Conner 22 months

* my favorite toys are cars and balls * I like to think I can drive the car * I have LOTS of attitude * I want to have my own way ALL THE TIME * My favorite TV show is Backyardagins, which I call "UGG" * I like to have the keys to the car * I like to color, but only when Kaily is * I got my first hair cut * I run and dance as fast as I can * I like to be in the water * I don't like people to help me do things * I love chocolate * I love to go for walks * I love to be outside * I love to be read to, my favorite book is "Go Dog Go" * I LOVE to cook * I love to tease Kaily * My favorite color is Blue * I'm starting to say my prayers, with Kaily's help * I like to play on any computer * I love to laugh * I love to cuddle * I love to be tickeled by my family * I love to smile * I love to play with my sister * My favorite animal is a Tiger or Lion * I love playing * I LOVE music * I wear size 5 diapers * I wear 18 month and some 18-24 mon. clothes

2 MUCH 2 DO and NO TIME 2 DO IT!

I would LOVE to write a long post, but things around here have been a bit crazy. Clint is out of school until Jan and we are frantically trying to get ready for Christmas and our trip to AZ. When I have more time I will write more, but probably not until after we get back. So until then...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

See you all next year!

Moments of learning

What a great day it has been. We tried to put up the Christmas tree today, but when Conner saw the ornaments his face lit up with excitement, "BALLS, MINE!" He then took off with one shiny glass ball in each hand and threw them against the wall in hopes they bounce back to him. Imagine his disappointment when they indeed did NOT bounce back, but crashed and shattered all over the floor. You may be wondering where Clint and I were during this...well, we yelled at him to stop, ran after him, and then it happened, he was faster then we were. Needless to say, our morning didn't turn out very Christ like. Later I was helping Kaily in the shower, wash her hair and getting her ready for church when she told me she was sorry for making bad choices. She had gotten into trouble b/c she was the one who got the glass ornaments out after we told her not to, thus leading to the aforementioned experience. I told her that Mommy and Daddy have rules to protect her and Conner and that we WANT her to make good choices and it makes us sad when she chooses NOT to listen. Then the spirit started teaching ME. The words that I spoke to Kaily replayed in my mind and I felt the spirit of truth behind them. Our Father in Heaven wants us to make good choices and it makes him sad when we disregard his counsels.

Tonight we watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. It was exceptional, and while everything that was said was really good and enlightening, what I enjoyed the most was that we watched it as a family. My two little tornadoes actually sat down and listened to the whole thing. Conner LOVED the music and Kaily enjoyed listening to Pres Monson's story.

So, even though my day didn't start out the best, it ended up being a really great day! I'm thankful for the moments when I can learn something from my Father in Heaven.

Berlin

I recently watched an amazing historic event on CNN and FOX news. It was back on the 9th of this month and I've been meaning to write about it since then. Some of you will remember 20 years ago when something special happened in Germany. It was my birthday and I was in 5th grade, but I will always remember how in awe all the adults were. I am referring to the fall of the Berlin Wall. So, 20 years later Germany, Berlin set up a exhibit, if you want to call it that, to celebrate the fall of a wall that reunited family, friends, and neighbors. It did something for the rest of us as well. I am so grateful for inspired people and leaders who never gave up on this idea. I am grateful for all the men and women who died to reach for their freedom. It is a reminder to me of the war we all once fought and still fight everyday. It is a reminder to me that good will always overcome evil and all things are in the hands of our Father in Heaven. I am grateful for the country I live in, for the freedoms we have and the Founding Fathers who followed inspiration. While I was on my mission I had a chance to go to the Bush museum in CS and I saw a piece of the wall there. I was 11 when it fell, but I remember how great it felt to know that others would start to enjoy the same freedoms I enjoy everyday.

Parent Day

At Kaily's preschool they do a Parent day 3x a year. The kids put on a program and they always have a craft to do. Clint and I were late this year so I didn't get a lot of pics, but she was so cute and did such a great job.

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch

These pics were taken the first part of Nov. I've been slacking on the whole updating picture thing. This year Conner had so much fun in the leaves and Kaily was a good sport with him. He thought it was great when Kaily would wk so hard to make a pile so she could jump into them, only, whenever she turned her back Conner would jump in and throw them in the air. He thought Kaily was the coolest for making piles just for him. Kaily didn't think it was very cool though. Clint and I thought it was cute to watch them interact and play together. We also tried to go to the park as much as we could before it got too cold and wet to go out there. This was one of our last trips. Conner is getting very daring and Kaily is learning to cross the monkey bars all by herself.

New Moon

As a belated birthday gift to me Clint planned a date to watch New Moon. My parents watched the kids and we went to a 10:30 am showing. I LOVED it and we enjoyed our time together. Since he and I are both less stressed this year we are really enjoying each other so much more. It's nice to be able to see through all the craziness and remember why I married this wonderful man. I am so grateful for him in my life and all that he does to make sure I am happy.

Get to know my kids

I am so thankful for my kids. They bring me such joy! At our house on any day Conner asks for these things, "Go Dog Go", Barney, Mariposa, Kung Fu Panda, Backyardigans and quesadillas. These are his favorite things. He would watch each of these shows

ALL DAY LONG

if I let him. He LOVES Kung Fu Panda the best. He thinks it's so funny, I hear him laugh and laugh when he watches it. It's nice that Kaily likes it too. "Go Dog Go" is what he wants every morning and every night before bed. He likes other books, but this one he loves. He will eat a variety of 2 food groups, dairy and grains. If it has carbs he loves it. If it's a veg he hates it and fruit is a mood thing. I don't fight this one, b/c have you ever tried to argue with a 22 month old, you loose every time.

Kaily is my great helper. She does just about anything I ask her to do. There are times when she complains, but for the most part she is wonderful. I don't know what I would do with out her. Her favorite things right now are a little more difficult to pin down. She loves to play house and pretend, loves to do art projects and enjoys learning to read. She doesn't have any show or any toy that she likes better than another. Her favorite color is still pink and she loves breakfast. It's kind of a struggle to get her to eat any other meal, but if I serve breakfast food she loves it.

My Birthday

WOW, my b-day came up out of no where this year. So what did I do for my b-day? Sunday night, the night before my b-day, my family got together at my parents house to do the annual b-day dinner. My dad made an excellent meal, as always, and then he had a fudge brownie frozen yogurt for me since I can't eat icecream much these days. It was devine and the nice part was that it was SO rich I could only have one scoop. On the actual day, Monday, I started running outside with a friend of mine so I got up at 5:30 so I could meet her at her house. When Kaily got up she imediatly told me "Happy Birthday". She was very cute all day about it. Later, Clint, the kids and I all went to TGI Fridays for dinner and then to see A Christmas Carol. Kaily had been bugging me about it since the PR event with the train. Dinner was really good, I had a turkey burger and sweet potato fries. MMMM...The movie was really well done, but there were some really scary parts in it. Kaily liked it and has plagued me with questions about Marley ever since. After that I went straight to bed, I was exhausted. It was a good day and I talked to all of my brothers between the two days. It was good to hear from everyone.

What a weekend!

What a weekend we had. Last Thursday Conner got really sick. Kaily got sick on Tuesday with a slight fever and then came the coughing and a cold. I had been watching Conner closely to see if he was going to get Kaily's cold so I knew when he starting acting funny that something might be wrong. We were at the store when IT hit him hard, the H1N1 virus. At first we didn't know that's what it was though. Friday, after having a pretty high fever for almost 24 hrs even with Tylenol, we took him in. They ran some tests and after all of it was done they said they were fairly certain it was H1N1. GREAT, I thought! Well, at least he can get over it and hopefully we don't get it too. By the time the night rolled around his fever had dropped and by the next day he was fine. We waited the appropriate 24 hrs after the fever was gone to take him out, that was Sunday. Sunday, because both kids were feeling better, we went to a family get together in Saratoga Springs. We had a great time meeting new family and chatting. When it was time to go home our car wouldn't start. We said many prayers and pleaded with the Lord for help and all the men came out to see if they could help. NOTHING. That car was stuck and we were stuck 1 1/2 hrs from home. Luckily my parents just live 30 min away and they have an extra car they don't use very often because I don't know what we would have done. The next day we called around to see if we could get help to tow the car back up here to have it looked at. A good friend came through and helped us out. We found out it was our fuel pump. It just died. The mechanic said, I think, "It just got old and quit wking." So, what now...Well, Kaily still has a cough, Conner DID get Kaily's cold in the end and our car is better than it was, but I'm afraid the getting old part is just a sign of things to come.

Thankful

Today I am SO THANKFUL for a great family that helped us get home last night. I'm thankful that we could get together last night and get to know each other better. I'm thankful today that Conner had a very mild case of the H1N1 flu and that Kaily is getting better from her cold. Today I am Thankful for the priesthood in my home and for a wonderful husband who strives everyday to be the best he can. Today I'm thankful...

First hair cut

Conner's hair had gotten really long, as you can see from the previous post. It was time to cut it. I debated with Clint whether or not I should take him to have it done professionally or not. I cut Clint's hair, so if it looks bad it's my fault. Finally on Sunday I couldn't take it anymore. We strapped him to his booster seat and I cut away all that beautiful blond hair. He actually did a great job sitting there until the very end. Now he looks older and I think I did an okay job. He was such a brave boy! I think I cut at least 2-2 1/2 inches off. It also looks like he has more hair because it's all even with the new stuff growing in.

Happy Halloween!

Clint was able to spend Halloween with us this year. We had a great time trick or treating and getting the kids ready. Conner didn't appreciate the costumes I borrowed so we improvised a bit. I drew glasses on Conner and Clint drew a lightning bolt. For Kaily, she was Cinderella, we put my make-up on her. She LOVED it! We let them go for about an hr give or take. They had so much fun and Conner thought he was in heaven. We were glad it was a nice night and not too cold. After we finished TT we went to Wendy's for dinner. It was a great ending to a great night.

Loaded in the car ready to go.

Yummy food at Wendy's

Enjoying a fry, pure happiness

The loot

The best part, the sucker before bed.

The preschool party

I couldn't go to Kaily's preschool Halloween carnival this year b/c I had a prior appointment, so I sent Clint. It gave him a taste of what I go through everyday, he did a good job and Conner even behaved himself for the most part. Kaily has so much fun!

Trunk or Treat

This year at our ward Trunk or Treat it was snowing so we had it inside. The kids had a great time and Conner just loved being able to run around the gym. Kaily couldn't get enough of the cupcake walk, which she came away with 2 cupcakes and she would have had more if I hadn't stopped her. She LOVED eating the doughnuts of the string and playing with her friends. Clint couldn't join us this year b/c he had to wk. He was greatly missed, mostly by me. I don't know how women do this with more than two kids.

Stuff

Still no new pics, I've been slacking on that end. I just wanted to jot down a few very cute things that have happened lately. Kaily had her first Primary program yesterday and she did such a cute job. She wrote her own talk and then gave it very clear and very precise. We are very proud of her. She is also going through books at school like crazy. I have to get her a new one before school even starts again the next week. Conner is LOVING it! Kaily will read to him and he enjoys the books as much as Kaily enjoys reading them. They have been so cute to watch. Her writing is getting better and so is her drawing. She is always adding detail to things now.

Conner is talking A LOT more than he used to. Just last night he got frustrated b/c we wouldn't let him out of his highchair so he puts his hand on his forehead and says, "Oh Man, That's IT!" It was SO cute! I can't believe how fast they are growing.

Clint took some great pics of his new projects that he just finished, I just have to get the camera from him to DL them. SO, when I do get my camera back I'll post them too.

We have been battling a cold in our house. The kids and I got it last week, we are on the mend and doing better. With feeling better comes a better wkout for me. My life is kind of consumed by losing weight and eating right these days. I spend a lot of time at the gym and thanks to a new cookbook I'll be able to cook healthier too.

Other than all that not much changes around here, except for the kids. Have a great day!

Ketchup or chatch up

I don't know what happened to September and now it's the second week of October and I feel like I'm slacking a bit on the blog. It's not due to the fact that we aren't doing anything though. We are busy with school from Clint and Kaily and my new wkout schedule. Honestly, I have about 20 hrs on my TiVo that I probably will never get to. For those not following my wkout blog I would like to announce that in the last 7 weeks I have lost 10 lbs.

Wasn't General Conf amazing!? I got the most out of the Sat morning session, I was at the gym, no kids or hubby to distract. I think one of my favorites was Elder Bednar's talk. It really touched me and helped remind me of some VERY important things.

Clint and Kaily are half way through this semester and both are loving it. Kaily is really enjoying her reading and seems to be picking it up quickly. Clint is liking all the projects he is able to do. He is learning a lot.

Well, all of this amounts to a more calm, happy home for us. I'm starting Christmas projects this weekend. I hope I can get it all done before we go to AZ.

I-FLY

For my Dad's birthday this year we went to a place in Ogden called I-Fly. It's an indoor skydiving place. My dad, brother, sis-in-law, Clint AND Kaily all went up in the tube. They had so much fun in fact that we all went back again last night. Someday Clint and I will do it. Kaily LOVES it and said she can't wait to do it again. Everyone did so much better this time than last time and Kaily, although she wasn't all over the place this time, still had fun.

Pumpkin Patch

Every year Kaily's school takes a trip to the farm. They get to pick out a pumpkin from the HUGE pumpkin patch and on the way there they learn about different plants that grow on the farm. Kaily LOVES it and this year Conner liked it too, not so much the wagon ride, but the acres of dirt that he couldn't wait to play in. They also liked the pig races, which were new this year.

Loving school

Kaily loves to go to school. She has two preschools this year to keep her busy and out of my hair, so to speak. She LOVES them both so much and looks forward to them. Here are some pics taken of her neighborhood class by her teacher.

The start of my fall canning

This last weekend I was busy canning stewed tomatoes and peaches. I did 43 qts and froze 8. I also made bread and cookies. Tomorrow is spaghetti sauce and more peaches.