Week 19

 I thought that I would share last weeks life. We had Katelynn's Birthday where we had two mini parties for her.

Cake. Since the moment you woke up this morning seeing the balloons and Birthday sign you have been asking to eat cake. So, we made the cake together today and we frosted it and you couldn’t wait to eat it. and you loved that it was pink too. Still when it was almost time for the guests to arrive you were starring at the cake through the dome wanting the cake. We sang Happy birthday and served the cake and ice cream and this is your piece of cake. You ate all the ice cream but didn’t eat the cake. Silly girl!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOocsdjKlWQ

Grandma can put on a really nice little party. Once I told her that we weren’t planning a party but we would be over on Katelynn’s birthday I knew something was bound to happen more. Which it turned out great. I brought over our decorations and Grandma had some things that she picked up. I think the patio was really cute. Grandma made some cupcakes and found the game “Barrel of Monkeys and put the monkeys on the cupcakes. (You didn’t even eat the cupcakes Grandma made). Sarah came over with Max and Jesse after Kindergarten and had cake and ice cream with us. 

Later in the day when daddy came home you opened the presents that we got for you. I hope that you had a good Birthday and knew that you are loved and thought about by your whole family. 

 Mark I love the faces that you make when you get a hold of something soft. When you grab that Rhino you put it right up to your face and smother it. You are such a cutie. On Sunday you and Porter decided that the stethoscope was a great chew toy. SO you both got one end and chewed away. Porter is just learning to sit so Aunty Beth was helping him to sit.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=delej-jo2Lw

I put Mark into his high chair for breakfast and gave him his sippy cup. Well, mommy didn't put the cup together right and when I looked back at hi he had all the water from the sippy on hi tray table and he as as happy as a clam. It’s water... he is happy... all is right in the world...

...the love that you have of cooking with me. It really is fun to have you in the kitchen with me, learning and helping. I try to let you do as much as you can like pouring in the measured items or turning on the mixer. When I am measuring things out for you to pour in you always tell me “Katelynn’s turn...Katelynn’s turn” because you don’t want me to pour it in you want to do it. I hope that you always have the love of cooking and creating good things. It is neat to see that I am teaching you things that when you get older you can say, “My Mom taught me...” I love you honey!

Katelynn is 3!!

Oh, my Little Katelynn your aren't so little any more. Three years have went by very fast. You are so amazing to me and such a trial for me. You love to test my patience daily and you usually succeed. You love to climb and play rough with me and I don’t like it and so you end up on time out a lot. Your vocabulary is getting better and better but still a work in progress. There are many things that you can’t or don’t know how to communicate so, that is a frustration for all of us. Some of my favorite things that I love hearing you say are: amazing, mmm... yelishous (delicious), never ever, eat you (thank you), Mommy, Okaaay, sleepy night-night, and baby waking up.
You LOVE to help me cook and I don’t mind the company most of the time. You are able to help and also make a huge mess at the same time. I try and let you do as much as you can so that you can learn but, I don’t want to clean the entire Kitchen after making dinner every night.
You also still have a huge love for water. If I ask you to wash your hands after eating you will go and wash your hands and then end up plugging up the sink so that the sink is full of water and bubbles.
Your best friends are Jesse and Brynne. You always get so excited when you know that they are coming over. I have to tell you a few minutes before they come that they are coming else you will be asking and waiting by the door for them.
I like to do learning activities for you and you have grasped onto some things but it seems that you learn it the correct way and then change it up to something that isn’t right. like your numbers. You know 1-13 but when you say them you say, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 12, 13 and will repeat 12 and 13 until you are ready to move on.
You like to play some of the games on my phone and will ask to play them. If I am using my phone for the Internet or making a phone call you will tell me, “Put down the phone now, mommy, right now.”
Your favorite show to watch is Curious George. You just love that monkey and will ask multiple times during the day to watch it. I try to get you to watch other things and you do, like, the Toy Story Series, The Emperor's New Groove, Lilo and Stitch, The Princess Frog, Cinderella, Mary Poppins, Sword in the Stone, and the Backyardigans.
You are currently potty training and it is getting better. You know how to hold your pee so that you don’t go on the floor but you won’t go on your own to the potty I have to see that you need to go and DRAG you in to the bathroom once you start going you are able to wipe and get dressed but sometimes it can be hard to even get you on to the potty. I know that it will get even better, it is just a work in progress.
I love you so much Honey and I hope that you always know that, I tell you I love you daily and I do mean it. Even if I am frustrated I do honestly love you with all my heart and never want anything bad to happen to you. You are always in my thoughts and prayers, you are the light of my life.

I love you!

Mark is 8 Months

Time needs to slow down my little man. You are truly amazing. This month you are bound and determined to move. First you perfected rolling to get to things and now you are working on the forward motion. Watching you move forward is kind of painful to since you haven’t figured out a smooth army crawl. you like to get up on your hands and knees and rock back and forth then you will move your knees just enough that it forces you to lunge forward and face plant. Then it looks like you are trying to swim to whatever the object is that you want. You have made a few good crawling motions but just end up falling forward. You also figured out how to sit up from laying down. I just think it is so amazing to see your development and how you learn and teach yourself how to do things.
Since you are now getting all over the front room, you are starting to make it to things that you are not supposed to have. The main thing that you go after is shoes. I don’t understand baby’s fascination with shoes especially  since they are so gross. You love to lick what ever you find, so We are also being more diligent about picking up the little things so that you don’t choke.
Your two words that you say consistently are ma-ma-ma-ma and da-da-da-da. It seems that when you are in a happy mood you will usually be saying da-da and when you are fussy, want to eat, tired, or want to be held you say ma-ma, little stinker, I love you always!
You have moved up to size 4 diapers and wear 12 or 18 month clothes. Some of the 12 month shirts are just too small for you. I think it is odd that they don’t fit since I know that you weigh less than what Katelynn did at this age.  It has to be your height.
You eat 4 bottles a day between 28 and 32 ounces. You eat three meals a day and love to feed yourself. I try to find things to you to chew on so that you learn to love the different textures of food. I blended up some asparagus and peas for you and you really did not like that taste. You are eating baby food much better now but would still rather eat something with your fingers.
Some of your favorite things to play with are, of course, Katelynn, the Fisher-Price phone, the pop-up pals, the Costco wipes bag since it is so crinkly and the leap frog letter Caterpillar. I gave you a rhino stuffed animal that we have because Katelynn would always get mad at you and say, “Mine!” when you attack and try to eat her puppy. The Rhino is about the same size and you still attack and try to fit any of it into your mouth. It is quite amusing to watch you play with Crash the Rhino.

I can’t wait to see what this month brings for you!

Whoops! Here is the link to the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1EISURKx8w

The week before Easter

A few years ago my friend Erin told me about this lady Becky Higgins and a different style of scrapbooking that was suppose to be easier/quicker, but it was all paper and I knew I wouldn't do anything in paper, (paper scrapbooking scares me, it might be the scissors). Anyways, fast forward 3 years and 2 kids later, I wanted to change my scrapping style and I needed to if I wanted to keep the memories fresh. So, the last week of 2011 I fell in love with the Project Life way of keeping my memories and since it was available digital I knew I needed to try it out. So, for all of 2012 I am up to date and I am really enjoying doing these pages. 
I really can't explain it well so, if you want to check it out you can go here. Basically it is a 2 page spread about the week. These are the pages to Week 14. 


Left page

Right Page

This page is actually going to be cut in half when it is printed and placed in the middle since there was just so many pictures from Grandma and Grandpa's Easter Celebration.
Journaling Reads: Friday afternoon we loaded up and headed to Grandma’s house for a family Easter Celebration. We got there at about 3pm and hung out until Uncle Mike and Aunt Sarah came with your cousins. Katelynn is always so excited to see them and play with them. Grandma made some deviled eggs and Katelynn wanted to try them. So as I was helping her with the egg I was holding Mark on the counter top and he was helping himself to some deviled eggs too. We had a wonderful dinner of Tri-Tip and many sides. After everyone was finished with dinner we colored Eggs. Katelynn dipped one egg in the pink container and didn’t want to take it out, ever. I finally had to take it out so that we could clean up and have the Egg Hunt. Katelynn was out hunting first and Max and Jesse were so worried that you were going to find all the eggs. That did not happen. Of the 96 eggs we hid you found 7. You would find an egg, open it to get the candy and then eat the candy and then try and find another egg. I am glad that you didn’t find that many eggs because we don’t need that candy in the house anyways. By the end of the egg hunt Mark was ready to go home and go to bed. So, we called it a night.