Happy Birthday Teyah!

My adorable peanut turned 2 this week! Just looking at these pictures makes me realize how grown up she is becoming!




She had a great birthday and had LOTS of help from her sisters when she opened presents!


With our third girl, we sometimes struggle knowing what to get her, but this spinning, bouncing, interactive horse was a total hit! She could hardly stand waiting while Daddy was trying to put it together.


Can you believe Teyah is wearing the exact same birthday shirt she did for her first birthday!?

Some things to remember about Teyah:

*She is petite, however she's had a little growth spell recently and weighed 24.5 lbs and 33 inches at her 2-year check-up (about 20th percentile on both).

*She is easy going, but occasionally when she really wants something she can make a big fit and we see a little feistiness!

*She loves her sisters. She asks for them, she's sad when they are gone, and always wants to do everything they are doing. I never knew a 1-year-old would love playing Polly Pockets, Barbies, etc. but the "big girl" things are what she loves.

*She loves to dance and recently has started to do a lot of singing too. We catch her singing all kinds of songs! She particularly loves the Alphabet Song, the Clean-up Song, and High School Musical Songs. One day in the car, Aubrie and Ellie were having a HSM singing competition, where they would sing and then say who that sounded the most like, and Teyah said, "My turn. My turn. Na, na, na, nah, na, na, na, nah... Rella, Rella" (for Gabriella). She also asks to sing along to "Meemo" which is the "Finding Nemo" soundtrack from the musical. She tries to sing along to the whole thing, and it's so adorable!

*She is a great talker and often says 5 word sentences.

*She had a lot of sickness through the winter, so we are actually considering having her tonsils and adenoids taken out, along with adding another set of tubes in her ears.

*She loves hugs; her blankie; her family; ice cream; her Grandma and talking to her on the phone; and being independent.

*She has been going on the potty for about 3 months now. I'm waiting to completely train her though until I'm not so pregnant sick. This is the earliest any of my kids have been successful on the toilet and at first I was just so surprised that she knew what to do!

Teyah, you are such a sweetheart, and we love you so so much!

Late, but not forgotten

We celebrated the best Daddy in the world's birthday earlier this month. What a special Dad and husband we have! We are the luckiest girls to have such a man in our lives! Love you!

Finally, a lost tooth!!

Mom pulled it out, and Aubrie was surprised and overjoyed!


I think all of her friends have lost a tooth by now, but on the second to last day of Kindergarten, she finally joined the club! It's a good thing because her permanent tooth had almost fully grown in behind her baby tooth. My little girl is growing up!

Big Sisters

We showed up at my mom's house after a late and long flight with all three girls wearing "Big Sister" shirts! It took a bit for my mom to catch on, but soon she got it. We told the girls the news when we gave them the shirts just before the flight. They were ecstatic. They have been telling everyone we see since!

This is also the explanation for me not blogging in the past two months! I have been lucky to get the bare minimum done being so sick. I'm so ready to get my life back in some kind of order. Hopefully this will happen soon! My due date is Dec. 7.

Utah fun

We enjoyed a trip to Utah for Memorial Day and enjoyed many memorable family times. The first was witnessing my Grandpa's wedding to Marina!


We wish them happiness and hopefully many years of good times together!


Another special part of our visit was visiting my new nephew, Liam, who was born a couple days before our arrival! We were so excited to hold him, kiss him, and get to know him.


My little sister Lauren has worked her way to be a semi-professional ballerina and unfortunately I haven't seen her dance in many years, but fortunately she had a performance of Hansel and Gretel while we were there! She is a gorgeous dancer and I am so proud of her hard work and accomplishments!


We spent lots of time with Grandma and enjoyed one of our favorite places in Utah, the Farm at Thanksgiving point.


Teyah LOVED her first pony ride! She had a major temper tantrum when it ended!


We spent Memorial Day having a picnic in the park where Brigham Young was buried. It was a gorgeous park, and the weather was just right.


Admiring cute Liam!


The kids enjoyed some swimming time too. It was a great visit and everything went smoothly until the plane ride home. More on that later...

The Stuntgirl

Check out Aubrie's "Wild side"...

Saturday Morning Jam Session

Three little blessings

By some miracle we ended up with an Easter shot of all three girls smiling!


Most of them turned out more like this. I can't even remember what it was that she was wanting at this moment in time. I am enjoying our little spicy 22-month-old. The temper tantrums seem mild compared to the joy she brings us. I struggled immensely at this age with Aubrie, but it seems so much easier with No. 3. I think because I realize how short of a time it is that the temper tantrums last, and I also realize how fun it is to see her cute little personality come out while she tries so many new things.


It was her first Easter that she could truly enjoy. This is her first time dying eggs.


I realize those tiny hands won't stay bitty long.


Or dyed orange forever!!






Teyah loved finding eggs and knew immediately what to do. (Notice her piggy tails! Her hair is finally long enough!)


Of course, she also knew what tastes good!


All three of these girls bring me such joy!


I am so grateful for my Savior, who died for me, so that I could live with my wonderful family forever.

The best b-day ever

My hubby planned an amazing surprise party for me last week when I turned the big 3-0!


After a nice dinner, we returned home to a house full of 10 friends there to surprise me and celebrate! We had my favorite DQ icecream cake!


Dave also planned a game of "This is Your Life" with lots of surprises.


The first was my cousin Autumn who had been hiding in the basement!


He also called several old friends on the phone and internet and they all told memories they had of me and made me feel special. It was such a trip for me. I was so impressed with his party agenda. I don't know if all the guests enjoyed it because I was the center of attention the whole time, but it was fun for me! I am not usually comfortable with the spotlight, but for one night, I definitely enjoyed it.

Dave also made an amazing video out of pictures and video of the past 30 years. Have I ever mentioned that I have the most amazing husband?! Seriously, he is the best.

Teyah's fashion statement

Time to potty train? Or, maybe we just need to teach this kid some style tips? As we were folding laundry, Teyah found the pile of her big sisters' underwear, and on her own, and with help, managed to put on about 20 pair! At least they are clean!



Bedtime came and as you can see she is not too pleased with me making her take them off!




I relented and allowed her to keep two pairs. I figured it wasn't worth her crying in her crib for hours, but there was no way I was going to let her dirty ALL of her sisters' underwear for the week!

Teyah's speech is picking up along with her tantrums. She absolutely loves to copy her sisters. It is a fun age. My favorite is seeing her want to hold everyone's hands everywhere we go. So cute! Teyah's spunky personality seems to be enhanced every day!

Spring Break, will travel

After much debate of where to spend Aubrie's Spring Break, we finally chose Wisconsin Dells. We love this place. It's so close, and so over-the-top fun.


The resort we stayed at has three indoor water parks and this HUGE play structure. The kids had a blast!


We didn't take a ton of pics, so here is one stolen from the resort's website of one of the parks.


The long winter has made our two girls a little cold on water slides, so we did more than our fair share of wave pool, jacuzzi, lazy river, and kiddie splash area. However, Dave and I had our fill of slides and eventually they both warmed up to them.


We had a great weekend despite a few hiccups, including this one (and that's three days later after much of the swelling had come down!). Lesson learned: kiddie slides are designed for kids, not adults. At the end of the slide (with Teyah in my arms), I flew off the soft landing pad and onto the hard area of the pool which is only one foot deep. Ouch! I thought the far away shot was the most tame.

March Madness update

The Madness has brought even more drama to our house.

After the 1st round, Teyah made a strong showing, besting all of the girls...
Daddy 24 right
Teyah 20
Elliana 17
Aubrie 17
Mommy 17

But in the 2nd round, Mommy made a strong comeback....
Mommy 14 right
Daddy 11
Aubrie 7
Teyah 6
Elliana 3

So, overall, Daddy is leading the pack.
Daddy 35
Mommy 31
Teyah 26
Aubrie 24
Elliana 20

Stay tuned to see who comes out on top in this year's family March Madness Championship.

Bracketology

Each year our family kicks off the March Madness basketball season with a little "Bracketology", or the "science of filling out our brackets". As you can see our children have given this much thought and are anxiously awaiting the first games....

Ellie's Results...Final 4 of Utah, BYU, Pittsburg, and North Carolina


Aubrie's Results...Final 4 of Kansas (Dorothy is from there), BYU, Florida St, and Arizona St.


And now the selection committee's process. As you can see Teyah's results are a "work in progress"

(wrtten by David)

Green Eggs & Ham

I don't think she likes them.

Happy Golden Birthday Ellie!

We have been busy celebrating Elliana this week!


Grandma T. was the most special guest at her 4th birthday party!


Grandma's special present was Ellie's American Girl doll, named Emily. This doll is lucky to have such a wonderful mommy. Ellie is incredibly nurturing, and has not lost site of Emily since her arrival.


Papa and Grammy supplied the Snow White dress-up.


I made the cake.


And now that she's 4, she's driving semi-trucks. (At the park at MOA. Thanks to my awesome friend).

A few things to remember about my sweet Ellie:
-She has patience beyond her years
-She has an amazing memory and keen sense of direction (she always knows where we are in the car and if I ever stray the course).
-She's already learning to sight read words
-She is responsible and in some ways like a grownup (we're actually surprised if she happens to do something age-appropriate -- like color on walls!).
-She is physically strong and athletic. Throwing a ball, jumping, cartwheels, etc. come very easily.
-In the past year, her confidence has blossomed. It's awesome!
-She also learned how to write her name this year.
-She is impressively nurturing to her dolls, little sister, or anyone younger than her
-She craves her "soft blankie"
-She is tenderhearted

I love you Elliana! I'm so proud of you and love being your mommy!