Spring 2018

Time truly does fly by.  We have had a very eventful spring.  As always, Jared is hard at work studying, but we manage to squeeze in some fun things here and there.  Here are a few of our latest adventures.

We went to Wonderscope children's museum and the kids loved it.  It is a fun place with lots of different rooms to play in.  Their favorite rooms were the nursery, art room, and water room.

We finally put Reese in her own little toddler bed.  I have had the bed set up for so long, but have been avoiding and dreading actually making the switch.  I have been pleasantly surprised at how easy it was!  Reese loves her "new bed" and sleeps and naps great.  The first night she did fall out of it twice (no toddler rail) but now that I tuck the blanket in around her tightly we haven't had a problem.  She still sucks her thumb at night (dreading making that stop) and loves her white blanket from Grammy Bodine.

Jade is such a sweet addition to our family.  She is SO chill.  She hardly ever cries and most people don't even notice she's there because she is so content.  She started rolling over and now refuses to ever be on her back.  She immediately rolls to her tummy every time.  She will be crawling very soon.  She pushes up onto her legs and wants to start scooting.  I'd love if she stayed immobile for a bit longer.  She recently found her little giggle and it melts my heart.

 I will say though, for being such a good baby, she has been sick A LOT since she was born.  She is constantly going through booger stages.  We still love her though.

This last weekend was Kansas City train day.  We went with friends and rode a cute little train (3x) and attempted the bouncy house but Reese was a little too nervous.  It's fun seeing her interact and play more and more with kids her age.

We also went with friends to a fun working farm.  They saw lots of animals and rode some toy tractors.

We still go to the library fairly frequently for storytime and to get new books.  She has lots of fun sitting in this perfect toddler sized window while there.

We are outside almost every day (weather pending).  We often have lots of neighbor kids come and join us on our patch of grass and porch.  I love having kids come and play with us.  Not only to have Reese play with them, but to get them out of the house!

We were able to participate in the Kansas City Temple Run.  It was a 5k around the temple!  I signed Reese up to do the kids 100 meter dash.  Let's just say that was not a success.  All the kids took off when they blew the whistle and she stood there very confused.  I tried to get her to run but she started crying so I picked her up and ran with her.  It was quite funny.  Jared and I ran the 5k together switching off pushing the two girls in a double stroller.  It's definitely more fun running without a stroller, but we made it.

For my birthday we had Heidi and Adam watch the girls and we finally got to go to the Independence Visitor Center.  It was nice to go without kids.  We unfortunately missed the tour of the other churches on the block.

We got to visit dad at school on national bring your kids to work day.  It wasn't intentional, but we were pretty happy about it when others on campus told us.

We sure do love being out here with the Lewis family.  We do a lot with them, and Clark and Reese have become such fun little cousin friends.  

I'm grateful for these people I get to call my family.  They make my life so happy.

Reese's pieces turns 2!

My little Reese isn't so little anymore.  She's not only a big sister but she's now officially in her terrible twos.  This little girl is something else.  She is just like her daddy.  She loves being goofy and making people laugh.  Yet, she sort of has this funny little shy side to her as well.  She is a wonderful big sister to Jade and always asks if Jade is awake or asleep right when she wakes up in the morning.

For her birthday we had some of her little friends come over for a water party.  We have a little slip n slide and we borrowed Heidi's water table.  Some neighbor kids came (Lily, Lucas, Briana, Adriana, Julio) and some med school friends (Harley, Enzo, Elliot) as well as some ward friends (Ruby, Henry, Olivia).  And of course her bestie Clark!

The kids took a little time warming up to playing in the water but they all seemed to have a blast.  I was somewhat lazy and just went with a donut cake.  I figure at this age she wouldn't appreciate the effort I would put into a cake, so walmart donuts it was!

It amazes me how fast Reese is learning right now.  She learns new words every day and is constantly talking my ear off.  She is very motherly and loves taking care of her baby doll, stuffed animals, and Jade.

Reese is obsessed with shoes.  She is always wants to try on my shoes, Jared's shoes, Clark's shoes etc.  She particularly loves her shiny shoes (thrift store buy!!) and her church shoes.  She gets really frustrated that Jade's shoes don't fit her.

Reese is constantly asking for snacks, treats, cookies, crackers, donuts and the list goes on.  Her biggest melt downs have been when I don't have something to feed her.  Let's hope she doesn't end up being 400 pounds.

I'm sure every parent would say this about their child, but it's hard to truly describe how much we love this little girl.  It's so fun having her as our first child and experiencing everything new with her.  Happy Birthday Reese!  We love you!