Grffin's 2nd Birthday

My baby boy turned 2 on Tuesday. I planned him a train party. Since two is more of a family party age and since we have no family near by (sniff sniff, poor me) I hosted playgroup as an alternative.

I decorated with streamers, balloons, and pulled out the Thomas tent.

Here is my awesome train cake. It took so long. Sterling, bless his heart, stayed up late with me to help me finish. Note to self, start earlier next time, think the day before... Props to Sterling for the cute decorating of the engine.

Party hats, presents, and Thomas the train as far as the eye can see, he's gonna love it.
And here are the party animals themselves.

Two years old. Where does the time go? We love our Griffin so much. He is such a rough and tumble boy. I love how when you ask him for a kiss he offers you his forehead. I love his broad shoulders and skinny little man hips. I love those big blue eyes, they save his life from time to time. Happy Birthday little boy, we are so glad to have you in our family!

Goodbye Old Friend

We sold our Accord. Some of you might think that I am way too sentimental, others will understand. This car was a present from my parents when I graduated from BYU. It was my Grandpa's car before that. It took us on our honeymoon and brought two babies home from the hospital. It has been registered in Utah, California, Washington, and Connecticut. It was hard to say goodbye. It was a good car with lots of happy memories. Goodbye Mux, we'll miss you.

Griffin

Griffin is almost 2. He has gotten Birthday cards from loved ones. One particular card is his favorite. You guessed it, the Thomas card. He carries it around everywhere. Can you say obsessed? But with a face like this I can't help but to feed the flame.In other Griff news, he has learned how to get out of his crib. A day after he did it for the first time Sterling and I were casually weighing our options on what to do about it. We could lower the side so it is less dangerous, get him a toddler bed, buy one of those tent top things and put an end to this climbing out business... and so on. The night I was out at a RS activity I came home to find Sterling removing the side of the crib (it is the kind that converts to a so called toddler bed). I was thrown off guard and, I'll admit, feeling stressed because I didn't plan it and I was not in control, so I started freaking out a bit. Sterling explained to me that after he put Griffin to bed he kept getting out time after time so Ster spied on Griff to see how he was doing it. Griffin's method of getting out was to lean over the rail until he fell out. Onto his head. Not arms or hands to break his fall. Over and over again. So we had to take immediate action and off went the side. I was stressed that the new big boy bed wasn't going to work but we ended up putting a baby proof knob on the door and he now has an extended crib (also known as a room). It has worked pretty well. If he won't go to sleep we just let him cry it out by the door and he goes back into his bed eventually (which is good because his room is not so warm if you sleep on the floor, ask Sterling, he knows). So Griffin is now a big boy by default, growing up without permission.

Boots

Silly kids.

Baby Bump

This picture doesn't do it justice. It is quite the baby bump. The only problem is it is only 1/2 new baby. The other 1/2 is leftovers from the other babies. But no one assumes that so I can walk around without sucking in my gut and everyone thinks it's cute. This is the best part of being pregnant! I am 15 weeks now and on the road to feeling better (I know, come on already!).

Soccer Mama

We got a minivan! We weren't really planning on buying one this month (we were thinking sometime this spring) but Sterling found an offer he couldn't pass by. It is a 2005 Honda Odyssey- Kara we are twins! This van has everything we 'need' and most everything we 'want'. The kids love the DVD player, thus I love the DVD player. We got it for a good price because it has several dents in the bumpers. Sterling is going to fix them, I would be OK with living with them. As I drive it around it seems surreal that it is ours. We can't wait for it to warm up so we can go somewhere fun with it! We need a name for it (yes, I am that kind of person). Right now we just call it "the big blue van". "Big Blue" doesn't seem too bad, kinda has roots to High School. We love our new van!

Now all I am missing is a few more kids and soccer practice to run off to! All in due time...

Kicking Lemons

I love the e-mails I signed up for that tell you about your baby's developments that week. They also give you a food that compares in size. This week my baby is a lemon.I am only 14 weeks but I am pretty sure that I have felt this little lemon move. I have to be holding still and paying attention to it but I am pretty sure it's not gas or twitching muscles. I LOVE being able to feel baby movements because I am irrational when I am pregnant (and often when I'm not...) and am convinced 95% of the time that something is wrong. So being able to feel that the baby is moving and doing well is relief for my crazy little brain.