Nana & Papa

My parents came to visit this week. It was nice. I wish my family all lived closer. I also wish my parents could watch my girls every day while I went to work. Sigh, I guess a free babysitter at my beck and call is too much to ask for. 

My girls woke up on Saturday, the 17th, to their Nana and Papa. Sadie knew they were coming and was ready to show my mom every single thing in our entire house. Papa bribed the girls with a trip to Krispy Kreme for donuts and chocolate milk.

Elise was looking mighty cute (and grown up!) eating her donuts. This girl has been looking so much bigger lately. 

A little while later we hit up the play place at the University Mall. Sadie suckered my mom into playing with her. My parents took turns holding Elise while chasing Sadie. Elise was happy to be the one doing the chasing and Sadie was happy to have a playmate. I usually do something horrible and force Sadie to play with other kids, so she was happy to have fun grandparents. We did a little shopping and ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A. That night after the kids went to bed the adults watched Pitch Perfect, which I found fairly hilarious, but my mom thought was a little too dirty at parts. If you are on the fence about seeing it, the humor is kind of a mix of Baby Mama and Mean Girls, but not quite as funny as either of those movies

Sunday we went to hear Hillary speak at her church. Sadie surprised me and requested to stay and go to Hillary's primary class (2 years older than her). She did fine but got upset when they tried to sing a welcome song during singing time. Daniel got home after 5 days away, which made all of us happy.

On President's Day Hillary, my Mom and I set out for the outlets in Lehi. We didn't necessarily plan this, but we ended up shopping for 6 hours. We found some cute clothes and great deals. We also just talked a lot. Daniel was very upset he missed out on this day. That night we all went to our new favorite restaurant, Cubby's. The only downer was they were running some sort of promotion that night and it was packed. 

Sadie was being weird while waiting for her food. 

And then she got even weirder when I tried to get a picture of everyone. Elise was glued to her shows on Daniel's phone. That night the womenfolk went to The Chocolate for some dessert, where I got called a dinosaur by a kid we ran into from Boston. It was a high point for me.

Tuesday was my mom's birthday. She didn't really get anything special. Sorry Mom. We got her some gloves. Tuesday night Hillary, my parents, and I went to a dinner and speech from James Ferrell. He's written several thought-provoking books. We all enjoyed it, even if the average age of attendees was about 79.5. We got to see my aunt and grandfather, so that was nice.

On Wednesday Nana came to dance class with us. 

Sadie's class isn't quite as fun as her old one because we have to stand outside and watch through a window, but it's still pretty darn cute to watch 3 and 4-year-olds dancing around.

After class Sadie wanted to take a picture with Nana doing a super hero pose.

That night Daniel and I got to go out to dinner by ourselves. We thought about doing something else fun after, but my eyes were getting heavy and I was ready for bed. We are so old.

We did a lot of hanging out at our house with our girls. It's hard to go and do a lot during the winter with 2 toddlers. 

Sade took this picture of one of her new Berenstain Bears books. I bought a box of used Berenstain Bears books off eBay. I have given 5 to her so far. Sadie is enthralled with this series. I kind of enjoy them a lot too-- childhood memories. Her favorite so far, No Girls Allowed, was one of my favorites also.

Elise enjoyed climbing in and out of her infant car seat. We finally switched it out for a forward facing seat in Daniel's car. 

Both girls have been asking for their grandparents. Especially in the mornings. Tonight Elise got upset and cried for Nana. It was adorable and sad. Hopefully we'll see you again soon!

Valentines

 I worked hard to get this banner that Mimi sent us on the wall. I couldn't get it to stay up. Sadie worked very hard making Valentines to mail out to family. She wrote her name, put on some stickers and had me transcribe some awesome notes to people. 

We had our annual family Valentine's dinner on Tuesday since Daniel is gone all week. Don't be too jealous of how fancy we are. Sadie helped a lot with the ribbon around the back of the chairs. And wouldn't you know, they turned out perfectly, right? I also added some little bags of candy to the table just before dinner, which was a huge mistake. Elise knows exactly what candy is so she refused to eat dinner and started throwing things on the floor while yelling "candy!!!!". Except Elise saying it sounds more like "kenny!!!". 

The girls each got a gift as well. I can't help but be a little proud of myself for scoring some sweet after-Christmas sale items. And then even more proud of myself for remembering they were hidden in the basement. Sadie got a scooter and Elise got an activity cube thing. They have been fighting over the scooter almost nonstop. Sadie kind of rides it, but Elise just pushes it around. I don't get what the draw is for her. 

Today I let Sadie pick out some flowers at Costco. I was confused at the mass of people around the flower section until I remembered it was Valentine's Day. Sadie and I had a little movie date with Sleeping Beauty after Elise went to bed. Sadie told me all about how she can be a super hero and stab the mean dragon lady in the face with her super long sword. She got a little violent with her story, but I like that even though she loves princesses she also pictures herself as the hero of the story. She ended the night with a birthday phone call to Paco that concluded with a silly-name-calling battle. Those two have a great relationship.

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Birthday to Tom/Paco!

Kids

Elise is the exact same age (give or take a few days) that Sadie was when we brought Lou home from the hospital. I think I have had conversations with all 10 of my blog readers about this already, but it's been on my mind a lot. I don't know why I have been so stuck on it. 

Here are my thoughts:
1. Probably the most frequent thought- what were we thinking when we decided we were ready to have a second child?? Elise seems very young to me. Twenty-one months is so close together. There are some people who can do it, but I am not one who should.
2. So happy we got through those months and that they are long gone. I did not adjust well to having 2 children. And I have not forgotten it. If anything, my memories of how horrible it was are probably worse than it actually was. Life is much more fun with our kids at their current ages. I don't know if I will ever feel a desire to add another child.
3. I was too hard on Sadie. She was so young! I put her in time out, lectured her, and generally treated her like she was a lot older. She probably needed much more affection from me than I gave her. I feel bad for 21-month-old Sadie. Her life was turned upside down and her mom was not very sympathetic, probably because her mom was busy feeling sorry for herself.
4. Sadie was absolutely an advanced tantrum-thrower. Now I can say that for certain because I am a little more experienced. Feel free to look up my youtube channel and find videos from the summer of 2011. You'll see some of what we dealt with regularly in the months following Elise's birth. Elise has never thrown a tantrum like that. Knock on wood. When Lou gets mad at me she generally yells "no", maybe throws her face into a couch cushion or two, and then comes back to me for snuggles.

PS- How do you get kids to stop putting things up their noses? The other day Elise kept sticking crayons up her nose but when I caught her she'd quickly put it by her eye and pretend that's what she'd been doing. 

Dino Museum

We recently went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point. The girls had a great time and Sadie has asked me a few times when we can go back. She wants to show the "huuuuge" dinosaur skeletons to her dad. 

They have multiple hands on activities the kids enjoyed. 

I couldn't get Sadie to pause long enough for a clear picture on this dinosaur. I don't know much about dinosaurs so who knows what type of dino it is. In fact, Sadie thinks that "Little Foot" and  "Sarahtops" are dinosaur species, but I have no idea what Little Foot actually is so I can't correct her.

Sadie told me to just go get some dollars when I told her the photo booth cost money. 

Luckily, I was able to bribe her to forget about it with the cheap ice cream cones at the cafe.

Elder Swag

My brother Matt went into the MTC on January 30th. We got a letter from him today saying he has been nicknamed Elder Swag, so I think I'll stick with that.

We got to hang out with him and my dad for a day or so before he went.

My dad lost won so he got to read Sadie her bedtime stories. 

I snapped a few cute pictures of the girls with their Uncle Matt. 

I can't wait to recreate these in 2 years when Sadie is 5 1/2 and Elise is almost 4.

We ran to 5 Guys for lunch 1/2 hour before Matt's assigned time to report.

Then we started to the journey to the MTC. We ended up sitting in the left turn lane at the MTC for over 20 minutes while we waited for our turn to drop our missionary off. It is packed on drop-off day! 

We got one last picture and said see ya for 2 years.

PS- Today happens to be Matt's birthday and Daniel's sister Courtney's birthday. Sadie got upset when we told her it was both of their birthdays today. She insisted that it is only Coco's birthday.

Selfies

Found these when I uploaded pictures from the camera last night. From the crusty booger face I brilliantly deduced these must have happened during the week Sadie was sick.

Some more interesting things Sadie has said to us recently

-"Dad, your eyes are cracking"- we clarified that this is referring to bloodshot eyes, not wrinkles
-When asked why she was crying, "I don't know. I just want to cry right now".
-While having a lesson from Mom about not coughing on other people's faces- "But I should cough on bad guys faces." I told her it was okay to cough on bad guys faces.
-"Mom, did you know french fries and chicken nuggets turn into pee?" I guess Sadie got a lesson on the digestive system somewhere.
-When I declared it was nice outside when it was sunny and 40 degrees Sadie said, "Mom, it's not nice. It's very chilly."
-"That boy is not my grandpa. My grandpa is a silly goose." Said about an older man who was waving to her.
-In her bedtime prayer, "Please bless me that I will grow up and be a mommy. And then when I get bigger I can turn into a boy and marry my mom."
-"When I am a really big sister can I wear your earrings?" (This was said in a very whiny voice)
-Sadie refused to pick out a present for her friend because she wanted a toy. When I said I would just pick it out she warned me, "Mom, if you pick it out I will get mad and I will hit you." When I told her it would make me sad if she hit me she said, "Then just don't pick out a present for Claire."
-"I am not Elise's sister! She is my sister!"

Ideal Weekend

After insisting January was the worst, last weekend was probably the closest to perfect I could ask for. Of course, take into account Daniel was out of town, so it was ideal given the fact Daniel was gone. 

On Friday we had a play date at the Faucettes. The previous few months Sadie had been struggling during play dates, so I assumed there would be lots of tears and pouting. 

 Hunter and Sadie played well together for hours. I think we were there for almost 6 hours. The kids were excited about their ice cream reward after dinner. Another miracle- both of my kids just sat and ate their dinner without complaining or stalling. 

 We came home in time for the girls to go straight to bed. I love when that happens. 

On Saturday we ran a bunch of errands, including making a stop at the distribution center for some stuff for my brother Matt for his mission. The girls each picked out their own tiny scriptures and Sadie got a little case to bring to church. I didn't realize her friend Claire has the same case so she was insistent she needed it. Elise carried those scriptures around for 2 straight days.

 After naps that afternoon we went to the Orem Rec Center pool with Hillary. Elise dove right in. Literally. She has no fear of water. Sadie was nervously whining at the side of the pool while Elise splashed around. Once Sadie saw that her little sister was having fun she got in too. No pictures of the pool. Too bad. We had a movie night when we got home and went to bed. 

Sunday brought the dreaded long morning before church. I got my Sunday School lesson wrapped up, made treats, got dinner in the crockpot, and painted Sadie's nails. I tried putting Elise down for a nap at 11 AM and what do you know? She fell asleep. Complete with her leg out of the crib slats. I had to wake her up to go to church, but I'll take it. We got to church on time with our hair done (and clean). Elise was much better behaved during the last hour of church. No big tantrums. 

Daniel got home just in time to open the door for us as we walked in after church. 

The ideal weekend: friends, swimming, well-behaved kids, church, aunts, and yummy food. 

Just missing dad. Basketball season is over in 6 weeks.