Halloween 2011

My little froggy prince.

Jane the princess. If you ask her, she was Anastasia.

My cuties. Taylor and I didn't dress up on account of the already elevated stress level.

Daddy helping Wyatt enjoy his goodies.

I should know better than to think that my kids actually pay attention to me when I speak to them.

Halloween this year was kind of crazy. We all had been sick for about a week previous and just couldn't shake it. Being sick put me behind schedule with sewing the kids costumes and made whether or not we were actually going to go trick-or-treating a last minute decision. Needless to say, I was sewing until the very last minute and we didn't stay out long because it was freezing and nobody was quite up to walking around a whole lot. Jane had a blast regardless of everything and Wyatt, well he really enjoyed the suckers he got.

Need Some Instruction?

Jane is too darn smart. Yesterday she started singing these little songs and I couldn't help but to laugh. It wasn't until today that I realized she learned them from Mickey Mouse. Who knows, maybe one day they will come in handy.

The Aquarium

When we finally got all the way to Fresno, we hopped back into the car and drove to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with my family. The kids absolutely loved  it. After the aquarium, we went to lunch at Bubba Gump's. 

Jane loved all of the jelly fish

She is always so cooperative.

This penguin loved Wyatt and kept trying to get him through the glass.

This was our attempt at getting a picture of the cousins in the clam together. As you can tell, it didn't quite work out.

Wyatt and Aunt Kelly playing.

Family picture on the way out.

Aunt Brooke bought Wyatt a sucker. Needless to say, he loved it.

Jane, Jane Gump

                                                                                                         

The Wedding

The first stop on our summer adventure was Logan, Utah for my brother in-law's wedding. We drove there from Colorado Springs which ended up being even more miserable than we thought it was going to be. Jane did great. she didn't say more than five words the whole drive because she was too busy watching movies on the DVD player. Wyatt, however, couldn't have cared less about the movies. He just wanted to be out of seat and getting into things. It was rough, but once we got there, it was all made worth it. It was wonderful to be able to spend that special day with Keith and Makell.                                            

The bride and groom

My handsome pants big boy

My cute princess girl. Dramatic? Absolutely.

 While I was in Utah, the kids and I went to visit my Aunt Barbara and her family. Aaron and Erin were able to meet us there.

Aaron, Erin, June, Olive, me, Jane, and Wyatt

Bad Luck

Poor Jane's bad luck started on Sunday. At church, she fell out of her seat and hit her face on the hymn book holder. That left a real nasty looking bruise right on her cheek bone. Yesterday, the bad luck continued. While she was playing at the park, carefree like a child should be, a mean 8 year old boy smacked her in the face with a baseball bat. The result, a black eye. When asked why, he being so much older, would hit a 2 year old girl, he said, " She was in my way." Are you kidding me? Talk about the worst kid in the world.

This was the best picture she would let me get. This is what it looked like this morning, after two icings.

What can I say...

...she is talented. I just hope that is not what she thinks I look like when I put make up on. Does it make me a bad mom that I let her run errands with me looking like that?

A Blessing

My son Wyatt has a rare metabolic disorder called GA-1. Having him in our lives has been a huge learning experience and blessing. This video pretty well describes our feelings about Wyatt and the disorder, but it also helps us to count our blessings and give thanks that he is doing as well as he is.

Julia's Hero

I don't really think that most people fully understand just how rare this disorder is and how devastating it can be. Thanks to one man, Dr. Holmes Morton, we were able to give Wyatt the best chances possible in life. Because of this man and his work, this disorder was detected early in Wyatt, giving him a fighting chance. This next video is a little slow going, but give it a chance. It will give you a huge insight into Wyatt's disorder.

Dr. Holmes Morton- A Meaningful Work

Easter 2011

Easter this year was crazy. Taylor is working nights so he didn't get off of work until 6:00 am that day. So I got the kids and I off to church on my own. Easter always makes for a fun day in nursery, it always seems as though the kids got into their Easter baskets before church because they are crazy, bouncing off the walls. It was a great day at though. We got home and I had exactly 2 1/2 hours to pull off our Easter celebration, which included making and eating dinner, opening baskets, and hunting for eggs, all before Taylor had to go work again. We did it though, and had a good time together.
I didn't get the traditional Easter picture of my kids together in their cute outfits because it was cold and snowy outside. In my opinion that is a crime against the holiday itself. I did get some pictures though. I had to document Jane's homemade outfit and Wyatt's homemade tie.

There were three flowers on it but by the time I took the picture she had already been to nursery, where it got ripped off. Like I said, the kids had their candy before church.

The goober was making his squinty eyes. Those are his I love you eyes.

Goodbye Hair

After battling with myself, I finally cut off Wyatt's hair. I was wanting to keep it long because little boys with long shaggy hair are so cute, but the maintenance was too much. It's a fight to brush Jane's hair, it just doesn't seem like I should have to fight my son to brush his hair. Plus, that is where he saves his food. Now that it is done, I am so happy I did it. He is such a handsome pants.

Before

After

She Speaks the Truth

Where's Wyatt?

 Can you spot him?

No need to wonder how he got buried in the basket, that guilty face says it all.

Partners in Crime

 

 The way bath time works in our house is both kids take a bath together, then I take Wyatt out and get him in his pajamas while Jane plays for a little bit longer. Wyatt is always very sad when it is his time to get out and he always goes back into the bathroom and stands next to the tub until Jane is done. Wyatt had been crawling up and down the hall way so I went really quick to put the dirty clothes in the laundry room and when I returned, this is what I found. Wyatt was soaked from head to toe, splashing in about an inch of water that was now on my bathroom floor. Jane was, even as I stood there, dumping buckets of water on the ground and laughing as Wyatt was playing in it. At first I upset by the whole thing. It wasn't until later that I decided it was cute. Jane was trying to help Wyatt have more fun and if he couldn't have fun with water in the bath, why not outside the bath. She is just too thoughtful.

A Lost Boy

Doesn't he look like he belongs in Neverland? He is so cute in his bear hat. I hope he wears it everyday until he is ten. He already wore it for an entire day. He doesn't mind it and I love watching him go about his business with it on. It is just too darn cute.

Wyatt's 1st Birthday Party (1 week early)

The super cute birthday cake. Good job Grandma Susie.

Wyatt was kind enough to let all the kids help him open gifts.

Wyatt loves his daddy so much. They are best pals. It is very sweet.

Even though Wyatt couldn't eat the cake, he got to blow out his candle.

He can't have regular cake but he can have vanilla frosting. Clean up turned into a great big drink.

My friend Jordan was able to come and meet Wyatt for the first time.

Christmas!

My tree before Jane removed all the ornaments and Wyatt pulled the lights off.

 This year, we celebrated Christmas twice. Our first Christmas came two weeks early at our home here in Colorado. It was so fun to see how excited Jane was to see that Santa Claus had come and Wyatt thoroughly impressed me with his ability to tear the wrapping paper. It was a very fun experience for Taylor and I as parents and I know the kids enjoyed it also.

Wyatt would have been just as happy to have received the paper as his gift.

Jane loves animals.

Wyatt is fascinated by toys that flash lights and sing songs.

I am pleased to say that my children love music. Jane loves making music and Wyatt loves dancing to it.

 Our second Christmas came on the actual day, this time in California. It was wonderful being able to see our families over the holidays. Jane was happy to see that Santa came again, every kids dream.

She loves being in the spotlight.

He had fun getting to play with his toys in peace while Jane was distracted by other presents.

Merry Christmas!