Devynee - 18 months

For some reason, these posts are getting harder to write.  It's funny how the growth isn't as "chart-able" as they get older.

At 18 months:

• Devynee has no new teeth!  An entire month of crankiness with nothing for Mama to blame it on.
• She is walking everywhere and her little drunken waddle is my favorite.
• She is a pro at wearing her glasses and rarely takes them off (unless she feels she isn't getting the proper amount of attention - the little stinker).
• Devynee is sleeping like a champ and napping for 3-4 hours a day. She does wake up between 6:15 and 6:30 a.m. like clockwork, regardless of the time we put her to bed.
• Devynee is in size 18 month clothes (although the capris are all like pants) and size 4 shoes.
• At her appointment she weighed 19 lbs 2 oz and was 32 inches long.  That is approaching the 10th %tile mark for weight and solidly in the 25th %tile for weight. The doctor is thrilled with the upward trend of her curve!
• Devynee hates nursery.  She is my first kid to do so.  It doesn't matter that Kendree is in there with her, or that she is fine with babysitters, she just hates it.  We made her cry for an hour (out of two) for the first two Sundays, then we would pick her up for the 3rd hour of church to give the leaders a break. 
• She love being outside and you can't even say that word without her heading to get her shoes
• She hates being barefoot on the grass but doesn't seem to mind pebbles underneath her feet on the sidewalk.
• Devynee is saying anything you ask her to.  She solidly calls Kendree "den-dee" now and Easton, "eeee-son" and it is adorable. A few other words I wrote down this month include: "toast", "up", "Caillou", "this", "that", "brush", "yummy" and "let go".
• Devynee has stopped signing, except for the occasional "please" or "more." She relies on her words.

Two cute girls in the bath.

 Serious

 Matchy, matchy

 We sure do love spaghetti.

Why hello there!

After a two month hiatus, I am trying to get motivated to begin blogging again.  It honestly feels like I am starting over completely, but I cherish the pictures and stories I have recorded on this little blog of mine, so I know I need to get back to it.

Things are relatively the same around here.

Husband who is so busy we sometimes forget his name? Check.
Mama working, playing and driving like a crazy person? Check.
Cutest kiddos ever? Double Check.

We are enjoying our BACKYARD (since we finished on labor day weekend last year, this summer has been amazing.  We bought the cheapest swing set known to man, but the kids don't know the difference and Easton especially swings his little heart out.

Our neighbors are so gracious to put up with Easton's batting practice (he hits at least one ball into their yard daily, no matter what I do) and Easton just finished tee ball for the year.

Now we are enjoying our last week of swim lessons, weekly kid movies and lots of outdoor time.  Mom is in denial that she has a kid going to school in the fall and tried to block out the view of the school supply lists that are already out at Wal-mart.  ahhh!

Here's to getting this little thing going once again.

Devynee - 17 months

Well my friends, this was the month.  The month that Devynee decided she just may want to walk.

• Devynee continues to sleep through the night and take one nap a day.  She still is cranky for that hour before I put her down for her nap, but I have to stick to the schedule if I want to keep my sanity in the evening.
• She is saying some new words this month: bite (by), amen (ah-mah), glasses (gasses), blanket (bay-bay), ipod (aye-pah), cheese (eeese), me, dog (dah), ruff-ruff (rah-rah), roar (RAH), and bye.
• Devynee doesn't do any new signs, but I haven't been pushing them as much now that she will attempt words.
• Devynee will babble at you for a full minute.  This includes proper inflections and facial expressions, but there are no real words in it.  It is pretty much the cutest thing ever.
• She is in size 18 month clothes as Mama finally got them out! Devynee also wears a size 4 shoe.
• Devynee got three new teeth this month! Bottom left/center, top right/center and a molar on her right top side (random, I know).
• She is now walking 75% of the time.  She crawls if she has just fallen down and is close enough to her destination that it isn't worth the effort plus a few other times as well.  Progress people, progress!
• Devynee continues to be very happy, except when mama is on the computer trying to sneak in a little work.  She reaches up and pinches the skin on the back of my bicep every time (it kills!)
• Just one more month until Nursery at church.  I know she will love it (in concept) but Kendree is in there with her, so I think that may be a little tricky (just because Kendree will think she gets to take care of her the entire time). 

 Official 17 month pictures!
(but mama! I want the camera!)

 Happy to be downstairs!

 Throwing away trash for mama...

 Why, hello there!

The reason the high chair straps are always buckled. :)

And now two videos.  There are many things you can learn from these videos. 1. I let you see how we really live and how much I hate to fold laundry. 2. Devynee walks! 3. Devynee falls like a drunk man. 4. Devynee walks with her hands straight up in the air, which is how she always walked in the very beginning. 5. Devynee  knee-walks. 6. Devynee takes off her glasses. Pretty much, this is an accurate description of life around here, except Ron is home. (I kid! - kind of).

Instagram: March and April 2013

Sometimes the table is the only safe place to do your Legos.

Giving loves. Big sister was sad and the little tried to help. #whendidshegetsobig

Easton is going to a preschool a the local high school for 6 weeks.  Today they learned about tigers. Roar!

I don't think the target buyers did enough research before ordering 50 rolls of BYU duct tape. #cowboycountry #thesewillneversell #evenididntbuyone #whatdoesonedowiththemedducttape

You can almost feel her excitement. #orshouldthatbeeggscitement

Ready to hunt!

 My three cuties!

Love, love, love this weekend!

Just finished clipping strings on my stash of baby blankets.  Ward friends are now welcome to proceed with having their babies (in good time, of course)

Thankful for friends who will measure the snow so I can update others. :) I think my lunch of cookies and Diet Dr. Pepper was completely justified.  Being trapped in the house gives you the excuse to do whatever you want.

Mama's sewing scrap Ninja warriors!

The sewing madness continues. Diaper boxes converted to faux canvas storage. #havehadthesuppliesfor6months

Devynee longs for spring. #springinwyoming

Practicing outdoor walking (so much harder!) while daddy has a softball tournament.

And spring in Wyoming continues...

Swimming (or slimming as she calls it) will wear you right out. #ifonlyitwasnt530 #latergram

Happy Mother's Day!

I wish all those in my life (whether you have children or not) a very Happy Mother's Day!  Here are just a few of my favorite quotes about mothers/women.

“The priesthood leadership of this Church at all levels gratefully acknowledges the service, sacrifice, commitment, and contribution of the sisters.  Much of what we accomplish in the Church is due to the selfless service of women.”  Elder Quentin L. Cook: LDS Women Are Incredible!

“Women are such a necessary part of the plan of happiness which our Heavenly Father has outlined for us. That plan cannot operate without them. . .The women in our lives are creatures endowed with particular qualities, divine qualities, which cause them to reach out in kindness and with love to those about them.”  President Gordon B. Hinckley:  The Women in Our Lives.

“Motherhood is not what was left over after our Father blessed His sons with priesthood ordination. It was the most ennobling endowment He could give His daughters, a sacred trust that gave women an unparalleled role in helping His children keep their second estate.  As daughters of our Heavenly Father, and as daughters of Eve, we are all mothers and we have always been mothers.”  Sheri L. Dew:  Are We Not All Mothers?

I have been blessed with amazing women in my life.  Obviously the one that gave birth to me, and also many others who mothered me on a daily basis.  I hope that someday I can make them proud by raising my own children and children around me in righteousness.  May you all have a wonderful day, week, month and year.  I love you!

Happy Easter!

At least if I post months late you aren't sick of Easter posts anymore, right?

The Easter Bunny visited our house on Friday night and as is the case in Wyoming, all eggs were hidden inside.

The older kids caught on very quickly.

And Devynee kept on flinching away from the flash.

Later on that day, we dyed our eggs!  Both kids only wanted to do things that they could do completely by themselves, so a lot of single color eggs were dyed.  Just fine with me! (Devynee was conveniently napping during this activity).

Kendree's faces in these three shots kill me.  I had to include them all.

I made the girls' peasant dresses using fabric from Devynee's crib set (will that stuff ever run out?).  They were surprisingly simple and I even got them done on Tuesday before Easter, so no late night rushed sewing. Hooray! Easton was just as thrilled with his coordinating bow tie from the Target dollar spot.  Bless you, Target.

After church and naps, we headed over to Laramie for some Wyo family fun! The kids opened up more presents...

Easton was thrilled with Devynee's finger puppets, as you can see.

Kendree did some twirling...

And some fancy posing.  This girl!

We also hunted for eggs, which by some weather miracle, could actually be gathered outside!

We had a wonderful Easter and are so grateful for our Savior!

Videos, videos, videos everywhere

Kendree Sings Little Bunny FooFoo
 
 Devynee Refuses to Walk
 
 Easton Reads a BOB Book
 

Devynee - 16 months

Time continues to pass, Devynee gets older and continues to stubbornly decide not to walk!

I kid.

Kind of.

Let's look at little Devy at 16 months:

• Devynee continues to sleep through the night, but has transitioned to just one nap a day.  This gets a little annoying if she happens to fall asleep in the car at 10 a.m. and I can not make her take an additional nap in the afternoon (well, I can try, but she won't fall asleep) and then is exhausted at bedtime.  Most time, she naps from about 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. or so.
• Devynee is still in size 12 month clothes as mama is too lazy to get out the next size of clothes.  She wants to delay and just get it all switched out when it finally gets warm.  We shall see if this plan continues to work.
• She wears a size 3 or 4 shoe depending on the brand/style.
• She will walk across an entire room one minute, and then refuse to stand on her legs the next minute. We will never have to say that we forced her to do anything.  Devynee only does what Devynee wants to do.
• Devynee continues to love her dad the most, especially when he comes home from work.  If he is not fast enough at taking off his coat, the entire house hears about it.
• Devynee still doesn't have any additional teeth at 16 months.
• She has perfected the knee walk.  She is completely upright, but walks on her knees instead of her feet.  This has ruined several pairs of pants as it was warm for a few days and she was doing this on the cement outside.
• Devynee now says Grandma (mah-ma) and Grandpa (mah-pa) and always does the signs when she says their name.  She continues to refuse to say her siblings names and I can't think of any other new words.
• She does not like animals and even screams bloody murder when looking at the puppies behind glass at the mall. 

Devynee is a sweet little thing and is such a joy in our family.

Anytime that Devynee will humor Kendree and let her "hold" her is the best day of Kendree's life.

 But then she always has enough.

 Mama is usually able to convince her to sit for one more picture.