Miles is 3!!!

Miles is styling in his #3 t-shirt.

The theme of his party was the #3.

Creative, huh.

This is the sign I made that matches the invitations:

It's a Party! Miles is 3!!!

Hallway and front entry decor (can't really see it in the dark). Really, I just like any excuse to take a picture of this area in the house. The hallway is like a room itself and I love it :)Miles posing beside his cake. Yes, I actually made this and it was yum!Way too many goodies.Way too much food and balloons.The firetruck pinata Miles talked about for the whole week before his party. He'd tell everyone "bang it with a stick and candy falls out!"Candy falling out. Quick! Grab some! I overstuffed the pinata so it was very heavy. I was sure it was going to break on its own before any child got a swing. But it lasted through everyone banging on it 3 times until we had one of the older kids just whack it down.Everyone excited to see Miles blow out the candles.Some of the girls at the party, Kennedy, Lillian, and Ryann.Everyone is a big helper when it comes to opening gifts :)Even Masie jumped right in to help Miles out. She loved climbing on top of the boxes.We waited until all the other gifts were opened to bring out the special gift.Can you believe he can ride a two-wheeler!??! With training wheels of course. He loves his Lighting McQueen big boy bike.and helmet.

The after-party... what to do with all these balloons?!?

Our 7 Month Old Crawler

This post is mostly for the grandparents who are missing out on ALL the fun!

Masie is mobile!

She's usually chasing after Miles or one of the toys he left within her line of sight. She is the sweetest, happiest, and probably easiest baby you'll ever know. Her daddy loves to come home to see her smiling face when he gives her just the slightest bit of attention. She thinks everyone is out to be her best friend, and she's always watching and waiting for everyone to talk to her.

She hates to miss out on any fun.

You know what ambidextrous means? Well, does anyone know the word for when your gorgeous girl is just as good with her feet as she is with her hands? She'll be playing away with a rattle in her hand while at the same time she is rolling a ball around between her feet. Or if I don't have her placed just so on the changing table, she attacks the diapers and bins at the foot of the table with her toes.

She is so talented!

She is so yummy!

She is so beautiful, healthy, and strong!

We are so blessed!

With these videos, I was trying to get the kids to reenact what happened just before I started recording. Masie had rolled over Miles's legs and sort of tackled him. They both went down on the ground laughing and hugging each other.

It was a beautiful sibling moment that Luke and I were able to watch.

Lesson Learned

It was a beautiful Saturday in our neck of the woods, and Luke and Miles had been planning a bike ride for the last week. They'd pumped up the tires and attached the burley. The plan was to hit the rode and make it to the Subway for lunch about 8 miles away.

It was 3 miles into our ride when I heard behind me

"POP!"

I called out to Luke (who was trailing me :) ).

Flat tire... of course.

Were we prepared for that?

No.

We had been riding along the east side of a canal. A few minutes of decision making followed between Luke and I whether to continue the 3 miles on towards Target for supplies or turn back. I saw 2 other bikers approaching us on the west side of the canal and called out to them for help. This lovely couple gladly threw their repair kit and pump across the canal to us. They continued on their bike ride after we promised to hide the kit in the bushes on their side of the canal, so they could pick it up on their return trip...

When Luke got the tire off and saw that the nozzle had almost detached itself from the tire, we knew there wasn't any hope of fixing it with the small patches we had at our disposal. So I started pushing his bike with burley attached and kids inside while Luke (he's riding my pristine bike now) backtracked 1 1/2 miles to where he could cross back over the canal then make it to the designated "kit hiding place." Then he caught back up with me. We attached the burley to the bike Luke was riding, and he raced home...

Me, I pushed Luke's bike the 3 miles back to our house. It was warm today!

Then we got in our CRV and drove to lunch.

Lesson learned!

The kids didn't mind the detour!

Flowers? Anyone?

Last year I took some very cute pictures of Miles with tulips Luke bought for me a few days before Valentine's Day. I loved the pictures so much that I tried again this year to get some great shots. Forgetting that Masie is too young to be anywhere near something as delicate as a flower, the photo shoot became a sort of game.

How many pictures can I take before all the flowers are destroyed?

As always, the kids are too cute to choose just a few. If you view all (edited from 160) the photos as a slide show, it tells the story of our VDay morning :)

I was happy to have that fun start to the day because we had to meet with our accountant later on, and that's hardly ever good news for us self-employed households.

Luke and I spent VDay evening together. We had plans for dinner then a movie, but by the time we got out the door it was already after 7... Instead we hit up Target for personal pan pizzas and a new purse to fit the pizzas and drinks into, and we rushed in to make the 7:45 showing of TAKEN.

It was just the fun and relaxing evening we needed.

Hopefully your VDay had a little romance also :)

The sweetest kiss EVER!

Another First

Today was Miles's first day of preschool.

You'd think I was sending him off the college the way I was freaking out about it.

I am in love with this little guy

and missed him all morning wondering how he could survive without me. We are fortunate to have a great school not even a mile from our house, so we've made a goal to walk there on the Tuesday and Thursday mornings he'll be attending. Today I spent an hour with him in his class. The teachers were so friendly and welcoming while all the students were excited to meet their new classmate. Miles fit right it during snack time when one boy started calling out

"EXCUSE ME! BLAH!"

and opening his mouth wide. Miles joined right in,

so I decided it was time for me to go.

No tears, just

"Bye Mom! See ya!"

I'm so glad he stayed without a fight.

I really hope he enjoys himself.

It's been a hard decision for me whether to take him or not... I've just decided he can really use the socialization and I could use a little more time to get my work done.

Hoping it's a win-win for both of us!
The one thing he was upset about was not being able to

"ride the school bus"

to school :)

Stephanie's Wedding

We drove... yes, I said "drove" to Salt Lake City for my beautiful cousin's wedding last weekend. We had an amazing time, once were finally got there :) We stayed again with our friends that live in the area.

Thanks so much Judy and Graeme!

The wedding was Saturday morning, so Luke and I left the kids in the waiting area with my fantastic brother, Michael, and some cousins while we went down to the sealing room. It was a beautiful ceremony. Miles and Masie were dressed in adorable outfits to show off to the many relatives I hadn't seen in nearly a decade. Unfortunately, Masie's outfit didn't make it past the first half hour. Wonderful Michael somehow wiggled her out of her poopy dress and into a clean diaper. Masie spent the rest of the morning wearing her jacket and leggings :( I changed her into the extra set of clothes you always need when you have kids before the lunch-in, but it just wasn't the same as her adorable first outfit. The lunch-in was fun with my aunt and uncle speaking along with the groom's parents. My Uncle Rob read letters that Steph's two brothers wrote to her because they're serving missions and missed the big event.

Steph's reception was amazing. It was almost a tropical setting because it took place in a nursery completely decked out with beautiful plants and flowers surrounding all the tables. There was a photo booth and you left a copy of your pictures in a scrapbook for the newlyweds. I'd like to know who thought of that great idea :) I think my mom and I ate a whole plate of yummy, juicy, and sweet chocolate covered strawberries by ourselves. The best part was seeing so many relatives from my dad's side. We use to get together at least once a year, but now that we've all grown up it doesn't happen very often.

Gorgeous Stephanie with her new husband, Brett. I'm looking forward to getting to know him and he was very much a gentleman during the special day. Her dress was amazing and looked like it was made just with her in mind. I hoping they'll soon be visiting us in AZ!

The Salt Lake Temple seen from the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

The family minus Masie's dress Miles and NoelMy family, but we're missing Timothy... where are you Tim?!? We miss you!
This is my dad's mom and siblings with their spouses. Steph's mom and dad are the first couple. My mom likes to be different; she's the one in red.
Uncle Jay, Michael, and Aunt Susan laughing at Dallan and Hansan.
Some dorky brothers... Me with bangs, thanks Lara for suggesting and filling me in on all the rules that go along with fixing them... They're still a work in progress and I've bought several headbands :)
Fabulous diaper changing Michael hugging Dallan, or is it Hansan?
Miles hanging out with the big boys, Spencer and Taylor Taubi and Masie-girl minus her dress
Mary (Steph's sister) with Masie with pants on but minus her dress
Ok, so I've been playing with my photo editor and wanted to share three fun pictures I "fixed."
Luke is looking a little psychedelic
LOVE this picture of my sister-in-law Jena
These boys are too HOT for color - Nathan and Joe
Don't be scared! It's not a lion! It's only Miles! ...then we had to DRIVE home. Too gorgeous to miss, even while Miles is sleeping Masie wants his attention :)

So the whole weekend was fantastic and I'm so glad that we got to be part of Stephanie's special day. But, Luke and Masie got sick the night before we left and it was terrible, throwing up all night and diarrhea all the way home. It took us 13 hours to get home! But we made it and those two are feeling much better. I was sure I'd be the one that got sick after all the strawberries I ate :)