Playdate with Hicks cousins

It's been some time since we had the Hicks cousins over. The weather was perfect to be outside and play. We ate lunch and ran around.

The Lowe's by my parents was closing and they had reduced inventory. Matt bought a couple storage bins for our outdoor items. It didn't take Brielle long before she was climbing and playing on it.

I discovered how much Eva LOVES chalk. The whole time we were outside she was chalking everything up. I am so glad she found some joy in what she was doing.

Brielle thought it would be fun to try to take a nap in Miles room. I knew that wasn't going to work but I let her stay there for a little.

My friend's husband has been out of town a lot lately. I told her I would take her kids for an afternoon to give her a break. However the week was almost done so I figured the more the merrier and had them come over.

All the girls were dressed like princess.

Nothing like 6 kids under the age of 3.

Miles playing with baby Scott.

The kids did really well playing. I think there was plenty to keep everyone entertained and happy until Jenny came back.

Ayla's personality is starting to come out. She smiles so much.

After Jenny came and picked up the baby I pulled out our table castle and jail.

It was a very fun and playful day.

Car Show with the folks

It's the Annual Car Show Event where all the local car dealers bring in the new models of the year. We love going because we like to see what the latest and greatest is and it's free. This year we went with my parents and left the kids with a babysitter. Our plan was to go to the show and then dinner (We had a gift certificate we were going to use to treat my parents since they do so much for us).

The car show was great. I was impressed with a few models and started dreaming of a new family car. My mom took one of the cars out for a test ride and I sent the boys with her while I stayed behind.

I had Dad stand next to the truck to give you an idea how big this truck was.

We were all getting hungry so headed out for dinner. We were a little disappointed to learn that the restaurant we had a gift certificate to was closed. We ended up going to Red Lobster instead (oh darn). It was nice having time to talk to my parents without the kids interrupting us. 

We were fortunate enough to have Lauren take care of the kids. We came home to Miles asleep on her lap and Brielle watching a movie. It wasn't until later I noticed she put our dishes away.

Oh the fun we can have in the snow

I picked up a night shift Saturday night and Matt was thinking of what he could do with the kids so I could sleep. One thing he told Brielle they would go for a drive and see (she thought play) in the snow. Ended up I didn't sleep after they came home from church so we went for a drive and checked out the burned area. Inevitably the kids fell asleep for the whole thing and when we made it to my parents house for dinner Brielle was devastated because she didn't get to see the snow. Luckily it was forecasted to snow over night.

Sure enough we woke up to a white blanket of snow and fog. Brielle was ecstatic that it snowed. Being one of the first real snow storms of the season I haven't really gotten all the snow stuff out. As a result the morning was a little chaotic as I was trying to find things. I dressed Miles first and couldn't find his normal coat and so I put on a 24 month coat which made it so he couldn't move. Plus I put on new mittens that took forever to get on and he ended up taking them off before we went outside. Then I couldn't find his boats so I put on some that were 2 sizes too big. The poor kid seriously couldn't move. He stood in his room until I grabbed him. Then he had to wait till I dressed Brielle. I tried to have him sit but he couldn't and fell on his back and stayed there.

Trying to dress Brielle was a little interesting too. I couldn't find her snow boots so she ended up wearing dress boots. Then I thought I bought snow pants for her this year....apparently not. I couldn't find them. So I had to put her in 2T pants (2 sizes too small). At first she didn't want to wear them put I turned around and she was putting them on herself. Then she cried because she didn't like her mittens because she couldn't grab anything. Then it took awhile because I called Matt and he directed me to where Miles boots and coat were so I had to change him. Before we were done dressing, Brielle was throwing a fit because she was too hot and Miles was crying (probably for the same reason). I still wasn't ready myself but put the kids out in the back and quickly grabbed some snow gear.

While putting on my gear I could hear Brielle crying and Miles whimpering. I thought, "Oh my gosh this is not worth it. I guess we are done playing in the snow." However Miles just wanted me out there and Brielle was upset because her mitten. She wasn't able to grab rocks to throw in the fountain (which I was not sad about).

I took the kids up front and pulled out the sleds. We don't have any rope so I took the hammock and roped it thought the handles so I could have something to pull the kids. Then I blew up the other sled and the kids were happy. We played for about an hour in very wet and slushy snow.

The kids were cold so in the house we went for some hot chocolate which got them all excited. They stuck to my side like glue while I warmed up the milk and poured in the hot chocolate.

 I wasn't too sure if we were going to attempt going outside again. However I saw this idea to color the snow with food coloring and thought that would be such a fun activity. I showed Brielle the picture and she became excited. I was going to wait till after naps but by the time we were done with lunch the snow stopped and it looked like it was turning into a light drizzle. Plans changed. I knew Brielle would be so upset if she woke up from her nap and the snow was gone and we didn't get to color the snow. I decided to attempt the dressing of the kids again. This time I left the gloves off so we didn't get food coloring on them.
Brielle was the first one done eating so she started helping me get ready.

Filling the bottle with water

Add the food coloring

By this time Miles was done eating he wanted to help too. I made sure I left one bottle so he could fill it with water and put food coloring in it too. He had other plans. He wanted to dump the water out and keep filling it up.

Brielle stepped in to help and Miles actually let her. I was shocked. I think this is one of the first moments where they were doing something together and NOT frightening.

Getting the kids dressed went a lot smoother which meant it didn't take as long either. Brielle knew what we were going to do so she couldn't wait to get outside.

 I had four different types of bottles (the only empty bottles I could find laying around the house). The ones that made me laugh were the peri-care bottles I had kept after having Miles. We also had a body wash bottle and a soap dispenser bottle. At first Brielle tried to wash her hands with the soap dispenser one. I had to explain how to use it. I thought having the variety allowed them to explore a little more. It was fun watching them.

They had so much fun with it that once the four bottles were done Brielle informed me she needed more. Once I refilled them Miles knew what to do with the bottle he began squirting right away with. I wasn't ready for that and neither was BrielleBrielle and me a little. I just had to laugh, he was getting such a kick out of it.

I kept trying to have Miles look up, finally he did. His expression is classic...."What mom?!" Can't you see I am busy?"

 I thought I would try to capture all the colored snow. I asked Brielle to stand next to Miles and she hugged him instead. Miles was too tired and didn't appreciated Brielle touching him.

 Once the color water bottles were gone, Brielle wanted to play for a little. She discovered it's not so fun to play in snow when you don't have gloves on. Few minutes in she said, " My hands are so cold, lets go in."

The second all the snow clothes were off Brielle said, "MOM! That was SO fun!" Needless to say, hearing that made it all worth it. As a side note. I made the best decision about doing it before nap time. By the time she got up the sun was out and the snow was melting fast.

Wahoe Drive Fire

Despite the fact it's the middle of winter we have had two really big fires that have been wind driven forcing thousands to evacuate and many homes lost. This latest fire known as the Washoe Drive Fire hit a little close to home. Julie's (Matt's sister) sister-in law and her in-laws were right in the middle of the fire zone. It was touch and go if there homes were going to be saved or not. Mark (Julie's father-in-law) stayed with the homes and fought the fire. I do believe it was because of his efforts that both their homes were saved.

Matt was home early from church and we decided to take a drive and look at the damage. It was SO sad to see. It was interesting to see how random the fire was because it jumped around so much. No wonder firefighters had a hard time fighting it, it would burn one house and jump a whole neighborhood.

Jill's house is on the right

This is her neighbors...nothing was left.

Joy School field trip

It's been awhile since Joy School has done a field trip. Megan coordinated a field trip to the local Raley's bakery shop where the employees gave us a little tour. After the tour they had us decorate a cupcake which was so fun.

The employee put the frosting on

So many toppings to chose. It was so fun.

They had topping all lined up for the kids to pick and choose how they wanted to decorate their cupcakes.

They were kind enough to let Miles have one too.

Once everyone had a cupcake we sat down and ate them. The kids were so excited.

my lil man

18 months is a celebratory month for any parent who is active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because it means they go to Nursery. Months leading up to nursery most your Sunday's are spent in the hallway trying to keep your child from taking the Spirit away from everyone else. Our story is a little different because the last couple of months I couldn't take him into Primary, Matt had him the last two hours. Poor Matt already had enough on his plate during church and now he had to try to balance Miles too. Needless to say Matt was more excited then I was.
I must admit we were both very nervous  to have him go. With Brielle I felt she was ready. She was talking and it just felt like the natural next step. Miles squawks and barely says anything at all. He is squawking less because I feel he is able to communicate his needs better and he isn't as frustrated. However the nursery leaders don't know him which may lead to more frustration.

He is also a very clingy baby. He doesn't like going to many people. I was worried about the separation anxiety and how he would respond.

His first Sunday he was supposed to be in Nursery I kept him home due to a cold and ear infection/too fussy to deal with at church and wanting him to take a good nap. So we attempted Nursery this Sunday. Normally I jet right over to Primary but Matt seemed a little busy so I thought I would try to take Miles. While walking him there I was thinking what a stupid idea that was since he clings to me the most. We get to the door, I say hello, push him forward a little and shut the door. I figured I got him there, Matt could handle it if they need him. Much to our surprise, he did AMAZING. Brother McCombs said he only squawked once and did really well. We had to leave early and pulled him out during snack time. He looked so grown up sitting in his chair at the table (It really melted my heart and made me sad and proud all at the same time). He was hesitant to leave his food until we promised we would bring it with us.

I asked him if he was a big boy and went to Nursery. He puts this huge grin on his face and shakes his head up and down. Thata boy!

Miles also has a few routines and items he likes. For instance:

Before his nap we have four books he picks from: Wheels on the Bus, Goodnight Moon, Twinkle little Star, and Peek a Who. He determines what book, and how many times he wants it read. This is communicated by grunts or pointing to the book. Then pushing the book away when he is done. If he wants to read it again he starts to cry until we show him the book he wants. We read and then I sing a few songs and off to bed he goes. He is still a great sleeper and is easy to put down. After the books and song he will let us lay him down and we walk away. Sometimes he falls asleep right away and other times it will take him a little while. After he wakes up he must take everything out of his crib and take it with him. He is loving his little blanket right now. He likes to cuddle for a little and if we get time we will ready a book while he wakes up. Other times I just give him a book.

This is right after nap, cuddled in his blanket, leaning against his pillow with one of his books he likes.

Miles really likes his cars and balls. He plays with both everyday.

 Miles likes to tease, and play with you. I think he has part of his Daddy in him.

 He enjoys playing Peek-a-boo, dancing, taking walks outside, singing songs, and likes to do patty cake.

 Whenever I vacuum, he gets scared but wants to watch all at the same time. Most the time he will pull himself up on a coach or chair and watch me.

 He has been able to experience his own DVD player when we travel. Up to this point we only had one DVD player and he tried to watch but could never see it. Now he has a screen right in front of him. The picture below describes how he felt about it.

 Miles loves and adores babies. He can't get enough and wont leave the alone. He has a magnet for them too, if there is a baby in the room he can find it. He will give them kisses, want to hold them, touch them, lay on them, cuddle with them, feed them, poke them etc. Watching him makes me very grateful I don't have a baby right now because I would never be able to put the poor baby down. However he is very cute with them and I enjoy watching how he lights up when he sees a baby. I am happy he loves babies and has a kind heart.

This is Grandma Taylor's baby doll.

Blake, Miles and Addy.

  A new gesture that Miles is doing is putting his hand over his mouth when he gets excited or happy. I am pretty sure he picked this up from Brielle but it is still pretty cute.

Miles is full of energy and personality. I am grateful for him everyday and the love he brings into our home.

FHE

Miles was pretty tired so we put him to bed before doing FHE. I scrapped me lesson and decided to do something special with Brielle. She has been asking me to paint her nails for some time now and I thought tonight would be the perfect occasion for it. She was so excited.Once we were done she wanted to paint my nails. I thought I would let her it my toes.

Check out the nail polish on on toes!

Then she wanted to paint my fingernails. I was a little more hesitant to have her do them by herself so I suggested Daddy help her.

I loved that we could spend the evening together doing something fun.

It definitely made my little girl happy.