Silly String

Last week when Cindie was here I got some silly string for her and Atreyu to play with but by the time we got home it was time for Cindie to leave.  So today we went out in the windy weather and played with it.  I think if the nozzles would have been easier for them to spray, they would have liked it even better but they still had fun. 

I think Atreyu likes to have a friend come over every week even if she is a lot older than him.  Cindie loves to hug and kiss both Atreyu and Cambria and Cambria loves the attention that Cindie so willingly gives.  They are all so sweet with each other.

Memorial Day Weekend

We weren't originally planning on anyone coming to visit for Memorial Day weekend but both of Jesse's sisters and their families decided to come up.  We had a fun weekend and Atreyu loved playing with his "cousins".  Jesse and the guys went out in the Bern hills a couple times to shoot ground squirrels and clay pigeons.  They came back laughing with a few gruesome stories.  On Memorial Day, we took a walk/four-wheeler ride to the park and had fun playing in the pretty nice (except for the wind) weather.  A few of the Higley kids joined us.

We then headed over the Great-Grandma Kunz's to wish her a happy birthday and let her see all the kids for a bit.  Overall, it was a very fun weekend.

Daddy's...I Mean Atreyu's New Toy

So Jesse decided to sell his snowmobile to his uncle so that he could by a Raptor for the sand dunes.  He is loving it and has already taken it out on the dunes and said it ran awesome.  If you ask Atreyu about it, he says that the new blue four-wheeler is his and our yellow four-wheeler is Daddy's...Mom doesn't have one.  We took the wheelers out for a ride up in the Bern hills and had an awesome ride.  The kids both enjoyed themselves and Atreyu liked to go fast with Daddy.  This was the best picture we could get of our family with an iPhone.

What's Going On?

I have decided that whoever came up with the phrase "terrible twos" never had a three year old.  Atreyu has been so much more whiney recently and he is trying my patience more than ever.  He can be the sweetest little guy one moment and then a little terror the next.  I know that he is trying to assert his independence more and he doesn't always know how to express himself in a calm way.  It's a good thing I love him as much as I do. 

Atreyu is such a smart kid.  He sometimes even tells me now, "I mart."  It's so cute.  For his birthday the Christiansen's gave him an elephant and rhino that he could paint.  He probably focused on painting for about 15 minutes or so.  I think he may be a little artist like his dad.

That same day, we gathered different items together and made potions.  There were marbles and water beads, lizards, spiders and colored water.  He thought it was fun to mix everything together.

We have taught Atreyu that if he needs to go to the bathroom when he is outside, it's okay to drop his drawers and do so.  Well, I looked out the kitchen window the other day and this is what I saw.  Right on the front lawn.  I think maybe we need to establish some boundaries with him in the future but for now, I'm glad that he's not peeing in his pants.

He has always liked playing with baskets and buckets and I found him like this a week or so ago.  I asked him if he was stuck but he showed me that he could still get out.  It's moments like these that help me to get through the not-so-good ones.

Now onto Cambria.  She just grows more and more each day.  She is such a friendly baby with everyone and she loves to flash her heart-melting smile.  She has her cranky moments as well but for the most part, she is pretty well behaved especially if she is getting attention.  She loves her daddy and grandpa and gets super excited whenever she sees either of them.

 

One day she was taking a nap and I thought I heard her making noise so I went in to check on her and found her with her legs hanging out the side still sound asleep.  It was so sweet!

Cambria loves food and her brother.  She will eat just about anything.  She was eating some muffin and banana here and I think she thought she was in heaven.  She loved it and she had Atreyu there to enjoy with her and make her laugh.  I wish that they would always get along as well as they do now but I know that's not going to happen.

She has started jabbering more and more and just recently she started saying ma-ma.  She seems to know that I am her mama and she usually says it when she is trying to get my attention.  I love when my babies are newborns and so snuggly but they become so much fun as they get older.  What a blessing these kiddos are to me.

 

Here's a few pictures of my sweeties just hanging out and playing with each other.  A lot of mornings I am joined in bed by either one or both of them.  Cambria loves riding in the wagon and Atreyu loves to pull it.  On Mother's Day we took a walk and they both had a fun time. 

A few weeks ago I thought it would be fun to set up our little portable TV and put it on Atreyu's bookshelf so we could watch a movie on the top bunk of his bed.  We had popcorn and pop and watched Hotel Transylvania.  It was a fun morning and I think we definitely need to do it again.

 





Having Children

Before we had kids and even when we just had Atreyu, people would ask me how many kids I wanted and my answer was usually four.  Now that I have two kids, I honestly don't know if I want anymore or not.  I definitely do not want another baby right now.  It is possible that I will change my mind in the future but at this time, I am completely content and happy with my little boy and girl.  I think if I had had two babies of the same gender I might feel differently but since I have one of each, I don't need to try for one or the other. 

When I tell people I may only want two children, many of them don't believe me.  There are a few reasons I feel the way I do.  With Jesse's job, he isn't home a lot to help with the kids so I pretty much do everything for both of them and I don't know if I want to add another person to it.  I think about sending the kids to college and on missions and I know if we have more children it will make such things more difficult.  When I was growing up, we had the things we needed but we couldn't afford a lot of extras.  I want my kids to have some of the extras and I know we will be more likely to be able to provide those things with less children.

Cambria has been a much more needy baby than Atreyu was and I don't know if I could handle another one.  I am not the most patient person and my patience is tested a lot with the two babies I already have.  The other day, I watched one of my neighbor's kids and then some other kids came over as well.  There were four extra kids here and they weren't bad or misbehaving but there was constant noise and always something going on.  By the end of the day, I was completely worn out and I really don't want to feel like that everyday.

I love my kids so much!  They are my life and I would do anything for them.  I know that being a mother is the greatest blessing I will ever receive.  I am so happy right now and I feel that our lives' are complete.  I just want to be the best mother that I can be and honestly I feel, at this time anyway, that I will be the best mother I can with less children.

Wagons, Baths, Cupcakes...and More!

We have had some absolutely beautiful days recently.  We've been able to get out in the yard and get some work done and the kids have also been able to play.  I didn't realize how much I missed being outside.  As I was outside doing some yard work Grandma took Atreyu and Cambria around in the wagon.  Cambria loved it!  She laughed and laughed.  It was so cute.

We also put Cambria in her swing for the first time and she enjoyed it for the most part.  Unfortunately she was kind of tired so the novelty of the new swing wore off pretty quickly.

More outside play days means more baths but neither of the kiddos minds it.  They both love bath time.  Cambria splashes almost the entire time and Atreyu pretends to make different foods.  He also likes to pretend he's a shark a lot of the time.  They both like bathing together.

We've had fun having Cindie come over too.  Both her mom and step-dad, Bruce, had surgery on the same day so she came over the next day and we made some cupcakes in ice cream cones.  Atreyu didn't care for the cone too much but Cindie loved them and we took some to her parents.  She was so excited to give the cupcakes to them.

That same day Cindie brought Atreyu his birthday gift.  It was an arcade style basketball type game.  It's a pretty fun game and folds up really nicely.

 Atreyu is so entertaining and he has such a great imagination.  He has been rather obsessed with Spider-Man lately.  With some of his birthday money he bought a Spider-Man mask.  When he is wearing the mask he is Spider-Man but when he's not, he's Peter Parker.  He runs around the house and pretends to shoot webs and fight bad guys. 

A few days ago, I got out of the shower and he had climbed on the kitchen counter, gotten the jar of pistachios down and was eating them on the living room floor.  I'm glad he got into a healthy snack.  He rarely ever gets into things he's not supposed to so I don't ever really worry about leaving him unattended for short periods of time.  I have a feeling Cambria will me a bit more mischievous. 

During sacrament meeting a few weeks ago, Cambria reached over for Warren.  He was pretty excited about it and told me it was too bad I didn't have a camera.  Fortunately, Jesse had brought his phone with him so I was able to get a picture of them.  I felt kind of silly taking a picture during sacrament meeting but Warren really wanted it.  I made him a copy and framed it and he was just thrilled.  It was sweet to see him so excited over such a little thing. 

Anytime I take the kids somewhere I am constantly told how cute they are.  I completely agree and, as I have stated before, it kind of goes to my head.  I was told the other day that Cambria could be the Gerber baby and another lady told me that if she made commercials, she would want Cambria in one.  I can't say I disagree...just look at that beautiful baby!

 

Our Super Cute Shelf

For a while now I have been wanting to get a decorative shelf to put above our TV in the living room.  I found out that one of Jesse's friends makes some super cute shelves and I bought one from him for $55.  I absolutely love it!  It's beautiful!  I don't know for sure about the frames I have on it right now but once we get some new family pictures taken next week, I will decide for sure.  Jesse didn't know if he really wanted a shelf there but he likes it too.  Every time I look at it I love it as much as I did when I first saw it.