Dear Paul, we have a FOUR year old!

We miss you! While you are out working and traveling the world, our little girl turned FOUR!! I of course knew this day was coming, but I can't believe our little red-headed "monkey-bean" of a baby is now a little person. I can't help but think of that night at the hospital exactly four years ago holding that sweet, perfect little babe and wondering what kind of a person she would grow into. And looking at the pictures from our day today, she is perfect! A little more quirky than I thought, but I guess she gets that from you :)

So glad we could celebrate as a family by doing one of her favorites - swimming at the "bubble-gum". Even though work can sometimes put a damper on things, I am grateful for times like this when you can spend a Friday afternoon hangin' out with us!

So since you've been gone, we've been up to movie nights, popcorn, and kissy action. You did miss out this night, it was pretty fun, there were kisses all around!

This whole week has been leading up to this - the actual birth date! I am glad that she got to open her presents in front of you, although it was slightly depressing, but better than nothing! I know that she was glad you got to be a part of it.

Although it's a Sunday, I wanted her to feel like it was her birthday today (or at least as much as the days leading up to it). So we had the cousins over for a birthday breakfast bash! Stew downed 3 entire pieces of French Toast!! That's my little boy!

We love you and miss you like crazy! Your going to come home to a whole new little person...a four year old!   LOVE - Larz

Be My Valentine

Lily was IN LOVE with Valentine's this year with all the hearts and pink and sweets; she was in heaven. We started the day with a yummy waffle breakfast complete with strawberries and syrup. Later we exchanged some little gifts, I made Lily a heart pillow out of some scrap fabric from her baby blanket and Paul got the kids some little treats. I love having a day that we can celebrate our feelings for those that we love. And I LOVE my little family!

I would like to say that Stew is wrapped in a pink and red towel due to the festivities of Valentine's Day, but, he is usually wrapped in girly towels (some day I will get him his very own boy towel).

Lily read "Lilly's Chocolate Heart" book to Paul. She has been practicing the past couple of days and just about has the entire thing memorized. She is very proud of herself, and so am I!

Snow Day

A couple days ago Stewart had his first experience playing in the snow... finally! I had been delaying because he doesn't have any snow clothes. Then it got so late in the winter season that I didn't want to buy him any just for a one or two time usage. But with the amount of snow that has been accumulating and the air warming up a tiny, I caved and put him in Lily's old pink snow clothes, flowering blue coat, and sparkly shoes. Poor boy! I guess it is the price we had to pay for a little fun in the snow.

I really debated about creating this post since Stew could easily be mistake for an adorable little girl, but it was his first snow day ever and they had so much fun! I couldn't resist :) I hope he doesn't hold this against me later on...

Ba-ket-bawl!

At the ripe age of 12 months, Stewart had this insane love for anything ball.  The words, "Ma" "Da" and "Bawl" were all too close to really tell which was his 'first word'. But "Baketbawl" definitely came next. Within minutes of me setting up his Little Tikes basketball hoop at 13 months, we was walking. He just needed a little incentive to reach high enough to make a basket and grab his ball quick enough to do it over and over and over again. 

Stew will sit on the couch and watch any basketball or football game, which is soo incredibly mind-blowing to me. Paul, on the other hand, is in Daddy heaven over his sportsy little guy. He will have a life-long sports buddy that he doesn't have to drag to a game or make cheer for a team. He watches so intently that I think he is getting pointers from the players. Then there are times we go to Grandma Heslop's and the family room t.v. isn't on, Stew points and yells, "BA-KET-BALL!" 

On average, he practices about 2 hours every day. If we have been out of the house for the majority of the day, he is always so excited to come home and get some shots in. He runs straight to the toy closet to get a ball and then he is set! And all of his playing has paid off. He is actually quite amazing! He makes most of his shots and has really awesome form for a little guy. I'm already looking forward to cheering him on at his Junior Jazz basketball games. 

Red Rock Traditions

Just about every New Year's of my life, I can remember climbing on all over the Red Rocks of Southern Utah. Growing up we always visited my Grandma and Grandpa Anderson in Beaver Dam over the New Year's. During that vacation we would always make a trip out to Valley of Fire and spend all day climbing all over the beautiful red rocks. Although I didn't always love the drive out there, (because I never love a drive anywhere) it was so exhilarating to get out and enjoy nature's playground.

This year I was spending the New Year's in Florida with Paul, but flew in to St. George to get the kids the first week of January. To carry on the tradition, we found some climbing for the kids. And they were in heaven, they loved the freedom and scurried up those rocks as fast as their little bodies would take them.

I love this picture! It is the perfect representation of Lily & Stew's relationship. She is the best big sister he could ever ask for. She is always trying to help him and make sure he is okay and happy. She is the sweetest thing, a dream for any mom!

Thank you to my sweet parents for all they do for me and my children! And for teaching me as a young  child to love the beauties of the world all around me. I am just much more grateful when I get to enjoy them outside of a car :)

Christmas 2012

The long awaited Christmas morning was finally here! Each year I get older, I do a smidgen better at getting a good nights sleep. Although Christmas morning isn't quite as magical as it was when I was a child, there is something ingrained in my head that makes it impossible to not wake up at least 5 times Christmas Eve night. But, I am progressing each year!

I was so excited to get the kids up and out of bed to see what amazing things Santa had blessed us with. However, it didn't go quite as planned.

They were both whining and uncooperative at the top of the stairs, neither of them wanted to go down! I was so bummed, I almost wanted to bah-humbug it and go back to bed. But I knew once they saw their stockings and presents the tears would have to go away.

We had a great Christmas, Santa was so good to Stew and Lily and knew just what to get :) Stew got his very own ukulele, Jake and the Neverland Pirate toys, and some yummy treats. Lily got a Belle doll, lots of Disney princess toys, magnets, and a scooter.

We gave Grandma & Grandpa Stewart and Grandma & Grandpa Heslop personalized videos of the kids sending a Christmas message and just being kids at the park. It was so fun to see how much they appreciated the love and time that went into their gift.

Children make Christmas so magical and I am so bless to have the most beautiful kids to spend every single day with, especially Christmas Day!

Christmas EVE 2012

With just a little bit of thought, I think that it is safe to say that Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the whole year! It is so magical. Everyone is in such high spirits, it is easier to think about and celebrate the Savior, and of course, DONUTS are consumed in ridiculous amounts! But it is totally justified because it is Christmas Eve and it happens once a year, right?!

I am so in love with that sweet husband of mine! So blessed to have him to celebrate these precious moments in life with. And especially this time of year I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for sending Christ to this earth to make it possible for me to live with my beautiful family for eternity. 

And my adorable mother...she is the kindest, most self-less person I know! I am still trying so hard to be like her. She is always thinking of others and she is always the one who makes Christmas Eve so special and scrumptious! Love you Mom.

 

Now this is where the "magic" of Christmas Eve happens! Thinking of the donuts makes my stomach churn because I have very little self control in this area, but it is always soo worth it. This year however, it was impossible to eat more than 4 - 5 donuts (normally I can throw down 7-10 like that!). The grease factor was slightly ridiculous. With each bite of donut, a splash of grease would ooze from the donut, they were soaked! After much investigating, Mom figured it was because she had to substitute margarine for butter.

- Lesson learned: never make homemade donuts with margarine -

But despite only being about to eat half the normal amount of donuts, it was still a successful and memorable Christmas Eve. And thanks to Cort and Leanna for forever now hosting Stewart Christmas Eve gathering!

I know there are minimal pictures, and they aren't that great. But I was busy enjoying the moment. And isn't that what it is really about?! Sometimes I put to much stress and pressure on myself to capture moments but than I end up missing them, so I'm just working with what I got :)