summer?!

California fun!

We always enjoy when the kids are off track. We usually take a little vacation whenever we have a chance. We headed to California! This time we went up North with Grandma and Papa Gailey to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was amazing! The pictures just don't do it justice either!

I think we stood in front of this aquarium for a good 30 minutes! They enjoyed watching the shark pass right by. There were some amazingly huge fish in there that I just couldn't get because they wouldn't come close enough.

Brynn was addicted to the school of fish! It was a HUGE school and she would "touch" them every time they would pass by!

She was so happy when Papa showed her where Nemo was!

After the aquarium we stayed over night to rest our tired legs. We found the cutest park in Monterey where the kids played for a good hour!

Justin just wasn't as excited as the girls were!

We hit Fisherman's Wharf where they listened to some Sea Lions (couldn't see them close enough to capture a picture), and played around on this boat before heading back to Bakersfield.

It's always a bummer when we have to say good-bye to Grandma and Papa. (Mom and Dad) Someday they will live right here in Herriman and we will no longer have to visit Bakersfield! We will ALWAYS take trips to other parts of California though! We always enjoy time with you Mom and Dad! Love you bunches and thanks for the wonderful week!