Snacktime

Keen is so proud that he's big enough to eat snacks in the high chair.

And don't they look delicious?

The new job

In the 8+ years that Josh and I have been married, we have learned that there's always something good that comes after a trial. When Josh got unexpectedly laid off at the beginning of the year, we weren't sure what we were going to do.  We had planned on moving to Chicago for his old company so now obviously those plans were going to change.  There was so much that we were going to have to change with the new development and we weren't sure how it would all work out.  We spent a lot of time thinking, getting advice from our parents and on our knees asking for guidance.  I went back to work at dad's office and Josh was able to stay home with the kids once again.  We've been in that spot before and, though it's crazy, it works for the short term.  We really felt like whatever was right would fall into place for us so we continued to do all we could to find a new job.  Josh was able to connect with a lot of different people and companies and we felt very optimistic that something good was going to come our way.  A couple of the best options we found were actually with people he had met and connected with from his old job.  One in particular we were really excited about and they were excited about Josh.  We continued our search while entertaining these good options and after about a month and a half, we got an offer from this company called True North Logic.  Josh was hired to be the director of business developement with them and he was so excited!  We were both excited and ready for our lives to go back to somewhat normal.  The job offer was such an answer to our prayers and we feel very blessed to be part of such a great company.  Hayley and Caleb made this poster and balloons for Josh the night that he got his offer.  They are so sweet!

And Josh got to work on his first day and his desk was all ready for him with this cute little note welcoming him to the team.

It has been a crazy couple of months with lots of unknowns.  But we are so grateful for what we now have and the many things we've been blessed with.   And mostly grateful for this great new job!

Mr. Frog

This is Liev's little friend, Mr. Frog.  He got this little guy for Christmas and he has been carrying it around since.  He usually carries it under his arm by the head but also sleeps and snuggles with it when he goes to bed.  Such a cute little friend you have!  Oh yeah and nice hair!

6 months

Keen is the funnest baby and so happy at 6 months old!  He is pretty chill and likes to just play with his toys and hang out.  He loves having an older brother and sisters cause there's always something going on.  He just goes with the flow of our crazy life.  And I can't get enough of his chubby cheeks!

One of my favorite things about him is his big smile.  He has the biggest mouth that turns into a huge grin.  He goes from this...

 to this, in a second.  So sweet!

 And just in time for his 6 month birthday, he got a tooth. 

 Our crazy little guy and his 6 month stats:

Weight: 20.39 lbs - 84%

Height: 27.95 inches - 85%

Head: 18.2 inches - 94%

Black Eye

Yes, I have a black eye.  No, I did not slip down the stairs.  I've been playing a lot of basketball lately and I took an elbow to the face this week.  Doesn't it make me look tough?

Yeah, I thought so.

Rease's Kindergarten Class

This is Rease's class picture this year.  She has made some cute little friends and we have loved her teacher Mrs. Dunn.

Birthday Poses

Today is Liev's birthday and the perfect day to be crazy, cute, silly, happy, surprised and every other face he's making in these cute pics.  Hope your day is great dude!

Liev's 2 year old birthday

For Liev's birthday we decided to keep it simple and take the party away from our house.  We went down the road to Boondocks and had a great time and no mess to clean up at home!

 We started with pizza for dinner. 

 Then cake and ice cream of course.

 And a few presents.  Rease gave him a bracelet and he isn't quite sure what to think of it - she is so thoughtful!

 Then the party really started...

 We spent the next 2 hours playing video games and winning tickets galore.  The girls thought they were in heaven!  We really had a fun night together and loved celebrating our guy's birthday!

Just a few things about my 2 year old Liev:

1) He is such a sweet little boy and loves hanging out with his mama.  We usually have one snuggle time a day and, though the rest of the day he is usually running around crazy, he takes time to hug and kiss me whenever I ask for it!

2) His vocabulary has really progressed in the past month or so.  He can say the names of everyone in the family, helps say family prayer at night, is good with his please and thank-yous and his newest word: Awesome. 

3) Liev is so fun because he is our first boy.  He brings a whole new dimension to our house with trucks, trains, balls, climbing, jumping and wrestling.  We love his little spirit in our home and love that he is our boy!  Happy Birthday Buddy!

2 year stats from Dr. Erickson

Weight: 28.88 lbs - 58%

Height: 35.94 inches - 82%

Head: 20.2 inches - 96%

Kangaroo Zoo

We took the kids to Kangaroo Zoo this week - seriously the best place for small kids.  It has a variety of bounce houses for the kids to play on - small kiddie houses for the babies and huge slides for the big kids.  We were there for 3 or 4 hours and the kids had the best time.  Best of all, they were completely worn out by time we left and slept like babies that night!

Liev and Canyon spent a lot of time in the "under 2" bounce house.  They didn't get trampled quite as easily here and were content playing together.

 The girls loved the slides.  They went over and over on the tallest slides they had and couldn't get enough.  Liev and Canyon even tried out some of the smaller slides.

 Inside one of the bouncie areas.  I love that these two look like their trapped inside!

 We ended the night with pizza and capri suns.  You can tell by the red cheeks that the kids got a great workout and played hard.  Such a fun night!



The beanie

Darn.  I hate it when my hat flaps over my face when I'm trying to sleep!

Loose Tooth

Rease had her first loose tooth this week.  She was super excited at first and kept wiggling and wiggling on it.  Then when she realized it was ready to come out she got a little nervous.  She didn't want anyone to try and take it out for her.

 It was pretty loose and would get more loose as she ate and food caught on it.  She decided she wanted Papa to try and take it out.

 So off we went to the dental office and she was happy as a clown with the laughing gas on.  No more cares in the world. 

 Then before she knew it, Papa had the tooth out and she was once again excited. 

 The tooth fairy is going to visit tonight!



Happy 1st Birthday Canyon!

Canyon turned one on January 9th.  Hayley planned the cutest cookie monster party for him. 

She made different kinds of cookes and had them all displayed.  Then had chocolate milk and regular milk in mason jars for everyone to drink.  It was darling!

The kids loved it and couldn't get enough cookies.

This is the cake Hayley made for Canyon to eat. 

He didn't quite know what to do with it at first, but it didn't take long for him to dig in!

Happy Birthday little Canyon!

Making a Mess

Liev is always getting into something and silently making a mess.  This time it was a whole bag of teddy grahams. 

Scrunched

I've been watching Canyon lately as Hayley has had to fill in at work a lot.  The kids have fun when he's here and it's great to have cousing close by to play with.  We do have to get Rease from the bus stop every afternoon and this particular day I had Josh's car.  It was no problem - they all scrunched in the backseat and had a blast playing.  Who needs more room than this?

Couples Bunco

I've been in a bunco group for over 3 years now and we get together once a month to play.  We have a great time together and usually end up chatting most of the night away.  Anyway, one of the girls suggested that once a year we do a couples bunco and bring our spouses with us.  We decided to start the year off right and had our couples bunco night at the beginning of January.  It was such a fun night together with everyone and I'll have to say it was much more intense with all the men there.  They were very serious about the game!  But we had a great time and decided they can be invited back to play with us once a year. 

More Sledding

Josh loves taking the girls sledding on our hill.  Each time he gets a little more serious about it.  Today he made this "sweet" jump for them to go off. 

 Rease ended up under the fence and almost over the edge one time.  But they thought it was "awesome"  and didn't want to stop.  What a fun winter it has been so far!



BYU Game

Dad got tickets to a BYU basketball game from another doctor at the last minute one night.  So Rease and I packed up and joined him at the game.  The seats were right on the floor and included dinner before and snacks at halftime.  We felt like celebrities! 

 Plus it helped that we won the game! 

 After the game as the players were leaving the court, we saw Brandon Davies and he shook our hands and got a picture with Rease.  Wow is he tall!

It was a really fun game and so great to have such good seats!

Big Foot

Liev wants to be just like his dad!  He's handsome just like dad - that's for sure!