The Crowders

almost three

2012-02-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

he is almost three and insists that he no longer needs a nap. instead we have quiet time while Sabrina naps. he usually plays quietly or reads a few books, but sometimes he crawls up into our couch and falls asleep.

he is getting so big, but i love it when he reminds me that he is still so little.

happy

2012-02-15T13:14:00.002-07:00

happy wednesday!

my funny valentine's

2012-02-14T15:53:00.001-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

We started this morning off by waking up daddy in bed to show him the fun valentine's we have been working on. To say he loved them was an understatement. And the kid's were so proud to show him their hand prints! (I got the idea from here).

We then decided to make daddy a big special valentine's breakfast. Of course we had to take a break to drink pink milk and heart shape bagels!

yum!!

And sweet Wayne surprised mommy with beautiful red roses!

We also thought it would be fun to make some yummy valentine's day treats. Rice krispies! A favorite here! Wayne got to take most of these to his co-workers, after the kids and i tested out a few!

And I am loving how these two are just becoming such good friends. They love playing together!

My sweet and funny valentine's!! Hope you all had a wonderful day too!!

xoxo

fire engines

2012-02-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

we found a play group out here in kansas that we are just loving. a lot of the girls are friends i have made through book group and we all just love getting together every tuesday to play and catch up.

this past tuesday they planned a tour of a fire station. Chase was in heaven the whole time we were there. he was so excited to learn all about fire station and he quietly sat and listen while the fireman got dressed in his uniform and taught him fire safety.

Afterwards, the kids got to touch and feel the fire equipment to see what it looks like up close. Even Sabrina got in on the safety lesson.

But the highlight for Chase was being able to climb and sit in the firetruck. He had so much fun and talked about firetrucks the whole way home. He was so excited when the nice fireman gave him stickers and trading cards. He keeps those things proudly!

We had a lot of fun on our tour of the fire station. It was such a great experience for us all!

how she rolls

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Lately Miss Bre has been obsessed with books. She carries them around with her everywhere she goes, asking anyone who is willing to read them to her. Or she will just find a nice little place on the floor and quietly read to herself. Her latest has been begging to bring them in the car on every little trip we go on. I just love looking back and seeing this! The cuteness just makes me melt!

cabin fever

2012-01-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

Wayne's work has him traveling a lot lately, and it always seems to be that the times when he is away, are the times when sickness and restless nights are a thing in our household. I am exhausted, and from a week of nursing sick and tired little ones with little interaction with the outside world, it's safe to say some cabin fever is starting to kick in.

Thankfully, this weekend brought us some warmer temperatures and sunny skies. Oh how these kids of my just love to be outside. And who knew that a couple of left over birthday balloons blown up would keep three little kids entertained for an afternoon? Wayne will be home in a couple days and I know we are all excited about that!

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

our mornings lately

2012-01-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

Lately, the last few mornings have been us getting up early, quickly getting Fisher dressed, fed and off to school and two little ones begging for a morning bath.

I quite enjoy these mornings.

well, at least it's not mascara

2012-01-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

he never ceases to amaze me. he always seems to find the permanent markers no matter where we hide them and lock them up. i like to look at it as if he is expressing his creative side.

i love this colorful and creative and sweet boy of mine!

five years ago...

2012-01-20T07:52:00.001-07:00

five years ago we decided to take a drive down to las vegas. we're not much gamblers, but that night we decided to gamble on us. at times the odds definitely seem to be against us.

but five years later, we're still benefiting from our winnings.

Happy Anniversary! Here's to celebrating many more five years!!

eighty

2012-01-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

today my grandma celebrates her eightieth birthday. when i spoke with her on the phone she was pretty excited about it. she is an amazing women and i am so thankful that she is my grandma. she taught me how to garden and cook. she took my sister and i on many fun camping adventures and shopping trips. i love my grandma and so do my kids. so with that, we would just like to wish her the happiest of birthdays today!

Happy birthday grandma!! here's to many more!

my funny girl

2012-01-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ever since Sabrina got her new winter hat, she insist on wearing it. all. the. time. I have to hide most times but I love the way she looks when she has it on.

She makes the best faces!

will you look at that

2012-01-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

it does snow in Kansas City!

I laugh as I write this post. Thinking how I just posted how wonderful and warm the weather has been thus far, only to wake up to a fresh coating of snow and some really cold temperatures. I honestly didn't even know we were expecting snow till I was driving late last night to book group and started to see a few scatterings of tiny snowflakes.

Anyway, the kids were excited to see the white stuff.

baby, it's so not cold outside

2012-01-11T10:33:00.001-07:00

we've been told by the locals that this weather we have been having isn't normal and that it isn't usually plus 60 degrees in the winter time, but we aren't really complaining.

no. we are just loving this winter so far.

i have this skateboard since i started college. it's traveled with me to northern colorado, arizona, utah and now kansas. the boys just love playing with it. they take turns sitting and pushing it, until one gets brave enough to actually sit and the let the semi-slope of our driveway take them for a quick ride.

lately, Fisher has been quite the daredevil. he loves going down the drive way fast, with no hands, just flying off the curb. i love watching him do this. it makes me proud and excited. i mean, this is the kid who hated swinging at the beginning of every summer!

but we have absolutely been loving our afternoons outside. just enjoying this perfect weather.

and check out the misses. she was born to be outside and she begs to go out every day. she takes off and just wonders/runs everywhere. she likes to stop and watch the boys, but most of the time she is on a mission, a mission to get somewhere fast!

Hope you all are enjoying your january so far! i know we don't have much more of this beautiful weather, but we will take it while we can!

the kansas city zoo

2012-01-05T14:00:00.002-07:00

Lately the weather here in Kansas City has been amazing. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was really hoping for a white Christmas this year, but I am not complaining at the 60 degree weather we have been having this winter thus far!

We love spending our days outdoors, so when Wayne called to tell me he was getting off work early on Friday, we quickly loaded the kids in the van and headed out to the Kansas City Zoo!

We love our new zoo. It's big and there are so many different animals to see and different places to play. But because it is so big it takes a whole day to visit the whole park, so we opted for a few places and animals to visit and that turned out to be pleanty for our kiddos.

Fisher loves the Polar Bear exhibit and this winter weather was the perfect time to see them play and swim and have a lot of fun. We watched them for quite a bit and I think Fisher could of stayed there all day to watch them.

This first picture just makes me laugh. Now that we have Fisher potty trained and we are working on Chase they are both curious about other things that go potty. Thank you "Everybody Poops!" So yes, they are pointing out where the polar bear potties.

We love having fun with all of the picture opportunities!

Save the polar bears!

The kids really love the sea lion exhibit. They love watching these creatures swim and play and we actually kept coming back to see them because they are just so much fun to watch!

The Capybara. I don't know what it is, but this thing just creeps me out. It could be the fact that it's the worlds largest rodent or the fact that it looks like a giant guinie pig, and to me that just aint right. But whatever it is, this thing just stared me down the whole time we were there. Creepy!

I love watching my kids. I love how they watch the animals play and run by. I love the expressions they make.

She was just so fascinated by all of the monkeys! She just loved watching them play.

Towards the end of our trip, Chase was getting bummed out that we hadn't seen any snakes yet. Thankfully we walked right by this large snake play thing and Chase just lit up with excitement! He was so happy to that he got play and run through it that he actually forgot about seeing real snakes. It was a good thing too, because by the time we got the snake exhibit they were already closed for the night.

It didn't take long after we buckled the kids in their car seats that the whole van became completely silent. I looked back to see three very tired kids all asleep in their seats! So sweet!

We had such a fun and wonderful day as a family at the zoo. I love days and times like these and I wish we could do this every Friday afternoon.

four

2012-01-03T09:59:00.003-07:00

I can hardly believe it, but my little man turned four this weekend! He has grown and changed so much in the last year and when I look at him now, he doesn't seem so little anymore.

We started his birthday morning to him waking up to tons of balloons(thank you Katie for the idea!) and lots of birthday singing! Fisher was so excited to be covered in balloons that he really didn't want to get out of bed!

We then quickly got everyone dressed and ready and headed to an all you can eat pancake breakfast(Fisher's favorite) at the boys all time favorite restaurant, Steak and Shake.

I know Steak and Shake doesn't sound that appealing, but the boys just LOVE this place and the food really isn't that bad. Although, breakfast probably isn't the best time of day to eat there, in my opinion.

I love that while we wait for our food they bring out these paper cars that you can build and decorate with stickers. It keeps the kids pretty entertained and I am pretty sure that's why they just love eating here.

After our exciting breakfast,some more birthday singing and a few errands, we headed back home to open some presents. Once again our Fisher was spoiled and had a lot to open. I loved watching him and every time he unwrapped a present he would always say "oh wow!" It was just too cute!

Then later that evening we invited some new friends over for pizza and games and of course ice cream cake! I let Fisher pick out his cake and he was so excited! He talked about his birthday cake all night, and when we finally got to sing to him he was just so happy!

Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet boy! You have grown and blossomed these last twelve months and I cannot express in words how much you make me happy! I love the mornings when you wake up and the first words are "i love you mama!" You melt my heart with your sweet smile and your infectious laughter! You have become such an amazing big brother to your little brother and sister. You love to play with them and Chase has become your very best friend. I am excited for this new year and to watch you grow even more! You have become such a big boy and I am so proud of all that you have accomplished!

We love you so very much Fisher!!

worn out

2011-12-30T08:47:00.001-07:00

Apparently putting on makeup all day can tire out one little boy.

On the nights Wayne works late, I usually make a quick and easy meal to feed the kids and then cook another one for Wayne and I. While I was cooking I looked over and noticed that Chase was sleeping instead of eating! It was too funny, so I snaped a few pictures and then picked him on and put him on the couch, awake and watching the other kids playing.

A few moments later, Fisher comes up to me to inform me that "Chase is sleeping!" Apparently he had a wild and crazy day, just like his mother.

I love the way he curls up! Too cute!

why i am out of mascara

2011-12-28T14:52:00.002-07:00

when it gets way too quiet for two little boys, I know they are up to something no good.

I caught them with three mascara wands(one taken out of my purse) in their tiny little hands. I couldn't get mad, I just had to laugh and take a few pictures. Which to them, is punishment.

I imediately gave them a lesson on why we do not play with mommy's makeup and why we must stay out of mommy and daddy's bathroom and purse. This lesson was imediately followed by a long bath.

Fisher got off easy, he only put it in the back of his hair. Thankfully with a few dozen makeup remover wipes and some baby shampoo, the mascara came out and we now have some pretty clean boys. I did have to drain the water because it was completely black, but they enjoyed their time in the bath.

The one plus side to this all is mommy gets to go shopping for some new mascara! Can't complain on that! ;)

a very crowder christmas

2011-12-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

Christmas morning both Wayne and I woke up with a terrible illness. It literally took all of my strength to get out of bed, sit on the couch and take as many pictures as I could before I wanted to lay my head down and never lift it up again. I hated being sick on Christmas, but the kids enjoyed staying in pj's as long as they could and my lovely Christmas dinner was put on hold till last night, they loved having peanut butter sandwiches, yogurt and cheese for dinner. I think to them, it was the perfect Christmas day!

It was fun to watch the kids discover what Santa brought them. I am looking forward to the years ahead when they really understand Christmas and Santa and all the fun things that go along with it.

All of the kids were extremely spoiled this year!! Santa brought the boys a t-ball set, a basketball hoop and a soccer net. Sabrina got a shopping cart full of goodies and her very own cell phone. The only thing she cared about.

The boys just had a blast opening presents. They loved everything they got and were just so happy and funny.

The boys got their own microphones. I love listening to them sing. It's so so cute!

Sabrina got three princess dolls and a stroller to push them around. She loves her new cabbage patch doll, but you can't beat that cell phone!

Fisher has always been really into music. Lately he has become obsessed with guitars and will play and play with it no matter how big or how small. Even if it's not a real guitar but a puzzle piece, he will still play like it is a guitar. So we really wanted to get him one for Christmas. He also loves Perry the platypus from Phineas and Ferb so he was super excited when he unwrapped his new guitar!

The guitar goes everywhere with him. I love watching him play and trying to figure it out. Who knows... maybe we have ourselves a musician on our hands?

Hope you all have a very merry Christmas!! We are looking forward to celebrating the new year! Here's to 2012 being an excellent one!!

christmas eve at our house

2011-12-27T11:48:00.001-07:00

This was our first time celebrating Christmas with just us five Crowders. It was also our first Christmas in our new home and that meant it was time to start some traditions of our own.

We had a busy day of finishing up some last minute shopping and tasks, so we had a pretty low key dinner and quiet night.

When I was a little kid, I always remembered my Grandpa reading from the bible about the birth of Jesus every Christmas Eve. I thought this would be a great tradition to start with our kids so Wayne read Luke:2 from the bible and we told the story to the kids as best as we could.

Then the kids each got to unwrap one present from the tree. Wayne's family always did pajamas on Christmas Eve as a kid and he wanted to start that tradition with our kids too. The kids just loved their new pajamas!

This is how Chase will show you anything. Always covering his face and always so close to your face. He was pretty excited over his new Cars pajamas!

Trying my hardest to get a family shot in front of the tree, but with a always going one year old, this is as good as I could get!

Then right before we were getting ready to put the kids to bed, Wayne had a special gift for me to open. An autism ornament and cookie cutter that I just love! It was such a sweet, sweet gift!

Our first Christmas Eve in our new home was just as perfect as I could imagine it. We all just had a wonderful time!

secret santa

2011-12-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

we have a secret santa!

For the past eleven nights our doorbell has rung at exactly 8:15 every night. And every night we hurry to open the door to catch our secret santa but we are always just a little too late, but there is always a small little package surrounded by yummy candy.

Each night has been a little wiseman, or a little cow or a little Shepard. But last night we got a little baby Jesus. He made our little nativity complete.

We are pretty sure it's our adorable neighbors to the right of us. They are such a cute family and well, isn't this just the cutest thing??

We are so blessed for all of the amazing people in our lives.

And I just wanted to share the ornaments Fisher and I made for his teacher and all of his aids. They turned out cute and I love this picture of him just admiring his work.

Hope you all have a very wonderful Christmas!

half way

2011-12-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

One of the things I just love about Kansas, I can meet my Brother halfway and enjoy ice cream with my neices and nephew.

We decided to meet halfway in Emporia and my brother picked Braums as a place to hang out and catch up.

My kids were so excited to see their cousins again. Add ice cream and they were just in heaven!

Emily and Fisher, such good buds!

Chase just loves playing around with his uncle "Greg the Grape"

Sabrina and her cousin Paul. She just adores her cousins.

Miss Payton is always a great help when we get together!

It was a quick visit, but a fun one for sure. I love being able to do this and spend more time with my family. It's so hard living far away, but it's been so nice having my brother and his family close by.

Love these days!

our visit with santa

2011-12-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

Everytime I look at this picture I just smile and laugh.

I don't know what I love about it more.

Is it the dear in the headlights expression Fisher is giving? Or the fact that two of the kids aren't even looking at the camera? Or Chase's very confused look? Sabrina pointing something out?

No. I think it's the look Santa is giving. I know how you feel Santa!

just some holiday pics

2011-12-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

We are almost ready for Christmas! We finished up all the holiday parties. Started baking and delivering goodies to friends and neighbors, and I may have one or two gifts already wrapped.

It's fun to see the kids getting excited for Christmas this year.

And I have to apologize, because I have our Christmas cards printed and ready to go, we just can't seem to find the box with all of the envelopes in it. I promise you will get one soon though!

Hope your holidays are very Merry and very Wonderful!

smiles

2011-12-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

As Christmas quickly approaches I am getting more anxious for this year to finally be over. It's been a rough last few months and I am getting more excited to start fresh in a brand new year.

Thankfully I have this cute little girl to give me the best and biggest smiles to make my days even better.

Seriously! How could you not love that face and just smile?!

orlando :: animal kingdom

2011-12-06T21:58:00.001-07:00

Two of the nights we spent at Epcot and Downtown Disney, but unfortuntely I didn't feel like lugging the camera around and have no pictures to show of it. I know, shocking!

But Friday, Wayne had the whole day off and we decided to spend the day at Animal Kingdom.

It was really funny when we decided to eat breakfast at the park. We decided to hit up Donald's Buffet since it had great reviews. Little did we know that it was a character themed breakfast and we would be visited by all the Disney crew.

We thought for sure since we were tucked away in a corner and had no kids with us that they would just ignore us and spend times with all of the families, but no, they shared the love with us as well.

Goofy had a total thing for me. And please excuse my crazy lazy eye I have going on in these pictures.

I really loved riding in the safari ride. A little cheesy, yes, but it was still fun and neat to see all of the wild animals.

The rides were super fun at the park and I love the Bugs Life 3D show. So did Wayne!

Another fun day at Disney. It was such a wonderful place to spend time with your best friend and just be kids again. We had a blast at all the parks and we are so excited to plan a family trip with our kiddos some day. I know that they are going to love it as much as we did!

orlando :: disney hollywood

2011-12-06T21:05:00.001-07:00

Our second day at the resort we decided to check out Disney Hollywood Park. It was within walking distance from our hotel, but we could take water taxis as well.

When we walked through the gates, the park wasn't crowded at all. This made a very happy Wayne and very short rides so we could enjoy everything. I just loved walking through and seeing replicas of all the famous movie sets. Plus, this park has some pretty fun rides too, mine was definitely the Toy Story Ride, you play against each other and it was really hard but so much fun!

A great photo opportunity!!

Wayne loved the Star Wars ride. Me, I sat out. I am not a big fan of simulators. I get crazy car sick!

I LOVE the Muppets!

Wayne was pretty excited to get his picture taken with the army guys from Toy Story. I have to admit their costumes are pretty cool. I love how Disney makes you feel like a kid again!

Disney Hollywood also had a Christmas Party and Parade to light up their main street. They totally decked out the buildings with tons of Christmas lights. Our favorite part was when it started snowing. Such a cool addition!

orlando :: magic kingdom and resort

2011-12-06T13:18:00.001-07:00

Right before Thanksgiving, Wayne planned a super fun trip for just us two in Orlando. He had a work conference for the first five days, but was done by 3 and so we had the afternoons with just the two of us.

It was the first time we were both away from the kids at the same time, and even though it was REALLY hard for me, it was oh so worth it for the two of us.

Because of Wayne's work conference we got to stay at the Disney Yacht Club and Resort. It was right on the Disney Epcot Boardwalk and was in walking distance to both Epcot and Disney Hollywood. Every night we were lucky enough to catch the firework show from Epcot.

I just loved our resort. Every morning I would walk the boardwalk. They had great restaurants, shops and cafes along the way and then I would head straight to our resort pool. The pool had loads of hidden hot tubs, a lazy river and even a sand island for kids to make sand castles.

Needless to say I would spend many hours just soaking up the sun there.

The pool also had this huge abandon pirate ship with a huge water slide that led to the resort pool. It was surrounded by sandy beaches and was open till late in the evening. All I could think about was how much fun my boys would love this ship. I can't wait to take the kids here and share in this magical moments.

Our first afternoon together Wayne and I decided to attend Mickey's Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom. I felt like a kid walking through the gates, I was so excited. I love everything Disney and add Christmas decoration? Double bonus!

We had fun visiting the park and celebrating in the Christmas party. They handed out free cookies and hot chocolate all night and it was fun to see all the characters dressed up.

I love that castle!

I even convinced Wayne to watch the Christmas parade with me!

Wayne has never been to Disney World so it was SO much fun to share in this experience with him. He had a blast! He is even excited to take the kids here, he just loved it!

thanksgiving :: 2011 style

2011-11-29T12:34:00.001-07:00

We traveled to Denver to spend Thanksgiving with the Schoenfelds and Friedmans. I took barely any photos, and although we had a wonderful and very yummy dinner I have no photos to show it.

However, we were blessed with perfect sunny weather that made it a wonderful time to spend at the park. So while the turkey was cooking and the men were watching football, the rest of us ventured to the neighborhood park.

We always have a good time when we go to the park.

Chase will always be the first to find the dirt and someone big enough to help him play in it.

We even played a very fun and very active game of freeze tag. Adults winning of course! ;)

Three generations!

Fisher just loves puzzles and he even helped his cousin Emily with a very hard one!

This Thanksgiving I was grateful for my beautiful children I have been blessed with; My amazing husband who has supported and lifted and guided me through some pretty crazy times; my wonderful friends who I just absolutely adore and I am thankful to be blessed to be a part of such a great and wonderful family.

It was a blessed Thanksgiving for sure

11:11 on 11/11/11

2011-11-12T07:19:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed this exciting moment in time by doing laundry, vacuuming rooms and watching my two littlest ones play together.

Nothing too exciting but still just as enjoyable! :)

read

2011-11-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

We love reading in our house. It's one of our favorite things to do around her and our kids just enjoy all the fun stories.

When I couldn't find Chase or Kory during Sabrina's party my bother informed me that they were upstairs reading together.

Chase just loved having Kory read to him. Cousins are just the best!

The other day I caught Fisher sitting on our steps reading to himself. He had a big pile of books and he just sat there, telling stories.

He was telling stories of a bunny.

I could seriously watch and listen to him read all day long. I am so proud of his amazing accomplishments he has made. He is growing and progressing so much and I just love capturing these moments.

fall happenings

2011-11-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

So far the fall nights here have been wonderful and we are really enjoying it right now. It's been perfect for after dinner walks and trips to the neighborhood parks, were we swing and slide and play till the sun slowly slips away.

I know this picture doesn't show it, but Miss Sabrina does love the swings.

So do her brothers.

Fisher's favorite thing to do at the park. So happy and so content.

It's slowly starting to get colder and darker earlier here now. We haven't had any snow, but we get a lot of thunderstorms during the night that lead to damp and wet days, but it has still made for plenty of wonderful walks and exploring for picking up leaves and acorns.

Hope your fall weather is creating wonderful memories for you and your little ones!

We miss you!

our first guest

2011-11-04T14:49:00.000-06:00

We were lucky to have our first guest come and stay in our new home last weekend. Wayne's dad and his wife Lisa traveld all they way from Alaska to check out Kansas City and see our new place.

The first day they were here we took them to all of the neat and fun shops. We went to the Crown Plaza to check out Crayola Cafe and the cool toy store they have there. Then we headed to the Legends to check out the neat dinosaur restuarunt and watch the fun fountains.

Pops and Lisa were really excited to try out all of the Kansas City BBQ. We took them to two popular places and they seemed to really enjoy them. It's true, we have some pretty good BBQ here.

Three generations of Crowders. It was nice to have Wayne's dad here.

The next day we took them to our very fun farm. The kids love going here and there was a lot to see and play with.

Fisher is doing so well at peddling on bikes!! he is learning so much and I am so proud of him!

Some super cute boys!

All the kids just loved the attention they got from their Pops. Chase and him quickly became good friends and he had to be everywhere Pops was. It was so cute to see them bond.

We loved having our first guests! Even though it was a super fast visit it was a really fun one. We were so thankful that they came all the way down and even got to celebrate Sabrina's birthday with us! This visit meant a lot to us and we are so thankful to have such a great family.

this is halloween

2011-11-01T16:21:00.000-06:00

we had such a fun year this halloween!

the boys just loved everything about it and were really into trick or treating this year which made it super fun.

Fisher and Chase both love watching Yo Gabba Gabba and when we went to go check out halloween costumes Fisher found this Plex one and just squelled with excitement. We just knew we had to have a Yo Gabba Gabba Halloween this year.

The boys with some of their new friends getting ready to trick or treat!!

Wayne was such an awesome dad by finding and dressing up as DJ Lance Rock from Yo Gabba Gabba! The boys just loved this!!

Such an awesome dad!

Chase was Brobee for halloween(another Gabba character) and although he was so excited about this costume he wasn't a big fan of putting it on. But once it was on he was in true character!

Playing golf at daddy's work!

And how she likes to walk lately!

Hope you all had a very happy and wonderful halloween!!

one

2011-10-31T15:04:00.002-06:00

Today our sweet and lovable baby girl turns one! I know a lot of people say this but I just can't seem to express how fast this time went by.

This weekend Wayne's dad and his wife, Lisa, came to visit. So we thought it was only fitting to celebrate Sabrina's birthday while they were here.

-mummy juice boxes-

I love Halloween and I am hoping that Sabrina will enjoy sharing her birthday with it. If not, I will just take advantage of it now before she starts saying otherwise, but I am okay with that! We will still have wonderful parties!

Just as we were getting ready to do the cake, Sabrina started falling asleep on Pops. So we hurriedly got her in her high chair and began to start singing.

But it was no use. She was out!

Hey! It's my party and I can pass out if I want to!

We just continued to celebrate without her.

I am so thankful and so blessed for all of our new friends and family to celebrate our sweet girl turning one! It was so nice to have part of Wayne's family and even my brother and niece and nephew made the trek up to celebrate! It was such a wonderful celebration!

Happy Birthday Miss Sabrina! You have become such a sweet and happy little girl and you make our family so complete! We love your big cheeks and your cute little smile! Your big brothers just love you to pieces and are always making sure you are happy and have toys! You think Chase is the funniest little boy and you can't get enough of your daddy, just like when you were born. You make me so happy everyday and I still can't believe you are mine! You are the sweetest and your kisses just melt my heart every time! I love you with all of my heart and I am just loving watching you grow. Happy birthday my sweet little girl!

Some fun facts about Miss Bre:

You love shaking your head no every time we offer you something, even though you want it.

You dance every time you hear music and it is so cute!

You love talking while in the car and will chat the whole time

You love playing with trains and trucks with your brothers

You love sleeping and look forward to nap and bedtime

Your favorite is playing in the bathtub. So happy

You say Dada every time he comes home and he has to immediately give you attention or you get really sad.

Peanut butter is your favorite! So our bananas!

slackin'

2011-10-23T20:32:00.000-06:00

I am totally slacking on this blog posting thing, but I have a real excuse. We don't have internet at our new house yet. It's driving me crazy!!!

But some nights I can beg Wayne to stream his phone for internet. I promise. I have lots to share and LOTS of pictures. I am just hoping by the end of this week we have the real deal.

In the mean time and quick post on all of the wonderful things we have been up to!

We moved into our new home on the first of this month and we are just loving all the space! The boys just love the huge backyard (it's 1/3 of an acre) and Wayne just loves riding the lawn mower to mow it all. However, it has taking some time to finally get organized and put everything in its place. This week we are getting the basement carpeted so the kids will have to play every where else.

Fisher is loving his new school and his teacher, Miss Brenda, is just amazing! For some reason this kid will now eat everything we put on his place and he is talking and repeating words just amazingly! In our last meeting with his teacher she told us that she wants Fisher to be more naughty... more like Chase. Oh boy, not sure if I am ready for that. But she has amazing hopes for him and just can't believe how smart he is. Fisher has become such a big help and is just loving his new home too.

Hopefully I can post some pictures of the new home soon! Plus, Sabrina turns one in a week. A week!! When did that happen? So we have lots to get ready for!

let's move

2011-09-30T14:20:00.000-06:00

We are all packed.
Today we finally get to move into our new home.

Goodbye tiny townhome.

We're pretty excited and happy about it!!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

and we're walking...

2011-09-26T13:25:00.000-06:00

for Autism Speaks that is!

Last Saturday was the Kansas Autism Speaks Walk. It was a wonderful experience. I teared up the moment we entered the gates, I was just so overwhelmed with all of the different people and organizations who support Autism Speaks.

Because of this great organization, our son, Fisher, is able to get help and is continuing to grow and develop through his prognosis.

We purchased these blue super hero capes and wore them throughout the event. We wore them proudly, because our son is our super hero!

The walk was held at the Kansas City Speedway. It's where they hold NASCAR races and throughout our walk you could hear these cars racing along the raceway. We were told that they do test runs and for a nice little fee... you could even test drive one.

We opted to be spectators instead.

The boys just loved watching the cars zoom by. They got excited every time they saw one and they just watched and watched and watched them.

Next year, our goal is to get much more people involved in the Autism Speaks walk. We want to create a group and walk for Fisher. Wayne's work has already agreed to help and we are excited to make a bigger impact.

We can't wait for next year!!

kansas state fair

2011-09-21T11:38:00.000-06:00

Yup. We like fairs.

Last weekend I called up my wonderful sister-law and asked if their family was interested in joining us at the Kansas State Fair. It didn't take much convincing and excitedly we packed up and spent the entire day at the fair.

We looked at every animal, stopped at every booth and tried delicious treats along the way.

These long horn cattle were amazing and so interesting to watch. We seriously sat and watch the men show these cattle for awhile. Their horns are huge and the male's horns are even bigger! I have never seen long horns like these!

And we just loved to watch the horse shows.

We had so much fun together. It was nice to catch up.

The fair was so fun for the kids. The boys just loved riding this train. It rode throughout the fair and was over 5 minutes long. So worth the money.

Sabrina bonding with her Uncle.

Chase and Paul have such a great relationship. Chase just loves being around his big cousin. He has to be everywhere Paul is and could care less about anybody else most of the time. They are great buddies.

I think the favorite part for all of the kids (besides the awesome rides) was getting to try out all of the big tractors. They loved climbing and riding and pushing all of the buttons.

When did Kory get so big?! Seriously time is going by way too fast!!

Playing in the big wheels, always a fun idea!

I had so much fun going with my big brother and sister-in-law. I loved watching my kids buddy up with their cousins, taking in new and fun things and just enjoying the whole day together.

Chase was so excited that he got to go on some of the rides. He wanted to ride every ride, but he loved watching all of the big kids ride the wild and crazy rides too.

Having so much fun!!

Fisher loved the rides too. At first he wasn't so sure about this bus ride, but once it started going, he was smiling and pointing the whole time!

My nieces and nephew are fearless. They love the adventure of riding big and crazy rides.

Our trip to the fair was such a fun and awesome time! So glad we got to do this! Can't wait for next year!!

family matters

2011-09-16T13:09:00.000-06:00

This post pretty much sums it up. I just love being with my family. I love spending time with them, and I love that when we make time and we all get together, it's fun and crazy and I just can't stop laughing from the funny things my sisters says. Or I can't stop smiling because I watch my kids and they are the happiest they can be because they are playing and laughing and with cousins who are much older than they are, but they don't care.

Yes, I just love my family.

Now that we moved from Utah, and drove right through my home state to the other side in Kansas, the drive back home has become longer and little more harder for the kids. But without fail, as soon as we reach my parent's home, we quickly settle in and the long drive seams all worth it.

I so enjoy the time spent with my grandparents and I am just loving how my kids show them the same love I have for them. Can I just say I love this picture? My grandpa just looks so happy having Fisher on his lap. It melts my heart.

And the love my grandma shows for my grandpa is just beautiful. They have a great time together and I enjoy being surrounded and a part of their love.

My sister and my neice Paige. Two girls I just love!

And Amanda is a pretty great aunt to my kids. They just love her!!

And my dad is the best dad out there. Not to mention and pretty wonderful grandpa too. My kids adore him! From the moment we arrive to the minute we leave they are by his side and constantly asking where he is. He is the best!!

And my family just loves Wayne. My grandpa just loves talking fishing with him. They have a great relationship.

Fisher loves, loves, loves smelling flowers. Thankfully my grandparents have lots to smell at their house!

Silly Paige. She never gives you a dull moment... ever!

It was so great to go back home, even though it was the quickest trip there. Every minute is spent surrounded by family and laughter and good times! Can't wait for the next trip home!!

are you ready for some football?

2011-09-15T16:08:00.002-06:00

Why yes, Hank William Jr., I am ready for some football!

Monday night I took my husband to his first Monday Night football game at Mile High Stadium in Denver. My grandfather has had season tickets to the Broncos for twenty-some years and my Dad and Aunts have inherited these tickets and shared them with us lucky kids of theirs.

So pumped for the Broncos to play!!

They did an amazing tribute for 9/11. It seriously brought tears and to see the stadium waving their flags. It was awesome!

These are the parachute jumpers bringing the USA flag. When they first jumped and where flying through the sky they had fireworks in their hands. It was so cool to look up at the sky and see these sparkle of lights twirling throughout.

The firemen holding the flag, getting ready to sing the National Anthem.

Going to a Broncos game brings back so many wonderful memories. I remember going with my Grandpa and Dad and just cheering your heart out. I am so grateful that I could share this with Wayne. Even though the Broncos lost and sadly the Raiders one, it was still an awesome time! I am a Broncos Girl for life! ;)

powell gardens

2011-09-07T12:48:00.000-06:00

Right before Sabrina fell and broke her little arm, the kids and I decided to venture out of our nice little bubble of Olathe, Kansas and drive out to the beautiful gardens of Powell Gardens in Missouri.

In college, I studied Landscape Architecture and I just love visiting and walking through gardens. I even studied the landscape and gardens in Europe for a couple of months, so when I was told how beautiful the gardens where at Powell Gardens, I just had to go and see them for myself.

Chase loved watching and looking for butterflies and they were everywhere! We had so much fun just watching them fly from one flower to another and they kept us entertained.

Sabrina loved getting out of the stroller to stretch and explore. She loved all of the flowers and was so happy during on our walk.

Powell Gardens is an absolutely beautiful place with an array of colorful and spectacular vegetation and flowers. It was fun just being able to stroll through the many different gardens and even the kids enjoyed themselves as we watch the butterflies and dragonflies visit different flowers. It was a relaxing and wonderful trip for sure.

cast

2011-09-02T12:37:00.001-06:00

Our poor sweet baby girl had to get a cast on today, and she did absolutely amazing. Sabrina took a little tumble and despite the fact that she fractured two bones right below her elbow, this little girl has been full of laughs and smiles and trying her hardest to move to be where she wants to be.

She definitely isn't letting this cast get in her way.

When we first took her in to the urgent care and had her x-rays done to determine if she broke or fractured her arm, they placed her in this temporary sling to help the arm heal. We had to wait till today to get her in to a pediatric ortho to place her arm in a cast. I am so grateful for that, the splint was just too bothering for her and kept slipping down.

This girl is still full of smiles, even though she has this hard and uncomfortable purple thing on her arm. Most of the time she doesn't even notice it there.

And she is still determined to crawl and move and get to where she wants to be. She doesn't want to miss out on any of the fun and excitement, no matter where it is.

Besides... it makes for a very useful bottle holder.

Sabrina is our little trooper. She has been absolutely amazing and so easy going with all of this. I think I am more of a wreck than anyone. I am just so thankful for all of the great support we were given and the amazing doctors who just helped us with this new and scary process. We have been blessed for sure.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend! May it be fun and worry free!!

deanna rose farmstead

2011-08-31T14:24:00.000-06:00

When we first moved to Kansas City, everyone(and I mean everyone) told us that we just had to go to the Deanna Rose Farmssted. Well, it's now our favorite place to go and we practically go there at least once a week.

This is our favorite place. It's close by, it's free during the weekdays and there is just so much to do here. The kids(and adults), stay entertained for hours.

Every morning the big white barn gives a showing of how to milk a cow. We love this part. There are baby cows to watch and pet and we learn everything we need to know about cows and their milk. And right by this barn are huge tee pees to run and play in.

And after we walk around the tee pees and watch the cows play, we wait patiently to feed the baby goats.

This just happens to be Chase's favorite part. He talks about it constantly and just loves feeding the little kids baby bottles. They are pretty cute and surprisingly gentle with the little kids.

We also love to feed the big goats too!!

And when we are done feeding and watching all the farm animals we go and play. This farm has loads of tractor bikes that the boys just love to sit and play on.

Looks like someone is just a little bit too small still...

Then we stroll by the duck and fishing pond to go play on the playgrounds and giant slides. This farm has four different playgrounds throughout the farm. They make nice little breaks as we walk around the farmstead. Our favorite is the shaded park that is next to the hidden swings and water playground.

The kids love riding the fun play animals and running through the jungle gym.

But we just love walking across the bridge to the giant red slides. These slides are so fun and they are surrounded by sheep, bunnies, pigs, goats and turkeys. The kids run up and down the stairs just waiting to go down the two big slides and they stop and stare and just watch all the animals around them. It's a wonderful place to just stop and play for sure.

We also just love walking through the gardens and admiring all of the different and beautiful flowers. We stop to watch and feed the fish and turtles. We look for all of the prairie dogs running and hiding, and wait patiently for butterflies to land on our favorite flowers.

The coolest part of this farm is tucked away within the many gardens. They have a bobcat and peacocks to watch, and eagles, hawks and owls perched on top of their tree branches. They have an amazing kid garden for kids to create, run and play. And even a magical wind chime garden to make beautiful sounds.

We absolutely love this farm. I am so glad we were told about it. It's become our favorite place and every visit is different and new. If you come out this way, make sure you stop by this farm!

We had so much fun that we just worn out Sabrina. She tries her hardest not to sleep so that she doesn't miss a thing. But she is just so sweet when she does finally succumb to the sweet temptation of napping.

Hope you all are doing well!! We miss you guys!

the state fair

2011-08-25T08:20:00.003-06:00

A couple weeks ago, Wayne and I decided to cross the state line and head to the Missouri State Fair. If anyone really knows me, I love me some state fairs, and the Missouri fulfilled that love of mine times ten. It was seriously one of the largest and insanely fun fairs I have been to. I am just hoping that the Kansas one can deliver as well.

I loved that this fair had so many types of farm animals to watch and see. We got to watch chickens hatch, baby goats get fed and cows washed and brushed.

The boys loved watching the cows, and the donkeys and the goats. Pretty much every animal they saw they got pretty excited.

This fair even had an aquarium. They exhibited all the local fish, and amphibians and snakes. Probably Wayne's favorite part of the fair. Hmm... fish? Wayne? I don't see it?

The fair also had a really cool and really big tent that had all of these science programs for kids and it was put on by the local colleges. The boys just loved this part. They got to play with water and magnets, make music with trash cans and sticks and even play with water. They had a blast.

I had a pretty good time myself I might add. The fire guys let me get in and test out their truck. I might have to change professions, I like how I look in a firetruck! ;) And of course Sabrina had a blast. She always has a blast!

I can't wait to ride the rides. One day my boys will be big enough and we will be screaming and laughing and just having a fun time together. But for now we watch these huge and colorful and awesome rides and we still have a great time together.

And for the record, this will be the ONLY time we ever get excited about having our picture taken with the Chiefs. I mean, we have a reputation to uphold here and well, red and yellow don't go very well with orange and blue. I'm just sayin'

first day of school

2011-08-17T09:32:00.000-06:00

Fisher started his first day of school yesterday. This time it was a little more surreal to me. It feels more like he is starting kindergarten then preschool. For one, he goes five days a week all day long, we have to pick out his school lunch everyday, he rides a school bus to school and his classroom is even in an elementary school, right next to the kindergarten classes.

But we are so excited for this new program for Fisher. We met with his teachers and his aids and we all felt like this was a great fit for Fisher. He has already made so much progress from last year that I know he can only continue to grow and develop. We are excited for his classroom, he is the sixth student and of those six he is the third with autism. The other three are neo-typical peers that will help Fisher socialize and communicate.

From the report we got from Ms. Brenda yesterday, it sounds like Fisher is already enjoying school. He knows his colors and letters and numbers and animals. We are so proud of him and I just know that this will be a great school year for him!

wichita

2011-08-16T12:59:00.003-06:00

When we first got to Wichita to see my brother and his family we were just welcomed with love and friendship and plenty of laughter. We never had a dull moment and it was just so wonderful to watch my kids interact and play with their cousins, creating new and wonderful friendships.

We got to go and see the wonderful zoo in Wichita. We enjoyed walking around and watching the penguins swim and the monkeys play. We casually watched the tigers lay and sleep and just took our time enjoying each other's company.

Fisher developed this wonderful and sweet bond with my brother. He loved sitting and playing with his uncle and even gave him some of Fisher's cuddles too.

Fisher even developed a sweet relationship to his cousin Kory. She took him under her wing and made sure that Fisher was never alone and always had someone to play with.

Chase on the other hand just loved watching his big cousins. He wants to be just like them and wants to play baseball and football and hockey just like Paul.

Paul is a great big cousin. All of the cousins are great cousins. They took such great care of my kids and they all had such a fun and wonderful time together. I am so so happy that we live so close to each other now!

Seriously! They are so cute and wonderful together!

And I can't believe how big and mature they are all getting!

And Sabrina even made a new friend. Samantha, my brother's other niece. She is just a couple weeks younger than Sabrina but quickly crawled and sat right in her lap and they became close and good friends! They are so cute together.

On our last night with my brother, we celebrated his birthday and then got to watch him go and play hockey with his team. It was such a fun experience and I am in so much aww of my brother. He is a great and wonderful inspiration and I admire all that he does.

And can I just say, I love seeing that name on a jersey!

The boys loved watching their uncle play hockey. It's so nice to be able to celebrate and go and do such fun and wonderful things with family. I missed being so close to them and I am just looking forward to doing more with them!

clearwater

2011-08-15T15:54:00.000-06:00

The kids and I got to drive down to Wichita to spend some time with my brother, his wife and cousins for the weekend. We had an absolute blast the entire time we were there, and we did so many fun things that I have so many photos to share!

One of our favorites was going to the Clearwater water park near their home. This place was just amazing and the kids had a great time. I am so happy that we got to go!

The kid pool was huge! And it was all fenced in so I didn't have to worry about the boys running away. It was just the right depth and even though we had this area pretty much to ourselves it was perfect for the kids to play and splash and have a wonderful time!

Even Miss Bre had a great time! She loved playing in the shade and she even loved it more when she got to splash in the water!

The boys loved having their big cousins around to play and splash with. Miss Kory had a great time keeping them entertained and showing off her swimming skills!

I also loved that this water park had so much for all kids. There were these awesome and fun slides, a zero entry pool with a water tree and a great view of the diving board from our kiddy pool.

Yes, we got front row seats to watch Payton and Paul in a diving contest! Both have some pretty impressive skills!.

This was such a fun and wonderful time with family. I had so much fun just going to the pool and watching all of the kids play and laugh with excitement and wonder. I am so glad that I live so close to my family and that my kids will have more fun and wonderful memories with their big cousins and aunts and uncles.

We are definitely going to have to go back next summer for sure!

fisher

2011-08-08T21:00:00.000-06:00

Fisher has grown up so much in these last few months. I can't even express in words how much this shy, quiet and reserved little boy has become social and talkative and loving attention from his mom and family.

Fisher is talking... and he is even the one to start initiating it! I love it when he is trying to get my attention and after a little while of me not looking at him, he takes his tiny hands and places them on my cheeks and turns my head so that I am making eye contact with him. I also love it when I catch him singing to himself or singing along with the radio. Let me just tell you, this kid loves Katy Perry.

Fisher's thing this summer has been going swimming. We were lucky enough to go swimming twice a week when we were staying at my parents house and we even try to go swimming every week at night at our town home complex. He loves being in the water and will stay in there all day or night long. I am excited to sign him up for swim lessons this winter.

We are also excited and anxious for Fisher to start his new school next week. We got to go and visit the new place and take a tour and we are just so excited by how amazing this place is going to be. I just know that Fisher is going to enjoy his new school and I am excited for all of the programs he will get to be in.

He has learned so much and I am just anxious to see how he blossoms. Fisher is becoming more social and he just absolutely adores his cousins. He holds their hands and sits on their laps and he has become quite the cuddlier.

Right now, Fisher is absolutely obsessed with Yo Yo Gabba Gabba. He loves watching and dancing and singing along with it. He loves playing with balls and trains and airplanes but prefers to read books as his favorite activity. He loves reading the Hungry Caterpillar and has recently acquired a black stuffed horse from his Grandma that he has to sleep with every night. Fisher has the biggest appetite and loves to eat everything from Musuman Curry to fish sticks to pizza, his favorite.

Fisher is the sweetest little boy and is so wonderful to his brother and sister. He loves playing with them, loves laughing with them and just loves get loves from them. He gives the best kisses and the biggest hugs and his laugh is just addicting! I just love this little boy of mine!

chase

2011-08-03T22:20:00.004-06:00

What can I say of Chase man except that this little two year old has grown up so much and has developed quite the personality. One that we are absolutely loving now!

He is convinced that he is 4 not 2 and will become friends with anyone who is older than him. He absolutely adores his two older cousins, Paul and Davis and talks about them daily.

He is also going to be our sports fanatic! He loves playing football, baseball and soccer and will point out every single basketball hoop he sees (which is a lot!).

He is also the funniest little kid. He loves playing peek-a-boo, which he says "peekyou"!

We nicked name Chase, 'chatty cathy' because he is constantly talking, constantly pointing out things and he will make sure that you give him ALL of your attention. I can't believe how much this kid knows and talks about and how insanely smart he is. Plus, because of his amazing vocabulary and full on sentences, Fisher is now talking more clearly and actually putting sentences together himself. An amazing blessing!

Chase also happens to be our fearless one. He is the one that wants to swing the highest, wants to go the fastest and will climb on everything. I have a feeling we are going to have a lot of scrapes and bruises in our near future for sure.

He is extremely silly and can make everybody laugh. Give him a few minutes for him to warm up to you and then you have a friend for life!

I love how outgoing he is. I love his silliness. I just love him!

Chase (age 2): a lover of pirates booty and peanut butter sandwiches. loves to take naps and go on long walks. asks to eat cereal and milk five times a day and prefers to watch Diego and Chuggingtion over anything else on tv. is obsessed with race cars and monster trucks and thinks that every new toy is his. makes mommy happy and grateful and loves to color and draw on anything and everything. has the sweetest smile and the loudest laugh and more attitude than anyone else in this house.

sabrina

2011-08-01T13:07:00.002-06:00

Wow! Sabrina is nine months old now! She has grown from this tiny, quiet little person to a mobile, vocal and bubbly little girl.

Sabrina is my silly girl. She is full of smiles and will share them with anyone who glances her way. She got her first tooth at eight months which was quickly followed by her second, both on the bottom.

She finally overcame her eating issues and now loves to eat anything and everything. Although, true to her nature, she can still be pretty picky. Her favorites though are pears, beets and spinach. She will eat them up fast every. single. time.

Sabrina has master the art of crawling backwards and is still trying to figure out how to go forward. She is getting closer but has learned that she can roll anywhere she wants to be and ends up mostly up under couches and tables.

She currently weighs close to 17lbs and is wearing size 12 month clothing and size 3 diapers (she is going to be tall like her big brother Fisher).

Miss Bre thinks that Chase is the funniest person and will laugh every time he gives her attention. He makes her laugh the hardest and I just love it when the two of them play together. She loves her brother Fisher too and they are the sweetest together. He is so gentle with her.

Sabrina is just like her brothers and absolutely loves to be in the water. Whether it's bath time or playing in the pool, she is one happy water baby. She also loves to play with balls, stuffed animals and steal any toy the boys are playing with. She gets really excited when she has one of the boy's trains or cars!

I can't get enough of this little girl of ours. She is the greatest blessing and she makes us all happy and smile every time we are around her. She is the easiest and happiest baby. So blessed that she is so content in this house of chaos of ours!

I love this girl... LOVE HER!

how to...

2011-07-27T11:39:00.001-06:00

... make sidewalk paint.

Seriously, to all my friends with little kids, you have to make this stuff. It's super easy, super fun and really cheap to make. Just mix cornstarch with food coloring and a little bit of water, add paint brushes and you got yourself a few hours of colorful fun.

We have been so blessed to have so many friends and family members send us sidewalk chalk to use in our new place. It's been a life saver for those days of boredom and in need of something fun to do. We love coloring around here.

The boys had so much fun painting when we created our watch me grow project that I decided that I would look into making paint to play with outside. Who knew that sidewalk paint was so easy to make?!

The boys just loved painting. And the best part is that this all comes off with water, and even off little bodies in the bathtub!

I think I had just as much fun as the kids did with the paint.

After naptime, we decided to go back out and paint some more. The pallets dried up, but with some water they become fun again. Even when the colors mixed together to some not so pretty colors, they still created some beautiful artwork on our tiny piece of concrete.

I love that the little and simplist of things make for the best afternoons with these kiddos of mine.

we're crafty

2011-07-25T13:54:00.001-06:00

I am trying to find fun and new things to keep both the kids and myself pretty occupied during the days. Most of the time we are outside, playing with water and sidewalk chalk, and just trying to keep entertained till it gets too hot.

But lately, the creative bug hit me and I just wanted to create something fun with the kids. So I decided to do a watch me grow hand print of the kids. The boys just love this and painting was just so much fun to them. I am so greatful that they have my creative gene... more fun projects in our future for sure

keeping busy

2011-07-19T15:02:00.001-06:00

We are still getting settled and used to our new home in Kansas City. We are learning new ways to keep entertained while the heat and humidity keep us inside most of the time. But in the evenings we venture out, to the grass hill behind our town home or a stroll along the creek to a neighboring park, we are learning and we are slowly adjusting to this new place.

Luckily we live by an amazing park. Almost every night after dinner we stroll down to the creek and walk along the trail to the pirate park. And the boys just love this place. The pirate ship has swings and slides and lots to play on and we just love it.

This park also hosts concerts in the summer with lots of yummy treats to try and cool little give aways. We decided to head over and check one of these concerts out and the kids just had a blast.

Fisher loved watching all of the bands playing.

We are still getting use to the above a hundred degree plus humidity weather around here. Thankfully, we have a small patio area off our back door that's in the shade in the early morning. We make sure to go out there for a little bit every morning before it gets too insanely hot.

I should also note... I LOVE sidewalk chalk. LOVE IT!

The kids just love getting outside and just playing and coloring.

I can't believe how big she is getting!!

happy fourth

2011-07-14T08:22:00.002-06:00

This fourth of July, I was busy in the kitchen cooking and baking and preparing to celebrate Wayne's birthday, my mother turning 60 and of course celebrating our wonderful freedom in our amazing and beautiful country.

I woke up at 5:30 to start pulled pork tacos, shredded chicken tacos and of course chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes and brownies. Sadly, my camera took a back seat to all of the festivities... someones got to cook around here!

However, after our huge lunch and birthday celebrations, Fisher and I decided to go for a walk while the others were inside trying to nap. It was just me and him and he just loved watch all of the flags.

It was a sweet moment. I just love watching him.

After naps, we took the boys to go see Cars 2 in the movie theater. My brother and his fiance tagged along and even bought them popcorn... which was a huge hit! After the movie, my parents and all of us walked down to the nearby park to watch the fireworks. The boys just loved it and fireworks are one of Fisher's new and favorite things.

It was such a wonderful fourth of July and I am so blessed and so happy that I got to share one of my favorite holidays with my family!

catching up... finally!

2011-07-13T14:55:00.002-06:00

It's been a long time since I have last post. It's been crazy busy moving from friends to my parents and finally, now, we have arrived in Kansas City, living in a rental till we find a house.

We had a lot of fun going to parks and zoos with family and good friends. Colorado was a blast and the boys just loved living with their grandparents and having cousins close by to play with.

When we were living with our friends, Wayne and Amy, they decided to take us to this huge and very fun wooden park. The boys just absolutely loved it!

It was definitely a fun park with lots to play and do. There are tunnels and slides everywhere, but it's a little nerve racking because it's so big, but fun for sure.

Cute little Finn, happily swinging.

Peak-a-boo! I see you!

And Miss Bre loved swinging as well.

It was so nice having my sister and her kids so close to my parents while we were in Colorado. We went to the pool and parks so much and the boys just loved having their cousins to play with. This is Miss Paige, my niece, who has the biggest imagination ever! she is so sweet.

We also went to the Denver Zoo a lot while we were there. I met up with my college roommate, Katie, and her little boy Dane and husband. Her friend, Jess and her twins tagged along for the fun as well.

Her is Katie and her cute little man Dane. He loved Chase!

And my little boy Fisher is absolutely fearless when it comes to animals. He had no problem walking up to this peacock, which in turn, spread it's feathers. Fisher loved it and even tried to pet the peacock till I intervened.

Here are all the kiddos, enjoying the zoo!

I love this picture. Chase would not take his hand off of the gorilla. He just kept staring at it... thinking it was real.

Sabrina enjoyed the zoo as well! I love that she is starting to get excited about things and animals!

When Wayne flew into town for a weekend we decided to take him down to Colorado Springs to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. I haven't been since I was really little but I remember that they let you feed the giraffes there. It was so much fun and they come so close to you that you can actually pet them.

Fisher didn't quite know what to think of this, but both boys just absolutely loved petting the giraffes and seeing them so close. Visiting the zoos and all the parks were so much fun! We had some great memories from this summer so far.

to my utah family, i love you

2011-05-23T11:16:00.008-06:00

I just got back from the most wonderful, much needed, well deserved girls trip to Arizona. It was beautiful, sunny and warm. No kids, no laundry, no dishes, no schedules. Just us girls. It was awesome!

However, I come back home to rooms stacked full of boxes, clothes ready to be put in boxes and random piles of papers and clutter that need to be organized and filed so that they too can go in boxes. It's chaos here and time is quickly ticking down to when we need to get all packed, cleaned and ready to move.

I just have a feeling that the next two months are just going to be pure chaos. Wayne leaves next Monday to start his new job in Kansas City. Fisher still has a another whole month here at his school, so we will be moving in with wonderful friends, while me and the three kids tightly share a room. Then it's off to Colorado to live with my parents so that we can finally decide on a place to live in Kansas. Yes, I am trying my hardest not to panic and not to explode with emotion and tears. This is all just happening so fast and I still feel like there is so much to do.

I know moving to Kansas City will be a great and wonderful experience for both Wayne and our family, but I am not ready to say goodbye yet. There is still so much I want to go and do and visit before I leave. There are so many people I want to say goodbye to and share a laugh with.

I just can't believe that this is our last week here in our home. The home where we brought all three of our little babies to. The home that they learned to crawl and walk in. The home we celebrated their first Christmas' in. Our tiny little home that I complained was too small for us, too cramped for us. There are so many things I will miss about this home, this neighborhood, this city. I will miss my daily trip to Smith's marketplace, where I just walked with my babies, browsing and buying more useless junk to fill up my tiny little home. I will miss the walks to the park for playdates with my friends or the times we brought all of our toys and bikes to the church's gym in the winter just so us moms could get them to run their energy out. I will miss birthday celebrations at Red Robbin after the zoo. Girl's Nights out to some great and some not so great movies, just laughing and cracking up the whole time. I will miss Fisher's school and amazing teacher who taught my non-verbal son to talk and point and repeat words. Sweet words like "i love you mommy". I will miss walks around my neighborhood, sunsets in the mountains, hugs from sweet friends.

The time is quickly coming and I don't want it to yet. As much as I am looking forward to starting a great new chapter with my husband and kids. And as much as I am looking forward to moving into a bigger home, with more room and a basebment and a place for my kids to play and play. I just am not ready to close the book on this chapter yet. This was a great chapter in my life with great and wonderful people and learning and beautiful moments that I just want to hold on to for a little bit longer.

But if this chapter has to end, at least it's ending the way I would want it. Spending a fantastic weekend laughing my butt off with amazing friends, packing up my house with new and beautiful friends, and crying in the arms of my favorite people. Yes, this chapter is ending just beautifully.

To my Utah family, I love you!

another place we will so miss

2011-05-18T14:02:00.000-06:00

We love going to the zoo. We go there a lot and we are so going to miss it. It's become a place where we go with our best of friends. We've celebrated birthdays there. We've walked and explored, rode trains and wooden animals there. We love the hogle zoo... it will be greatly missed.

However, the zoo just got a little bit more exciting. It has dinosaurs now. Big ones! They move and roar and even spit water! To my little guys... this was cool. Way cool!

Yes, if you are a boy or a girl who just so happens to love dinosaurs, I sugest you head on over to the Hogle zoo. They will LOVE it!

Just check out t-rex. So big and so cool!

And they are everywhere throughout the zoo. They are in the duck pond, a long the train ride, and even up on your way to the tigers.

Plus there is a big one just for sitting on.

Which Chase just loved.

It was fun to take the grandparents and show them our zoo!

And of course we loved it so much that Wayne just wanted to come and check out these dinosaurs. Our last trip as a family to the Hogle zoo. It was fun to have him with us!

We will miss the zoo... so so much!

to see the flowers

2011-05-16T11:36:00.001-06:00

Since this is most likely the last time my parents will come to visit Utah, I just had to take them downtown to Temple Square and show them the beautiful flowers. The flowers are at their peakness in blooming and it just smelled so wonderful and looked absolutely beautiful.

It was a perfect day to just walk and look. The sun was shining and the gardens just welecomed us with all of their beauty.

My parents loved this place. They enjoyed every minute of it. And watching and bonding with their cute grandkids make this trip even more special.

Yay for fun fountains!

I love this picture. My family...

Fisher and I! He is finally all recovered from his surgeries! He is back to his old self, laughing and smiling and running around! He is such a cute kid!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

a favorite we will miss

2011-05-13T13:17:00.000-06:00

Blogger decided on it's own that it was just going to randomly delete my last post. A post I posted on tuesday none the less. So I thought I would share the cute pictures, but spare you all of the writing that went with it.

My mine is overwhelmed with boxes and cleaning supplies and the short time we are quickly running out of...

Behold our trip to the museum... a favorite we will miss so terribly!

a favorite we will miss

2011-05-11T21:47:00.000-06:00

We like dinosaurs here in our home. Thankfully, we have one of the largest and coolest dinosaur museum just a little bit away from us. One that we are so going to miss. So naturally, we just had to take grandma and grandpa and show them all the cool things this place has.

Chase is a great tour guide. He will point out every. single. dinosaur. And he will make sure that you see every single dinosaur he points out.

He has the greatest relationship with my dad. I just love these two together.

Poor little guy.This surgery was a hard on him. I cannot wait for him to just get better and just start feeling better.

But he found his fish tank, which he just absolutely loves. He could literally watch fish for hours.

My parents just loved visiting this museum. They wanted to stay and just look at everything. It's a fun place to be for sure and I know it is just one of they many places we are so going to miss about leaving Utah.

our little trooper

2011-05-05T21:45:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a long day for us. With the dilemma of Fisher possibly having sleep apnea and with the suggestion of our wonderful pediatrician, we had Fisher's tonsils and adenoids removed. It was a blessing for sure since both his adenoids and tonsils were quite enlarged and obstructing some of his breathing airways. Needless to say, our little man is quite the trooper and is on to a better recovery today.

Here he is with his dad waiting for the anesthesiologist. From the moment we got into this room and had him change into his hospital gowns, Fisher knew something was up. Luckily his dad found some really fun YouTube videos on his phone to help distract him.

Fisher did absolutely amazing for such a scary and unfamiliar experience. He was a little shaken up once he woke up from surgery and would not let go of me the minute he saw me. Today he was having a bad experience to the pain medicine they prescribed to him. It would keep him up and from 2:30am till 2:30pm Fisher hadn't slept. Thankfully, after bugging his doctor, they prescribed him a new pain medicine and literally after 15 minutes of taking it Fisher felt a whole lot better. He finally ate, drank and even ran around a little bit with his brother. Hopefully it will continue to work and he will be able to sleep tonight.

I am so extremely proud of my little Fisher for being so brave and so wonderful during such a traumatic experience. He is such a sweet little boy and its never fun seeing your little one in any kind of discomfort or pain. Thankfully he is doing so much better and becoming his old self again!

six months

2011-05-02T09:34:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Miss Bre turned six months old. Six months! That's half a year folks! And my oh my has my baby girl grown and changed.

She is a happy and fun little girl who just loves attention and absolutely loves her daddy! The minute Wayne comes home from work she has to be in his arms. She just watches and smiles and stares at him constantly.

She also happens to think that her big brother Fisher is the funiest because she laughs at everything he does. Chase is pretty funny too, but Fisher makes her laugh every time.

Sabrina has grown so much now. She rolls all over the places and ends up everywhere. She is almost sitting up by herself and is just loving jumping in her jumper. She is finally eating and is loving everything, finally! I was getting a little worried there for a minute. She eats three times a day and eats almost the size 2 jars everytime. Her favorites are squash, carrots and applesauce. She also drinks 4 - 7 ounces four to five times a day still.

And boy is this girl growing! She is currently wearing 6-9 months clothing, but the six month pajamas are getting a little snug... so alsmot to nine months size clothing! Yeah, Bre is tall and chunky and I just absolutely love the rolls on her thighs. Ok, I love the rolls everywhere! She is now wearing size 3 diapers and is sleeping wonderfully through the night. She goes to bed at 8:30 and wakes up at 8 in the morning. She is just pefect!

Yes, we love our little Sabrina! She fits perfectly in our family and I just cannot image life without her! I love her smile and laugh. Those big brown eyes and pouty lips melt my heart everytime. I love that she just absolutely loves her daddy and that she just loves laying and playing with me. Miss Sabrina is our happy little girl and I just can't get enough of her!

random happenings

2011-04-28T10:09:00.001-06:00

Look at these two... they just express trouble... dont they?

These two boys are just the best of friends. I love just watching them play together, run around and just laugh together. I love that Fisher has learn so much from Chase. He will repeat everything Chase says and he will do everything Chase does. Chase has helped his older brother is so many ways, and I am so ever greatful for the many blessings they will give each other. Chase adores Fisher and wants to be where he is at all times. He follows him, mimics him, he has become a great shadow to his older brother.

Lately Chase has become our stylist. Picking out what he wants to wear everyday. Lately it has been between this green button up shirt or his shark shirt. Most days I have to convince him to wear something else. If it has a truck, dinosaur or giraff he is ok with it, but he will talk about that shark shirt all morning.

They are funny and cute little boys that are so fun to watch. I just love how much their personalities are showing through.

And this little girl is just one happy baby! I love that smile of hers! And I am just loving that she is totally into eating solids now. She loves everything!! EVERYTHING! Yay!

Look at those rolls! She is my chunck... but I love those legs of hers!

Hope you all are having a wonderful week!

two

2011-04-21T11:56:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet, funny and cuddlely little boy! He turns two this friday and I know that I say it a lot but I just can't believe he is two already!

Chase is our comedian, our chatty one, the one who loves to be around people and just laugh and play. He is the one who is turning two but thinks he is turning four. He is into everything and once he meets you, you are a friend for life. He is a great big brother to his baby sister and a best friend to his older brother. They do everything together and I am just loving their bond. They will always be great friends and Chase has been one of the greatest blessings to our family for many reasons!

Happy Birthday funny boy! I love you with all of my heart, body and soul. You have been one of the sweetest and greatest blessings a mommy could ask for. You make me laugh and smile every day. You encourage me to love in new ways. I love watching you grow, talk and live. You are our little ham and I just could not image life without you!

Love you!

a night at the aquarium

2011-04-20T14:45:00.000-06:00

Monday night our local aquarium hosted a free night for children with autism and their families to come after hours and walk and enjoy the animals. One of Fisher's favorite things is water. Add a couple fish and some bubbles and he loves it even more.

This boy could seriously just sit and watch fish swim and bubbles float in water for hours.

I love just watching them.

I am so thankful that our aquarium hosted such a wonderful night for my family and for so many other families. It was a great and wonderful experience and their kindness just absolutely amazes me.

spring flowers

2011-04-20T14:36:00.001-06:00

Sunday afternoon we decided to go down to beautiful Temple Square to get some pictures of the boys with the blooming flowers. The boys didn't really want to get their pictures taken, they wanted to run and play instead. Good thing the flowers were beautiful and it smelled just absolutely amazing!

The day was just beautiful and perfect. It was so nice to just get out and get some fresh air.

And thank you Spring for bringing such gorgeous flowers!!

dino-mite party!

2011-04-19T09:38:00.000-06:00

This weekend we celebrated Chase turning 2! We had a fun dinosaur party at our local park and invited all of our good friends and adopted grandparents and aunts to come party with us!

I had a fun time planning and putting together this fun little party. I am so thankful for all of our friends offering to bring yummy food and snacks for all of us to munch on! And the swamp water punch... a yummy drink indeed!!

We decided to do a dino-egg hunt for all of the kids. It was so much fun to watch them all run around looking and collecting brightly colored eggs hidden throughout the park.

Inside each little egg was a brightly colored dinosaur that the kids got to keep and take home!

After the egg hunt it was cupcake time! In true fashion, I couldn't find the candles I packed till after we sang and ate cupcakes, but Chase didn't mind... he loved digging in!

I made chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes from scratch and they were A-MAZ-ing! Seriously, so yummy!!

We had such a fun time celebrating and being with such great friends. We are so going to miss partying with our close friends here, I am so glad that this was such a fun one to remember!

discovering

2011-04-13T10:08:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I helped volunteer for Fisher's feildtrip to the discovery center at the Gateway. He loved it!! I loved it! It was just us two for a couple of hours. I just enjoyed every minute, watching him run and play, explore and just smile with excitement. It was such a trip for both of us.

The minute we got there Fisher looked and watch with wonderment. His head was constantly looking up, there was so much to see and watch!

His favorite parts of the whole place was playing in the water, hoarding all of the toys, or walking around with this popping thing. Seriously... it took a little while to get him to explore and play with more. But he loved it!

I absolutely loved watching him. I wish I could figure out what he is thinking...

And can I just tell you how much I am loving that baby girl has found and is loving her feet?! It is so cute and I just love it!!

So cute!!

Hope you are all having a great week!!

packing up

2011-04-11T09:27:00.001-06:00

As many of you already know, we Crowders are moving out to the mid-west. Wayne was offered a wonderful opportunity to work in his corporate office doing the work he is so passionate and so excited to be involved in. After much deliberation and prayers, we agreed that this would be a wonderful move for both Wayne and our family.

We were able to work with the school district in Kansas City to get Fisher into another great program for autistic children. Although we are so sad to see him leave the wonderful school he is in now, we feel like this new program will be just as good and we are excited to see him grow and shine in this new place.

I know that we still have a few more months here in beautiful Utah with our amazing friends, who have become our family here, but it hit me yesterday just knowing that those two months aren't really a whole lot of time. I will be sad to leave all of my great friends here, the mountains, the beautiful weather and the quick drive to Colorado.

But I know that this opportunity is a great one, and it is one that will help us grow and develop as a family.

We will definitely miss Utah and always remember it. It was our first home as a family. It's where our children were born. It's were most of our memories and wonderful moments were created. We will miss it, but I am sure we will be back! They always come back... right?

i am going to pretend that it's NOT snowing outside

2011-04-07T13:14:00.002-06:00

I am going to pretend that the white stuff that is falling from the dark clouds in the sky is not snow. I am SO over it and I am not going to let it win.

Instead, I am going to post pictures from last Friday, when it was a wonderful 73 degrees and the sun was out so we ventured out too.

Seriously. We made sure to take plenty advantage of that wonderful weather and day.

We went and met friends and played and run and just loved being at the park.

Thank you sunshine!

We hurried after wonderful naps to make it to the zoo so we could walk and watch the animals. We remembered what a wonderful treat it is to be able to ride our favorite animal up and down on the carousel.

Thank you wonderful weather!

We ran around and even went to the park after dinner, because it was still that nice outside!

Thank you, thank you spring for finally showing up!

Yes, so I am just going to relive those happy days with the wonderful sun and hope that this snow decides that it doesn't want to stay too long, we have a lot more fun things we need to do!!

awareness

2011-04-01T08:58:00.000-06:00

April is Autism Awareness month and April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day, and tonight and tomorrow night prominent buildings across North America and the world — including the Empire State Building in New York City and the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada — will turn their lights blue to raise awareness for autism.

As many of you know Autism is something that hits close to home here. Last March, our little Fisher was diagnosed with Autism and our world quickly changed. We always knew how special and unique our little guy truly was, we just had know idea that he would be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. If you want to read more about our first discovery of Fisher's diagnosis you can read it here.

It's crazy to think how many children our diagnosed with autism every year and yet many families struggle to find and get the help for these beautiful and unique children. I am a huge advocate to help make people more aware and to help more with answers and help.

So for today and even tomorrow, I say we all should help light it up blue and wear blue! Let's get more people aware!!

for more info on light it up blue and autism check out Light it up Blue

five months

2011-03-31T08:42:00.000-06:00

Sabrina is five months today. She is a laughing, cuddly, growing little girl who just loves attention and smiles from everyone. She is taking after her oldest brother and is growing like a weed! She is so long and tall and can I just tell you, I am so loving these rolls of her!

Her favorites things right now are bath time, tummy time and just talking with her mom and dad. She loves to be held outward not so much inward and if she is sitting up, she is one happy girl! She also just loves laying on the ground and watching everyone else. She kicks and rolls and ends up in many different positions and places. Almost every morning she has one leg sticking out of her crib... it's too funny!

So far Miss Bre does not enjoy solids of any kind. Once in awhile she will eat some cereal and a little bit of sweet potatoes but most of the time she isn't a big fan and quickly learns to keep her tongue out so no spoon can get in. She only likes a bottle if anyone but mom gives it to her and that is if she is really hungry. But from the look of it, she doesn't look like she is starving yet, so we are okay for now.

But I am so loving my sweet and smiley little girl. I love the moments where she laughs and talks and coos. I am loving her big brown eyes and those yummy chunky legs of her.

"tractor"

2011-03-29T17:49:00.001-06:00

"look mama! Tractor!"

That is all I have heard this afternoon. The gas people are working on something across our street and right outside in perfect view is a big, yellow digger or 'tractor' according to Chase. So after Chase's nap, he watched this 'tractor' for awhile before he decided that he should be closer. Yes, he needed to go outside to watch it.

The minute we walked outside, he kept yelling "tractor, tractor" till finally one of the very nice gas man asked if he would like to have a closer look, which immediately followed him getting inside and actually sitting in the tractor. He couldn't have been happier.

Luckily for us the digger was still there after we picked Fisher up from school. They were busy working so we couldn't get in it again, but we could watch from afar, which the boys did for quite some time!

And in case I couldn't see it, Chase kept pointing it out to me. And he hasn't stopped talking about it either. What a great day for the boys!

Looking at these pictures reminds me that I have a TON of yard work to do!

i know...

2011-03-28T09:48:00.000-06:00

I post A LOT of pictures of the kids in the bath. But what can I say? We love our bath time around here. And when daddy's away for the weekend, bath time is ALWAYS a nightly routine. The boys play and have fun, and I can just sit and watch and laugh with them for awhile.

Plus, I don't have any pictures of Brina in the bath, but I am sure I will be taking plenty more!

She takes after her brothers. She just absolutely loves bath time.

She laughs and coos and kicks and splashes.

And the boys are always finding new fun ways to enjoy the warm and bubbly water.

Ahh yes... we love ourselves some clean babies around here!

oops!

2011-03-26T14:37:00.000-06:00

Just a little advice. When your very chatty and very loud almost two year old is quiet for more than 10 minutes, it probably means he is into something he shouldn't.

I unfortunately learned this the hard way...

I know I shouldn't keep any form of writing utensil around where little ones can find them, but somehow they always seem to find them when you think all pens and markers and crayons are lost.

Needless to say, he was pretty proud of his coloring job. When I caught him in the act he yelled, "look mama! Coloring!"

It's a good thing he is so stinking cute!!

let's talk about fishing...

2011-03-22T13:47:00.000-06:00

Well... it's the beginning of spring and that can only mean one thing, fishing season.

Every year Wayne is asked to speak about catching fish and places to and all things fishing at the Utah International Sportsmen Expo. He absolutely loves doing this and it's so fun to watch him in his element and catch up with old fishing buddies who come by to see him.

This year was a little different. Normally they have a huge tank full of tons of fish and Wayne is usually up on a platform showing them how to fish. This time, it was just him and a microphone and hour of just talking and answering questions. Luckily, there are a lot of guys out there who are very curious about catching fish and he had lots of time helping them out.

I love this picture of Chase trying to get his dad's attention while he is talking to the audience. Too Cute!

You got to keep the boys entertained! Shouldn't they be paying attention to how to catch fish?

Cute little Finn was pretty entertained! His new dinosaur kept him pretty busy!

We had a fun time going and watching Wayne in his element. The weather is getting warmer and there is a fishing boat in our driveway now. That can only mean one thing... I will soon be a bass widow for the summer!

Hope you guys are all ready for spring!

green with everything

2011-03-17T13:54:00.000-06:00

It's March 17th and we woke up to some mischievous little leprechauns this morning!

They turned our pancakes green...

And they turned our milk green... and they were going to turn our mac and cheese green tonight, but we quickly realized that Fisher will not eat nor drink anything green. So... no more green food for us Crowders today. Although, we did have green guacamole for lunch. And we are still planing on some pretty green diapers later... that I am sure of!

And look who found a green shirt their closet! Someone is starting to get in the green spirit! :)

After all of the little mischievous happenings, we made Chase clean up. Sometimes we let him use a broom.

Oh, and the sticker on the back, yeah, he put that on himself. No blaming the parents on that one...

We hope you guys all have a wonderful and happy St. Patrick's day too!

gettin' dirty

2011-03-14T12:09:00.000-06:00

Hello Sunshine!

We had such awesome weather the past few days. The sun was out, it was warm and the yard was dry enough to play in... and get real dirty!

The boys went all out and were so excited to just be outside and run around and count rocks.. lots and lots of rocks!

We got super dirty, but we don't mind, because in this house we love our baths... almost as much as we love dirt! ;)

firsts

2011-03-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

Today miss Bre tried her first taste of rice cereal. I thought for sure that she wouldn't be a big fan of it, but to my surprise, after the first two bites she actually didn't mind it and ate a lot more than I expected.

Looks like this little girl is going to be an eater! :)

Not so sure at first...

Yummy... organic brown rice cereal.

Look at that face! I just love it! Even if it's covered in cereal!

Here we are to trying new things!

girls weekend

2011-03-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

warning: this post contains A LOT of photos!

This past weekend Sabrina and I headed out to wonderful Colorado to celebrate many things. My best friend since the seventh grade is expecting her first baby this April and wanted me to celebrate with her. Of course I told her I would be there no matter what, but it also just so happened to be my dad's birthday that day as well. And to make it even more enjoyable, my old college roommate moved in just down the street from my parents... so we had to meet up as well!

To say the least it was a very fun and very full weekend. Sabrina and I enjoyed every minute of it!

The last time I saw my old roommate, Katie, was last year. She was eight months pregnant with her son Dane and I had just learned that I was expecting Sabrina. So we were both so excited that she moved right down the street from my parents and it made it so easy to get together and get these two little people to meet!

This little man is the cutest little boy. I love his cheeks and blue eyes and he was just so mellow and happy!

Katie and her cute, cute little boy!

I was so excited and so thrilled to help celebrate my best friend, Jess, expecting her first little baby this April. She had such a great little shower and I got to help by capturing some of the fun moments for her.

The cute mom to be!

The cutest and yummiest cake!

This is Sabrina and her new little friend Tinsley. Tinsley is exactly one week older and she sure was such a fun and cute little baby.

My mom and Jess. And Tinsley and her mom Tina.

Me with the new mom to be! So happy for her!

Saturday my dad celebrated his 68th birthday. My mom decided to make reservations at this super yummy restaurant Bone Fish and we had so much fun celebrating. It was so good to be with family.

The birthday boy!

My sister, Amanda, and I. There is never a dull moment when we get together. Seriously one of the funniest people I know!

My sister and her husband Steve(who by the way I have known since the seventh grade).

My brother Geoff and his new and very cute fiancée Ivon. So excited to have her in our family! She fits in perfectly and I haven't seen my brother happier!

My very cute parents!

And here I am with my date! She seriously had a thing with licking her shirt that night. Every picture she was licking it. But I love this picture and I think it's absolutely hilarious!!

I had such a fun weekend in Colorado. It went by way too fast, but I was so happy to come home and see my boys and Wayne who I missed so much!

till the next trip to colorado...

so blessed

2011-03-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

This morning I was getting ready to take some pictures of Sabrina when the boys decided to join in. I loved capturing them together. You can really see that these three are going to be really close.

They just love playing and being with each other.

Let's do tummy time together!

Love these faces!!

I am so blessed

my view

2011-03-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

The view from my seat...

Yesterday I got the privilege to go and volunteer at Fisher's school and learn the core structures and techniques they use when they work with him. They recommend that each parent comes at least once a month for three hours at a time and learn the training the teachers use when they are helping their students learn and function. I was more than excited for this wonderful opportunity and was so eager to learn as much as I can so that I can take this training and use it in our home.

The minute I arrived they had me sit down with Fisher's teacher and watch how she works with him. Right now we are trying to get Fisher to stay focused, respond to his name and make eye contact. Fisher was so excited to see me and a little confused as to why I was there that he had a really hard time staying focused. But after a few minutes he got right back into the program and I was able to work one on one with him the way the teachers would. I was so happy to see this little boy of mine grow and learn and smile and laugh. He showed me his favorite toys, and where he sits and he would grab my hand every so often to make sure I would look at him and acknowledge him. I got to join him with singing and reading time and then I went to lunch with him.

I am amazed at this little boy. His teacher and aids told me that he is a really fast learner and a lot smarter than we think, than he leads us on to believe. He has passed almost all of his core learning and is beginning to move on to newer and harder things. He is beginning to learn more words and I am excited to see what the next few months will bring for him! I mean the other day I caught him counting to ten! I was SO happy to hear those numbers.

I am so grateful that I have these opportunities to work one on one with my son and help him grow and succeed. I am really blessed to have him in such a wonderful program and school to help both of us on our journey.

WHO DO YOU THINK SHE LOOKS LIKE?

As I am watching Sabrina grow I am noticing more and more how much she looks like her two older brothers. Her two brothers who don't look a lot a like. Somehow I think Sabrina got a good mix of the two (in my opinion). A lot of her facial expressions remind me so much of Fisher and she is a chunk just like Fisher was but when she is sleeping and when she smiles she looks just like Chase.

I don't know... what do you think?

four months

2011-03-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe my baby girl is four months now.

Where or where did the time go? She is such a fun baby. She is always so happy and smiling and just loves any attention she can get. Almost anything these days can get a laugh from her, especially her older brothers when they give her a little bit of their time. She is rolling over now and just loves sitting up (assisted of course!). I love the little personality she has. She makes me smile and I am so grateful everyday to have this little girl in my life.

She is just too cute and I love her to pieces!

superhero

2011-02-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

Fisher's school designed these t-shirts for families to purchase this year. I bought one for Fisher and one for me to help support the cause and give back to this place we so love. We didn't know what the shirt looked like or what it would say, but when he came home with his on yesterday my eyes teared up and I smiled just watching him run around.

He is so excited of his new shirt and he wears it so proudly. He deserves that cape, he truly is a superhero and will always be one to me.

This post couldn't come at a better time. Lately I have been struggling and fighting emotions as we watch Fisher grow and develop. Things that we thought we were lucky to avoiding are now showing up and Fisher's lack of communication has created new frustrations for both him and us. Even though we are seeing some major improvements in his social skills and new words, he is regressing in eye contact again and we feel like we are back at the starting line. He is learning new ways to express his frustrations, which in turn create tensions in us as parents. He has discovered the lovely sound of a high pitch scream and has quickly learned that when things don't go his way he can scream till someone caves in. The hardest thing for us as parents is learning how to discipline since he thinks time out is a fun little game of catching him and making him sit down.

Ahh... the joys of parenthood. Even though we are at a small little bump in our road to growth with Fisher, I am still seeing such amazing things come from this little boy. He is such a loving little boy, who loves his little brother and absolutely adores his baby sister. His smile makes my day and the fact that this little boy has made huge improvements in the 2 short months at his new school gives me so much hope that he can only continue to progress and grow. Getting him to talk is by far one of the most frustrating and hardest thing I have done as a parent thus far, but I know the reward for this will be so much greater.

He is an amazing little boy who I absolutely love with all of my heart. I know he will do great things and I am so excited for the person he will become.

thank you presidents...

2011-02-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

... for giving us a three day weekend!

For the first time ever, we went and visited our dinosaur museum down in Thanksgiving Point. I was super excited because I have been wanting to take the boys there for what seems like forever. Thankfully, Wayne had Monday off and we ventured down there early Monday morning. The minute we drove by the big building with the large T-Rex on it, the boys got excited and Chase started roaring the whole time till we walked inside.

The boys had an absolute blast walking through this really cool and really big museum. They loved every single minute of it.

This is a really neat museum and I can't believe it has taken us this long to go and visit it. It's definitely something we will have to do with our boys again.

It's no surprise that Fisher's favorite part was the under the water part. He loves anything to do with water and they have this little fish tank full of fish and he just stood there watching them swim around. I am pretty sure he would stay there for as long as we would let him... maybe it's time to get a tank of our own. Maybe...

And as Wayne and I were walking around we noticed these gnomes in weird places. It turns out, after I googled it, that there is a game for those who visit the museum quite frequently. Apparently there are 13 gnomes hidden in the museum and they are hidden pretty difficult. I guess the Denver Museum even does this and has 9 gnomes hidden throughout their museum.

So there you go.. if you go quite a bit you have something new to look for. Here are two for you to get started!

snowman

2011-02-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were reminded that we are still in the middle of winter. Even though we were blessed with wonderful, almost warm weather a few days earlier.

So we decided to make the most of it and go out and play in it.

The boys weren't too sure about being in the snow at first.

And at times they both made bee lines to the front door begging to go in.

But once we started building our snowman and getting our gloves wet and covered in snow, they begin to enjoy being out in the white stuff more and more.

They thought this little snowman was the greatest thing ever! Wayne did a great job finding twigs and rocks for eyes and a smile.

Our little snowman turned out great! Chase calls him our "nomin". They even run to the window every so often just to check on him!

It was so fun capturing this first moment with them!

new things

2011-02-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

Look who is starting to roll over! It's crazy how fast this time is flying and that we are now to the point where we have to watch yet another little mover. She doesn't stay still long, or in one place for that matter. And even when we put her in her bouncing chair she still tries her hardest to sit up.

She is just so fun to watch and her smile is just addictive!

And these two keeping growing and learning. The other day we were doing our alphabet flashcards and I was just amazed at how much these two really know. I am so happy and excited with every new word that Fisher says... and saying letters gets me so excited! It's fun to listen and see what else Chase knows and discovers. He is one very smart and very chatty little boy!

And I just love this picture of Fisher with his blankie. It looks like he is screaming but he is really singing. He sings a lot these days and a lot of times it's just quiet and he is singing softly to himself. I love just listening to him while he does this. It's become one of my favorite sounds these days!

best buds

2011-02-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

The two guys love each other. They make each other laugh and smile and they are always running around together.

There is never a quiet moment with these two.

But I don't mind.

I love their laughter.

I love their smiles.

They are just that... best buds!

happy valentine's day!

2011-02-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

Sending lots of love your way...

Happy Valentine's Day!

i 'heart' you!

2011-02-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

Today we spent the day taking some valentine's day pictures to send to grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends.

We had fun cutting out paper hearts and sticking them to our walls and playing with them on the ground.

My heart is full this valentine's. I have a lot to be thankful for and to celebrate and I am looking forward to many more days like this!

Hope you all have a great and wonderful Valentine's day!

full house

2011-02-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since our house has been full of guest.

Since family has come through our doors, hugging and laughing and creating new memories.

It's been too long since Wayne has embraced his mother, brother and sister, and shared with him the joys of his new little family. But time stopped still the moment they arrived and our house became cozy and full and happy.

The kids just loved having these guest in our home. They were cuddled, and loved and tossed around.

They smiled and laughed and wanted to be with their aunt and uncles every minute!

Wayne's mom, Pat, meeting her sweet granddaughter for the first time. I love this picture of them!

When everyone first arrived we took them out to dinner and they all wanted to walk through Temple Square downtown. It was a cold night but it was so much fun walking through the Square and visiting all of the centers down there.

There seriously was never a dull moment with our family here! Chase loved watching and being with everyone! He was definitely entertained the entire time our guest were here!

Who can resist some good old home cooking from your mama? The Crowder"s and their cooking... yumm!

Pat giving her children some beef stew 101

Chase and his best buddy Uncle Derek.

This was his best pal. Both boys just loved having their Uncle around. From the moment they woke up to the time they went to bed, they were by Derek's side. They could not get enough of him!

Emily and her boyfriend Jeff, aka soon to be fiancée. They are a cute cute couple and we were so happy that Jeff was able to make it out on this trip and meet the family!

We love having company over, especially when it is family! It really meant a lot to Wayne to have his family finally come up and see where we live, to see our cute family and to share in our wonderful moments. I know he misses his family a lot and this was a wonderful weekend shared with great people!

three

2011-01-31T09:29:00.000-07:00

It's hard to image that just three months ago this little girl entered this world and became part of this beautiful family. She has grown and blossomed into this fun and bubbly little person, with a smile that melts your heart and a laugh that makes your day!

I can't believe how big she is getting and I am loving the rolls and chubby cheeks she has. She is such a wonderful baby with such a calm personality. She just loves watching everybody, especially her crazy brothers!. She weights close to 12 pounds and is becoming quite tall. She loves to laugh and talk and play with her hands. Sabrina is just so much fun!

hurry up spring!

2011-01-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

In our household, we are ready for spring.

After fighting nasty colds, yucky stomach bugs and multiple double ear infections, I think it's safe to say that we would like the sun and warm weather to arrive and stay and play for awhile.

We would just like to go outside and soak up those magnificent Utah rays and some much needed vitamin D.

Hurry up Spring... we miss you!

But this winter started off with great beginnings and new and exciting growth in our gentle giant. Fisher has been going to his new school for almost a month and in that short time frame he has shown great strides and major improvements.

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am for this little guy!

He rides the bus everyday to school and is loving it! (After a few days of tears and not so sure feelings of course) He is responding to his name, making eye contact and is even beginning to put together two word sentences! He is learning so much and I am so excited for this new program with him. He even went on his first field trip to the zoo and loved every minute of it!

We are in the process of working with a new speech therapist and creating a special book to help him communicate. I am excited that I get to work with the therapist and help create this book for him. I am anticipating to see how this book will help and to see Fisher grow in his communication skills. He is making such great progress and I just love watching him grow.

Yes, we are full of smiles here. And this little smile always makes us happy!

So as we patiently wait for spring to arrive, we will try our best to enjoy the last of winter. I mean we still have what... two, three more months yet?

At least we have our smiles!

flowers

2011-01-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

Wayne surprised me for our four year anniversary with flowers. He always surprises me with flowers, but these flowers are unique and beautifully strange and I have no clue what kind of flowers they are. I have never seen anything like them, but I love them!

They are big and fuzzy and sharp and elegant.

I wish I knew what they are.

But I absolutely love admiring them day after day...

the ride

2011-01-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

We have been invited by Wayne's boss to come down to his neighborhood to let the boys ride their horse. They have been begging us to come for months now, and we finally made it work this past Saturday.

And let me tell you, it was such an amazing and wonderful experience for all of us.

Fisher has always loved horses. They are one of his favorite animals, and when we walked into the barn and he saw the many different horses, he squealed and jumped with excitement.

Their horse's name was Jessie and she was the sweetest most gentle horse. I was nervous about how Fisher was going to do riding her, but once he got on and got used to the gentle and soothing movement, he was hooked and he was in heaven.

He loved every. single. minute. of it!

And so did Chase. They loved just walking around and swaying to Jessie's steps.

It was such a wonderful time.

I was so happy to watch my boys try this new and exciting thing and just love everything about it. They laughed, smiled and talked away with their enjoyment. I am so thankful that Rich and Leesie and their kids took the time to make this so special and easy for us. It was such a fun time for our family!

And Sabrina was a trooper just hanging out with Rich and watching us from afar. This is the sweetest cat I have ever met! He loved being around us!

simply put...

2011-01-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

I love this face!

She melts my heart everyday! Ahh... love these kids of mine!

baby, it's cold outside

2011-01-11T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's cold. Really, really cold.

However, this cold weather has created some pretty sweet icicles on our home.

Every year, when the weather warms up just enough to slowly melt the snow, our home becomes covered with these long and majestic icicles. And every year I tell myself that I am going to capture these creations, and I fail at that goal completely. Every year.

Until now!

Seriously, we have tons of them and they are awesome!

Just thought I would share!

And I thought I would share some 'little kisses' as well!

Love these moments!

strength

2011-01-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

2011. A new year. A new Start. A year that is going to be great and full of accomplishments.

I am following the trend of some of my great friends and favorite bloggers and having a word for the year 2011. A word that would best help me with the long list of resolutions I made for the year. It's a word to help keep me focus and accomplish my goals.

I chose the word strength. And I feel like this word is the word to best help me with the new year.

Strength to help me with my children. To help get me through the challenging and difficult times. Strength to keep me going, to keep me positive, to keep my son on track and accomplish the goals he wants to.

Strength to see the positives in the things around me.

I am surrounded by these amazing blessings. These three little people that smile when they see me. They love me unconditionally and they remind me that even the littlest of things can mean the best and biggest.

One of my resolutions is to find happiness within myself and my children are great examples of how to find that.

Strength to build better relationships with my family, my friends, my husband and most importantly my Heavenly Father.

Strength to stay focus. Focusing on the things that are truly important. The things that will help me grow as a mother and wife and friend.

I have been truly blessed with the things that have been given to me. I need to remember those blessings. To be more greatful and teach these to my children. I am so lucky to have such good friends to lean on, to have three amazing and beautiful children who make my day everyday, and to have an amazing husband to be my support and strength. I have amazing parents and siblings who help me through the rough times and join in with me during the times to celebrate.

These people have been my strength through the past, and this year I would like to find my strength and return the favor.

Sure, there are many words I could have chosen for 2011. But this year I will strengthen myself, my testimony and enjoy this year to the fullest.

"One little word can make a BIG impact on your life" - Ali Edwards

I have a long list of goals to reach. Some will be fun, some will be quite challenging and some will bring many tears, but they will all be worth it and they will all help strengthen me.

If you want to check out one little word 2011, check out Ali Edwards post. Maybe there is a word for your 2011!

Hope this year is a great year for you and your loved ones!

two

2011-01-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

Our little "Bre" is two months old now!

She is growing and talking and smiling away! I just can't believe how big she is really getting. I just want her to stay tiny and little forever!

But I am really enjoying watching my little girl blossom and grow. She just absolutely loves attention, especially with her father, who she just loves to talk and coo to. She adores her big brothers and welcomes them with big smiles and bright eyes. Chase has given her the nickname "sweet pea" which sounds more like 'sleepy' but is absolutely adorable when he talks to her and loves her and gives her sweet kisses.

Sabrina is just an amazing and beautiful baby and fits so well into our crazy little family. She is by far the calmest and totally easy going. She just loves to be loved and she is getting plenty of it in our home!

three

2011-01-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

Three years ago I was given the greatest gift. I was given this sweet and tiny little boy and I became a mother for the first time.

And from that moment, my heart has grown and my life has changed in ways I never thought possible.

This little three year old has taught me more about life and more about myself than anyone else has.

We are so lucky to have such great friends and neighbors who came to help celebrate Fisher turning three.

He loved every minute of it.

He was spoiled. He was loved. He was celebrated.

I love this picture of all the kids taking a break from the partying and celebrating and just relaxing and watching a pretty good show. Too Cute!

It was a time for celebration for sure!

Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet boy.

From the moment I laid eyes on you and you were placed in my arms I fell in love with you. You truly are a gift from our Heavenly Father and I just love watching you grow and blossom and overcome your challenges. I love your smile, your laugh your soft kisses. You have become such a wonderful big brother who loves his sister and his brother so much and just enjoys being around them. I love the bond you have with your father and how much you just look forward to reading and learning and being with him. You are my precious son who has given me so much. I am so glad you are mine.

I love you, my beautiful boy!