{lizzythebotanist}

project

2012-01-26T14:50:00.002-07:00

i've been really busy around here. so busy that you may have noticed i haven't blogged since before christmas. and even that post wasn't much. i wish i had something to show for all my time spent away from here, but really it's all been due to this one particular project:

okay, so really i haven't been busy at all. just plain old lazy. this thing has been sucking the life out of me for 16 weeks. nash and haven have become so used to that phrase that if i'm laying around (which is pretty much the case at any given moment) nash will say, "mom, is the baby sucking your life away?" i signed up for this, but holy moly, i did not know what i was signing up for! this is not the same experience i've had before. i feel like it's the biggest joke anyone's ever played on me. maybe it's karma kicking my butt for judging lazy, "sick" pregnant women in the past. never again. now, having been the most lazy, sick pregnant woman i know, i have some major sympathy. i've had every symptom in the book along with excessive fatigue, diziness, and just general apathy (due largely in part to my MS since I had to stop my usual therapy to get pregnant). luckily, though, i have not been emotional, because that would put me over the edge. so, while i feel sick, tired, ugly (the acne is unreal) and fat at least i don't feel crazy! knock on wood.

baby is due july 13th and with any luck we'll find out the gender next week!

p.s. now that i'm starting to feel like i can function again, i'd like to say i'm going to catch up on the past few months. but i don't know if i can promise anything good. since i got my iPhone in october i think i've pulled my real camera out twice. i'm already regretting this and have vowed to return to my camera crazy ways. until then you can follow me on instagram for a few random updates (@lizzythebotanist).

2011 Card

2011-12-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

josh & kristi's announcement

2011-11-07T14:51:00.002-07:00

josh & kristi

bevie's little brother, josh, got married this summer and i got to take the happy couple's engagements AND design their announcement. kristi wanted to include their story as part of the announcement and she did a great job making it cute and interesting. i think i did a great job of fitting it all in ;) it wasn't as easy as it looks!

here's the front:

and the back:

there was a also a sealing insert and family dinner invite. then those things, along with their engagement photo were tied up with bakers twine and tucked into the envelope (as seen in the first photo). i was so happy with the final product and it was such a fun project.

and, of course, the wedding was amazing...i'll have to post about that soon. nash & haven (and all the other cousins) were adorable, the decor was beautiful, the food was delish, and there was dancing. which is always a good thing.

from across the nile...

2011-10-30T12:14:00.003-07:00

halloween happenings

2011-10-10T21:21:00.001-07:00

my energy levels are at an all-time low and have been for a few months (you probably noticed that i rarely post here anymore). halloween is in the air and i am doing my best to make it awesome for the kids, despite not caring about it at all (which has never happened to me in. my. life). you can call me debbie downer if you want to. i don't mind. two points for honesty, right?

i think i'm doing pretty well, considering. we decorated. we went to the pumpkin patch tonight with the cousins. we've watched labrynth and hocus pocus + set the dvr to record all the halloween specials.

we've made a round of sugar cookies with friends and are planning to do another round this week so that i can perfect my glazing skills. and, my favorite thing so far: we've been reading a different halloween book every night (and will continue to for the entire month of october). our favorite book so far is "a woggle of witches." steve read this book as a kid. i'd never heard of it, but when i googled it and saw the cover i knew i had to have it. the illustrations are amazing. if the book wasn't out of print and hard to get (i managed to score an ex-library copy on paperbackswap) i'd rip all the pages out and frame them.

so now i'm caught up on october. now i just need to get our costumes ready and blog/catch-up on the entire summer + september. excuse me while my head begins to spin...

just because

2011-10-10T20:35:00.003-07:00

photo from our recent utah trip when we drove the alpine loop to see the leaves.

sunday school

2011-09-18T13:04:00.004-07:00

since this month's primary* theme is on being a missionary (and i'm the new ward primary president. what? yeah, i don't know what they were thinking either. clearly they are desperate;), i thought i'd share some church related news on the blog.

remember how i mentioned that nash knows more 'book of mormon stories' than i do? here's some proof. a child's 6-minute interpretation of the book or mormon. he may or may not have left out some key events and confused some others, but he's four!

also, my dad was interviewed for our newspaper back home. the article is an overview of our religion and focuses on the fact that we are, contrary to what some believe about us, christian. nash almost blew that for us when he skipped over the birth of christ. good thing he has goodly parents to show him the way ;)

*primary is the children's organization within our church.

First Day: Preschool

2011-09-13T14:13:00.005-07:00

it was the perfect back-to-school morning: thunderstorms and chilly air. the kid ran out of the car and straight into class without so much as a glance back at me. he was SO ready. all of his friends started kindergarten two weeks ago (seriously, every single kid he knows) and he has felt a little left out. he's definitely a little guy and it's a good thing he's got another year before he starts kindergarten, but it's hard when he wants to play with friends and i have to remind him that everyone is at school.

there's a little mommy & child interview floating around the web that i decided i want to do with my kids each year as they start school. i decided i'd video it rather than write it, since a. i love videos, b. they don't take up physical space in my house, and c. my printer is out of ink. here's our little pre-schooler:

despite being a little guy, nash has grown so much over the summer i can't even wrap my head around it. suddenly things have just clicked for him and he's writing letters and numbers everywhere, understanding more, and just soaking things up. he seems to really love stories and numbers. he knows more 'book of mormon' stories than i do and has been figuring out addition all on his own. he loves when i quiz him (he uses his fingers to figure it out, but the fact that he even grasps the concept is awesome at this point). he also loves to draw. his drawings are usually variations on pirate ships or buildings, but always include details like plumbing and "in ways and out ways." (thus, the goal to be a "machine maker" when he grows up). growing up is so bittersweet; i'm excited for him to learn and grow and i'm glad i get to watch him do it, but i'm also just a teeny bit sad with every step that takes my kids into the real world without me. i just hope he will be as good as i know he is and that others will see what i see.

when haven and i were driving back home after dropping nash off this morning, she said, "i hope nash is having fun." she was so excited for nash to start school that she packed herself a lunchbox for the car ride.

she was a little sad that she wasn't going, too, but we're looking forward to having some girl time together. i'm also looking forward to life again. i have never been so over everything as i was this last two months. summer in vegas is just way. too. long.

video notes:

nash and i talked a lot about 'being a friend' to get him ready for school. i'm not as worried about him doing well school-wise because i know him; he is a pleaser and he will try his best if for no other reason than to make me and miss heather proud. so i decided i want to focus on helping him learn to be a friend this year. i think being a friend is an art and friendship is something everyone needs. i want him to learn to be a friend to everyone, including that kid that no one else seems to notice or that has knock-off shoes (that's a jab at steven and his turn techs).
i also love how his answer to"what day is today?" was "saturday." he loves saturdays because that's the day dad is home and we get to play with him. and i love that halloween was his second answer because, well, i love halloween.
i also love (and hate) that he can't sit still at all. and that when i ask him questions he always starts to rub his eyes or pick his nose. always.

grow with me mocassin giveaway

2011-08-26T08:01:00.003-07:00

do you read freshly picked? if not, i'm going to help you out. start reading it. susan has amazing taste, mad sewing skills, a great sense of humor (she keeps it real), and two adorable kids (who happen to have two of my favorite names). i met susan at the park last year and, while it was weird introducing myself as a blog-stalker, it paid off. we became instant friends. she's one of those people who's easy and fun and hilarious. anyway, she's about to blow up. her mocs are ridiculously cute and she's getting more popular by the day. mason kardashian wears her mocs all over town, so it's only a matter of time, right? she's trying to win a small business grant from intuit to give her a boost. will you help her? go vote HERE. and then start reading her blog so you can claim to have discovered her before she was "famous."

oh, and if you'd like a chance to win nine pairs of her mocs go here. if you win, contact me and i'll give you my address to ship them to me. what? you thought i'd let you have them?

girly girls

2011-08-16T08:12:00.001-07:00

haven and ella, age 3
very, very serious about their dress-up time during our recent utah trip
they couldn't be any cuter

photos by jessie (thanks!!!)

poppity popcorn

2011-07-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

grandma is in town for a day and brought a vintage kid's popcorn popper along with her. the kids think it's the coolest thing since sliced bread. i think it's cool that we saw my mom last month, today, and we'll see her again in a few weeks. that's big time when you consider we live 2,198 miles from each other.

red white & blue

2011-07-08T10:07:00.001-07:00

we just got back from an almost-two-week visit to utah. it was packed with visiting friends, two baby showers, a wedding, a baby blessing, a few birthdays, and independence day. we are pooped. which means i may or may not post about any of it...

happy best birthday father's day

2011-06-20T10:07:00.001-07:00

these two worship their dad and they pulled out all the stops yesterday to prove it. of course, they never fully grasped the concept of father's day, but it wasn't for lack of trying. they turned boring old father's day into a new breed of holiday: "happy best birthday father's day!"

nash couldn't say "happy father's day" without inserting "best" in there and haven couldn't quite wrap her head around the idea of father's day not being a birthday.

on thursday, nash mastered swimming without floaties. we were so excited that, although we had talked about surprising dad by showing him nash's new skills on sunday, we just couldn't wait. so that night we all headed to the pool. when we got there and opened the gate haven shouted, "surprise, dad, it's your birthday father's day party!" then when we were making dessert* for father's day dinner she would not give up on the idea of a party and candles and singing and...

so we decorated, ate a father's day feast (with steak! man style!), went around the table listing all the things we love about bevie, sang "happy father's day to you," blew out a candle, and then finished up at the park with sparklers.

apparently my kids like parties. i have no idea where they get it.

*we made these cupcakes, although when you try to make that frosting without a double boiler, candy thermometer, or torch, you get drastically different results.
p.s. see the little necktie on the root beer bottle? we did that in nursery and it worked out great. each kid got to color a necktie and then we tied them to a bottle of dad's brand root beer (although i used IBC here for steve's). nice quick project for their very short attention spans!
p.p.s. while watching king pin yesterday, steve was inspired to make a video of the kids for his dad. here they are groovin' to ELO. steve was coaching them from behind the camera and did his signature move (a little MJ inspired crotch grabbing) at the end which really confused the kids since we tell them not to touch their privates. awesome. they also called my dad and left a message saying "happy father's day," "happy father's day," "happy father's day," we love you, grandma!". clearly the father's day thing never sunk in.

...crouched at the starting line...

2011-06-14T20:02:00.001-07:00

these two really love to ride their bikes. especially in their shiny new helmets! (we figured we better get them before we got turned into DCFS.) i love that haven's flip flops are on the wrong feet. always. and see those black marks on her shoes? that's what happens to anything that touches the ground here in vegas. you know it's summer when your feet are pitch black. and you're riding bikes at night in pajamas.

sleeping bags

2011-06-01T19:53:00.002-07:00

these are for my mom...i told her how great the kids new sleeping bags are and she wanted to see (they are 30 degree kids' mummy bags + haven's has wood grain and owls on the lining + nash's has lightning bugs.). we set up steve's 3-man tent tonight at the park to make sure it is ready for steve & nash's first father/son campout this weekend. i figured we might as well get the bags out and take some pictures for grandma. of course, my kids aren't always the most cooperative so you can barely see the bags in the photos, but i did get some cute faces! notice the "pretend sleeping" at the top. they are the worst fakers!

weekend trip

2011-05-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

on friday we headed up to hurricane, utah with some good friends to camp and hike. all the campgrounds were full so we did some easy backyard camping. we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores then pitched a big tent. nash & havey were so excited to use their new mummy bags. they had been carrying them around the house for two days. nash, haves, and emma took turns telling spooky stories (i wish i had recorded them, they were hilarious/pathetic). i think nash's went something like "there was a huge dinosaur. then there wasn't. then it came back. then it deaded." and haven's was a mash-up of nash's and emma's stories. it was a beautiful, cool night-i can't remember the last time i could see the stars so clearly. i wanted to stargaze all night, but once the kids finally passed out steve and i were visited by a snoring monster who will remain unnamed...so we moved camp indoors to finish the night.

we woke up saturday and had a big breakfast then headed to snow canyon to hike around the petrified sand dunes then drove a little farther to the soft sand dunes. when we got to the soft dunes haven said "wait, mom, i thought we were going to the garden of dooms?!" i'm not sure what was going on in her little head. the kids didn't last too long with sand entering eyes/noses/mouths/socks and it was pretty hot so we called it a day and stopped at marv's burgers (where steve and i tried our first picadilly chips) in saint george before heading back to hurricane.

it felt so good to get away and out of the ugly vegas desert. i'm realizing i'm going to need more trips like this to survive vegas life. plus it was a good trial run to test the kids limits with camping. i think they did pretty great and we are all excited to get back out again.

my {havey} baby is three!

2011-05-21T19:16:00.001-07:00

it was a very long, very good day. "the best birthday ever," according to the guest of honor, who was spoiled rotten by friends & family.

happy birthday, havey grel!

babies

2011-05-16T08:12:00.003-07:00

not much is going on over here, so i thought i'd share a few pictures from last week. nash and haven are loving their new baby cousin. haven is unbelievably cute when she holds baby palmer...this soft side of her comes out that i rarely ever see. she pets him, kisses him, sweet talks him and helps him with his binki. it's the only time she's ever been able to just sit still. she's obsessed with babies and the idea of having a baby sister. her favorite thing is to shop for her baby sister*. everywhere we go she is constantly picking things out and telling me she needs it..."for my baby sister, mom!"

a few days ago haven's little friend, carly, was over. haven immediately took carly by the hand and baby-talked her into doing whatever haven wanted. she's a master manipulator and loves to be in charge. i even found her with carly's hand in one hand and her other arm loaded up with all her hair stuff. she was on her way to her room to do carly's hair. as you can see by the above photo hair styling is something we're really good at 'round these parts ;) wide-eyed carly looked like she was unsure about the whole situation but didn't know how to get herself out of it. i intervened and we settled on applying sticker earrings instead.

i'm guessing haven's sweet ways wouldn't last into the crawling stages (when baby becomes a threat) if she actually had a baby sister, but seeing her act like a little mommy makes me feel all warm & fuzzy. and maybe a little scared for "the other guy". haven can be a pretty tough girl, so when i see little glimpses of sweetness and light i die inside. can you believe she turns three this week?! can i still call her "havey baby" when she's three? oh, if only i could freeze time.

*as you know, no baby sister exists. and, no, there is no sister or brother on the way. just clearing that up in case you were starting to wonder.

mother's day

2011-05-10T15:03:00.002-07:00

i usually don't eat breakfast, but i certainly expect breakfast in bed on mother's day and my little dears didn't fail me. i loved hearing them downstairs working on their pictures (nash's was a train track on one side and a glass of chocolate milk spilling on the other side. haven's was a beautiful mess of scribbles.) they tried to sneak up the stairs to "wake" me up so i faked it. it'll be a heck of a day when they can ever sneak up on me; they were born with built-in megaphones. nash wished me "best mother's day" with a big hug and kiss just about every chance he could get. and haven worked very hard on a project in nursery to give to me but then loved it so much she couldn't part with it. the girl lives for projects and can spend hours on them. i think she is related to me.

bevie played his part as the bhe (best husband ever - which isn't unusual for him) and did as much as he possibly could with his gimpy arm. he even made me a delicious dinner...avocado sandwich (quite possibly my favorite food) and quinoa salad. and then, of course, there was my awesome gift: new bedding! when we moved here we lost a part of our bed somewhere along the way. i was pretty upset about it because it was a platform bed (no box spring) which meant we basically had to start from scratch and get a whole new mattress set and are back to having that with no actual bed, just a metal rail. not only that, our old bed (which was from ikea) had ikea bedding and it didn't fit the new one. it felt like we were living in our first apartment again and the regression was killing me. enter my beautiful new bedding. i am in love. and it may have gotten me out of my "i hate this freaking rental house" funk!

i feel a few projects coming on...

i wanted to take a picture of my bedding now that it's steamed and looking sharp, so thought i'd spice it up for you;) self timer + me jumping on a bed without hitting my head on the ceiling = a messy bed that isn't looking so sharp. go figure.

happy may day!

2011-05-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

in years past we've done fun "may day" things, but this year it snuck up on us. and for good reason! steve had surgery on his shoulder on monday and was home most of the week + we welcomed a new nephew to the family on wednesday (2.5 weeks early)!

i got to be there for the birth and photograph every second of it. alison made it look so easy that i'm considering a vbac for number three. yeah, right. i think the little dude looks just like steve and i can't get enough of him. i forgot how much i love baby boys. okay, i didn't really forget, but its fun to remember just how much i love them. girls are alright, but boys...they tug at my heartstrings. enough to make me think i miiiiiight just want another one. we'll see if i can get my fill with this guy for now, though.

happy easter!

2011-04-24T16:52:00.000-07:00

non-sugar easter treats

2011-04-22T09:09:00.001-07:00

some of you get mad at me every time i post cute holiday things i do after the holiday, so i thought i'd share this one ahead of time for all of you looking for a little non-sugar treat for easter. i'm taking these to my nursery class on sunday + nash is sharing them with his sunday school class. they are quick, easy, and really cute. i used wilton 12-inch disposable decorating bags, about 3/4 c. goldfish crackers, and green raffia to tie them up. i would have liked to fill them with annie's organic bunny snacks, but our nursery budget is slim (plus do 18-month old kids really care?) so i just used good ol' goldfish crackers.

project originally seen here.

happy easter! we're keeping it simple this year. we'll be making our lamb cake (but this time it won't involve three hours of fondant decorating), dying + rolling eggs with cousins, donning our easter best for church on sunday, and having a yummy dinner with our vegas family.

adventuredome

2011-04-20T22:39:00.001-07:00

we had family in town last week. most of our attempts at fun resulted in frustration and fighting and meltdowns (parents and kids alike) - kids don't like to shop but we just keep on trying! on day three we got smart and took the kids to the adventuredome at circus circus. it was so. much. fun. some of the fun may have been at haven's expense, but still, i haven't laughed so hard in such a long time.

nash was in heaven and surprised me with his adventure-seeking spirit. he yelled at all the carnies to go faster, faster, faster!!! as soon as each ride ended he was racing through the line to do it again. and again. and again. his only meltdown happened when i said it was time to go (six hours later).

haven started out enjoying herself on the ferris wheel and the merry-go-round. then we stepped it up a notch and went on the pirate ship. she was all smiles on the first few swings but then i think her little tummy gave out and her face turned to a look of terror. once the ride was over she seemed like she'd regained her composure, so we went over to the frog-hopper. composure went out the window. she screamed, her face turned beet red, and when the carny stopped the ride she frantically climbed up and over the padded bar that is intended to restrain children and nearly fell to the floor. the worst part is she had a mother, two grandparents, and two aunts watching and laughing hysterically. no one helped her (in our defense we probably would have gotten in trouble if we tried).

haven was done. she refused to go on any more rides, but being the good mom that i am, i pushed her just a little further. i couldn't let her quit the rides on such a bad note. i figured if i got her on something a little more tame she might not be terrified of theme parks for the rest of her life. so i spotted a little thomas the train ride full of two-year olds. i thought it would be perfect. i strapped her in next to nash and away they went. if i had watched the ride a time or two prior to putting her on i might have noticed how jerky it was, but it was too late. i noticed when her head snapped back, her smile dropped and her face returned to a deep fuschia color. she screamed the entire time. another thing i didn't notice was that each car had a camera in front of it. so we managed to get it all on tape. best ten dollars ever spent, right here (music alert):

i know it's a little mean, but i can't stop laughing when i watch this. the two of them side-by-side with completely different reactions to the ride. haven thinking her life is coming to an end, nash looking like a bobble head version of mad max laughing himself silly.

this is what parenting is all about, am i right?

just to prove i'm not the worst mom ever: haven had been crying and praying (literally, like to heavenly father) for a pillow pet (all her cousins have one) for about a week. while we were watching cousins go on rides after the trifecta of terror wore her out, i noticed a claw game filled with mini "pillow chums." i put a dollar in and maneuvered the little claw around until it was perfectly placed right above a little pink and purple unicorn and pushed the red button. when haven and i realized what was happening we started screaming and jumping up and down! a small victory, but we actually won!!! she was so happy + she had something to cuddle and calm her the rest of our time there. i was happy to have saved myself $18 + tax and make her happy! of course, the happiness ended two nights later when, while tucking her in to bed, she informed me that she really wants "a humungo pillow pet."

the girl knows what she wants.

*please excuse nash in the above photo, he thinks he needs to be in all our pictures and i'm done fighting it. plus he's cute. although i'm not sure what he's doing to his eye...

** a big thank you to aunt holwonder who took the awesome photos of the escape + loaned me money to buy the awesome video!

soccer

2011-04-03T19:09:00.002-07:00

nash had his first soccer game on saturday! i was worried about how the game would go since he missed his first two practices, but he caught on pretty quickly. probably because he has such a great dad. steve has been practicing with him at the park explaining how the game works. otherwise i'm sure he'd have been scoring goals for the other team. he still had a few issues like fighting for the ball when his own teammate had it, complaining that everyone else was so fast (even though the other team was comprised of 3-year-olds), and when it was his turn for the kick-off he kicked too high, sort of slid over and then fell on top of the ball (which was hilarious). but then he scored a goal and made up for it + gained some confidence! he was pretty proud of himself. so proud that he keeps asking me if he can earn prizes for being good at soccer. he got a new soccer ball and sack pack for the bowling game today and thinks that it was directly related to him scoring a goal. i think he should feel pretty great just for making his mama so proud ;) although he does need some cleats...see those rainbow shoes? that's how i spotted him on the field!

in other news: bevie got a great job offer here in las begas!!! we've got a few weeks to mull it over and see what other offers might come his way, but it's such a relief to know that we'll be employed once his clerkship is over. (because i know some are wondering how we feel about staying here: las vegas has been surprisingly great so far and we're totally fine with the idea of being here for a while.)

i'm so proud of my dudes!

update: make that two offers! another one came this morning!

we're having a party...

2011-03-28T08:07:00.002-07:00

so rock the beat down, rock the beat down*!

regular posting may resume once the party is over.

funny things about this picture:

all adults are wearing grey t-shirts. apparently it was a grey kind of day.
we have no idea why we were told to throw our hands in the air.
it is the only photo of the series where nash didn't have his hand in the air.

*original lyrics by libby bulkley, around age 6(?), song title unknown.

st. patrick's day review

2011-03-20T10:01:00.001-07:00

the kids woke up to find a trail of shamrocks and leprechaun gold. oh, and a real live leprechaun! he must have fallen asleep on the job. luckily the kids had been prepped and knew that humans can NEVER touch leprechauns. they left him alone and followed his trail to find their 'pots of gold.'

a few video notes: did you hear nash's cough? haven screams "oh my heck!" nash complains that the shovel isn't big enough. ever-concerned, nash asks why the leprechaun didn't bring anything for me. and in case you were wondering what was going on at the end, they went to thank the leprechaun for their presents but he was gone!

we had fruit loops (a rare & special treat), green eggs, irish soda bread, and green milk for breakfast, then got dressed in our green (above) and put on our shamrock 'taptoos' from the leprechaun. haven also sported rainbow nails (with a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow).

dance class was just as entertaining as the last time. haven was much more comfortable and looked pretty darn cute in her giant tutu. she's the one who's not in pink. what a rebel!

we made fruit loop necklaces for fun. i wasn't planning on taking pictures but i got bored when haven took two hours to make one of hers. the girl really appreciates a creative outlet. plus she was being ridiculously cute.

we also made irish soda bread and attempted to dye it green (which didn't really work). we made it in ramekins this time and took mini loaves to a few friends. they were pretty cute, but i was too lazy to take pictures. and too anxious to eat the leftovers.

the rest of our st. patrick's day festivities were sacrificed to nash's doctor visits, which wasn't the worst thing that's ever happened. i'm not familiar with a vegetarian version of corned beef anyway. so we opted for chinese take-out. probably should have been pinched for that.

st. patrick's day

2011-03-17T20:29:00.003-07:00

we've had quite the day. it started out great, just as planned. it had to do with st. patrick's day. rainbow painted nails (above), a visit from a leprechaun, green breakfast and outfits. problem is photobucket is acting up and won't let me upload any of my pictures, so i'll just go ahead and tell you about the lame part of our day, which started at ten.

we were at the gym and i heard my name paged to come to the playroom. nash had been coughing so much that we got the boot. he's been coughing on and off for a few weeks, but has been fine otherwise. he does this every spring-he seems fine until he is outside/in public and then begins to cough. and we're talking a chesty, dramatic cough. last week three moms started yelling at him at the park while he was hacking up a lung. luckily he can't hear over himself when it gets to that point! i realized i'm sick the mean looks i get from other moms and i'm sick of chasing my kid around the playground explaining to other moms that "he just has asthma," so we made an appointment for today* (because tomorrow he is supposed to start soccer).

luckily (and this is the only time i would ever wish for his symptoms be to bad) he woke up coughing and didn't stop (actually, he still hasn't stopped and it's eight at night). so the doctor witnessed first-hand what has been going on. during a nebulizer treatment he stopped coughing and got about twenty minutes of peace, but the cough came right back when the treatment ended. the doctor sent us to get blood drawn and for a chest x-ray. we'll find out the results next week, but for now the doc says he has bronchitis most-likely induced by asthma which is probably due to allergies. for safe-measure he put nash on an antibiotic, singulair (for allergies), and albuterol (inhaler for asthma). he's supposed to stay indoors for five days (no soccer), cut out all dairy/eggs**, and take local honey for the allergies.

he's been such a good sport. i hate to say it, but i love him even more when he's sick. all the nurses were doting on him. they'd come over to the coughing kid, look him in his big eyes and melt. if the eyes didn't do it then his raspy voice swept in to make them weak in their knees. he made me one proud mom today. so sweet and courageous. he's reminded me several times that he only cried a tiny little bit when they drew his blood.

and for that, he earned a non-dairy frozen yogurt with carob chips! mmm...

*we tried to have him checked out once before but his cough refused to make an appearance at the doctor's office and then slowly subsided.
**now that he's off diary/eggs he's a vegan (except for the local honey)! he stopped eating meat a week or so ago after he realized what it is (at least he's refused it when he's been able to make the connection). because i'm such a good mom and i told him all the gory details;) i think we should tell our kids what they're eating and let them make their own decisions. he's only four, but he's smart: today he ordered a cheeseburger at wendy's* and asked for "no pickle, no meat. because i want to be nice to animals."
i'm afraid i'm going to get nasty comments about the vegan thing, so let me clarify: we don't eat at wendy's regularly and i don't feed my kids white bread with synthetic cheese + HFCS-laiden ketchup and call that a suitable meal. i don't know if nash is really going to be a vegetarian or vegan. i just think it's fun to talk about this stuff and raise awareness now so my kids have good relationships with healthy food and don't find themselves trying to kick bad habits as adults.

nutcracker, here we come!

2011-03-03T17:41:00.002-07:00

haven and sage had their very first dance class together today! haven's been looking forward to it for weeks and was so excited all morning.

once class officially started, she became a little apprehensive. most of the time she looked like this:

sage, on the other hand, was nuts. most of the time she looked like this:

i don't know what this position is called, but haven is her mother's daughter and she is NOT a natural:

despite her unprecedented shyness haven persisted and eventually warmed up. it may have had something to do with miss renee playing music from toy story, but here she is bustin' a move:

she was pretty proud of herself when she came out of her shell and actually did some dancing. i'm excited to see how the rest of the classes go.

and in case you were wondering, yes, nash is still with us ;)

in which haven is ridiculously cute

2011-03-01T16:10:00.003-07:00

i just uploaded a hundred videos to youtube of haven talking and singing. she used to be quite camera-shy but now she asks me to take videos of her all the time. here's a gem:

notes: many of her answers are not true or don't even make sense. her favorite color is not blue. she doesn't like to eat blue. that white cat's name is not jaguar. she's never mentioned lions before. she's only seen eloise one or two times. she never watches diego. and she doesn't really like chocolate. so weird, but she sure is cute!

living in vegas

2011-02-24T09:17:00.002-07:00

pro:

con:

my kids ask me every day to go swimming (followed by whining and crying when i say "no, it's not that warm out"). they have resorted to "swimming" in the tub, complete with swim suits and water wings.

all girl

2011-02-23T09:39:00.001-07:00

wardrobe, styling, art direction: haven
photography: mom
and because so many of you asked after the seeing the kids' valentine picture: those are stick-on earrings she's wearing.

valentine's day recap

2011-02-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

i love valentine's day.

so when i realized i left all my valentine's day decorations at our house in salt lake i was just a little bummed. i figured we'd just need to make up for it by making super cute valentines for friends instead. for the girls we made gumball necklaces. the boys got a red hot wheels car + 3 red mini tootsie pops (i got the idea here, but i wheelie like mine better), and then i made a treat for all my nursery kids at church, too. i wanted to do something cheap and easy since they are all so little and don't even know what's going on half the time, so i dipped some strawberry heart marshmallows that i already had in some chocolate and added some sprinkles. then i packaged them up with a tag that said "you're a sweetheart." simple and easy, but pretty good looking, too!

i had plans to make my chocolate coconut truffles for all of my friends, but they are all so dang picky (no chocolate, no bitter chocolate, no coconut, etc.) that most of them ended up with pink glitter ball cookies packaged in a little red heart dish (which i forgot to take a picture of). they turned out pretty cute (although i'd say the term "ball" is used loosely) and tasted really good, especially for being chocolate-free. i never trust martha recipes. they usually look great on her site and then don't taste as good as i expect them to. but i had TWO martha recipes wow me for valentine's day! for dessert last night i made her individual dark chocolate pudding cakes topped with ice cream and...mmm. i felt ill the rest of the night-they were so rich. i think next time i'll skip the cinnamon and try using dark chocolate chips in place of the white chocolate, but otherwise it's a great recipe.

as for our little family's day: nash shoved a plate in my face early yesterday morning while i was still sleeping. on it was two pieces of toast (loaded with butter. steve said he even had to scrape some off before they brought it to me. i guess nash knows i like butter!), an orange, and a banana and said "happy balentime's day!" steve left for work and i realized he took the car seats with him, so we had to change our plans for the day. we stayed home and cleaned and played with cousins, then steve brought the car seats back after lunch. we delivered valentines, then came home to make dinner. steve requested heart-shaped steak. he was kidding, but you don't mess with me when it comes to holidays! so heart-shaped steak he got. along with sauteed onions + mushrooms, mashed cauliflower, and salad. the kids had heart-shaped pb&j (normally they eat what we eat at dinner, but i made a special exception last night, partly because i forgot to feed them lunch!). i delivered one of the aforementioned cakes to a friend, then we gorged on the rest, gave the kids their little valentine gifts (nash got a batman movie + a lollipop and haven got an eloise wilkin book + a gumball necklace) and watched sunday's desperate housewives and an episode of the sopranos.

valentine's day success!

see what happens when i don't take pictures? i write too much. props to you if you're still reading this!

2011-02-14T09:06:00.005-07:00

ten bonus points if you can tell me why this picture is extra cool (and it's not because my kids are both smiling, looking at the camera, or hugging. ;)

saturday hike

2011-02-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

@ red rocks with nash's GF, emma. this photo makes me think they should start a band called stoic. clearly the album cover is already taken care of.

snow day

2011-01-30T20:46:00.001-07:00

we've been lucky enough to have great weather so far here in vegas. so good that we've been able to consistently go to the park a few times a week. but, with all that good weather we were also lucky enough to get to play in the snow for a day (the perfect amount of time)! it was really "puttin' her down" out there when we woke up this particular morning. nash came running into my bedroom and woke me up yelling that it was snowing. the kids were insanely excited since we had planned to have some fun in the snow while in utah for the holidays and it didn't work out (the snow {in}conveniently melted during our short trip). i could have used a little more snow in order to make a snowman, but i'm not about to complain. wearing a t-shirt to the park in january can't be beat.

aargh: nash's 4th birthday party

2011-01-25T17:26:00.002-07:00

ahoy! nash's fourth birthday party (in november...better late than never, right?) was a pirate party (because i'm the boss and i wanted a pirate party. next year nash can have his dream "sewing machine party.").

cap'n nash:

some of the swashbucklers. their moms did a fantastic job dressing them for the occasion.

we took a few photos with the birthday boy (these will eventually be sent with thank-you cards),

played pin the treasure on the map, pass the parrot, and walk the plank,

ate fish & chips, orange slices (no scurvy here!), cupcakes & ice cream cups,

and opened presents (clearly it was very exciting).

nash had a blast and i survived my first real kid party!

{and haven looked pretty cute, too.}

thanks to all you four-year old scalliwags for making nash's fourth birthday such a great event! and to all you moms for being such good sports with the attire + funding such fun gifts!

*please excuse the wacky white-balance in these photos. it's the reason i waited so long to post them. i have been trying and trying to fix it, but i cannot get them right. i quit. and i've learned never to take photos in my "yard" again.

chocolate coconut truffles

2011-01-21T14:39:00.002-07:00

emmy brought these to us at christmas and i've been dreaming about them ever since. i didn't have enough agave on hand until yesterday's costco trip. the kids and i didn't waste any time and whipped up a batch this morning. they are heaven. (if you aren't a coconut fan you can roll them in cocoa instead of coconut and you won't even notice the coconut in the rest of the truffle.) these are reeeally easy, so so good!

chocolate coconut truffles

1/2 c. coconut oil/butter, warmed to soften

3/4 c. agave nectar

2 t. vanilla

1/4 t. sea salt

blend above in food processor and then add:

1 c. coconut (add 1/2 c. at a time)

process until blended. transfer to a bowl and add:

2 c. dark, sifted cocoa powder

stir until well blended. refrigerate about 10 minutes or until slightly set. roll into balls and then roll in cocoa or coconut. store in airtight container in refrigerator.

shiloh visits

2011-01-18T20:43:00.002-07:00

this weekend the petersons came down out of the cold mountains for a visit. we hadn't seen them for quite a while (and i'd never even met hazel-now four months old). the kids were super excited to see shiloh. she's one of those friends who calms my kids, rather than get them riled up and feisty. she's just plain sweet. hazel spent most of the trip napping in her sling or stroller, but i managed to get a shot of her (and her bright blue eyes) on our last adventure.

the weather has been amazing, upper-sixties to mid-seventies, so it was the perfect weekend for some fun. we went to springs preserve (if you live in vegas/visit vegas and haven't been-go. it felt like a little slice of heaven.) nash thought the flash flood simulation was "amazing," there were lots of fun things for the kids to do (like seeing how far they could jump-a video might follow this post if i can find my video camera), and the botanical gardens had me reminiscing and missing my glory days at NTBG. oh, and the architecture? don't even get me started...

of course no vegas trip is complete without a visit to the bellagio conservatory, a stroll down the strip (where nash & shiloh may have stolen a kiss or two in front of the "eiffel tower"...they were so sly i couldn't even capture it!), and town square for H&M + yogurtland.

my kids had so much fun it was hard to say goodbye. lisa overheard nash tell shiloh that he would "miss her soooo much" while they hugged. haven has been asking if we can go to utah to see shiloh non-stop. in her words "that was so fun, mom, with shiloh."

and it was.

thanks for the visit, you guys. come again soon!

new year, new trick

2011-01-09T21:58:00.002-07:00

one of my new year's resolutions was to create a gif animation. check.

not really, my three actual resolutions are slightly more complicated. they involve three words: accept, laugh, and exercise.

accept that i have ms and that i'm going to have it forever (unless i get really lucky, which i need to accept is very unlikely). i know most of you think i've got it all under control in this area of my life. i put on a good front. and i'm not saying that i don't handle it pretty well overall. but it still eats at me constantly, even when i'm not physically feeling the disease. it has changed me for ever. mostly for the good, but sometimes for the not-so-good and it's those areas that i'm trying to throw out the back door. if i can better accept my situation for what it is, maybe i won't react so poorly so often. because in all honesty this disease will not get the best of me. i refuse to let it.

laugh at myself. make others laugh, too. i think i used to be pretty funny. (my family will disagree here, they've always made a big to-do when i make a joke they actually find funny. "ooh, liz made a funny joke!" or "wow, liz, that was actually kind of funny." they are critics. and they are definitely funnier than i am.) but to the outside world with an average sense of humor, i was funny. i've become way too serious and way too grumpy. i'm going to let things go and laugh. and when steve grabs my bum i will try my hardest not to get mad ;) goal three comes in to play here...because if i have a firm bum i won't mind his grabbing it, right?

exercise. do i need to elaborate? i had a gym pass right after we got married. it was a two-year contract. i never went. not even once. (in my lame defense i had just been diagnosed with ms and was told i shouldn't exercise or let my body temperature rise. boo.) just like the rest of the world i go through phases where i'm great at getting in a workout (usually spring/summer) then the couch becomes my best friend. no more. i got another gym pass. and before you cringe, just know that i've already kicked my last gym pass's butt (not that it was hard). and i'm loving every second of it.

p.s. i was very strongly influence by this when setting my goals. although i chose three words, i'm mainly focusing on one: accept. it can/will have such an impact on my life and how i choose to handle it from here on out.

p.p.s. today i accepted that i have been living a pretty darn good life for THIRTY years. happy birthday to me!

new year's eve

2011-01-08T14:16:00.003-07:00

new year's eve was low-key. just us (it's my favorite way). in bed on time (i'm no good at late nights). we started the evening off with chinese take-out (martin family tradition) at five (a little early, if you ask me. but a certain husband/dad gets a little antsy when he has an entire day off work and doesn't know what to do with himself)! then we moved on to the celebration of all (toddler) celebrations. there were party hats, horns, beads, candy, sparklers, pop-its, confetti, and a smash "cake". the kids had a blast, and although it was all over before the ball dropped on the east coast (oops), it was nice to have the kids in bed at a normal hour so steve and i could watch a movie and ring in the new year alone with our bottle of martinelli's (actually it was archer farms brand and it was "ooh," as the kids say).

happy new year!!!

old times

2011-01-07T18:15:00.001-07:00

i just found these on my computer.
and i'm rolling.
like, it hurts.
we used to spend hours using photobooth.
we make reeeeeaaaalllly ugly faces.
leave it to nash to look uber handsome while the rest of us make fools of ourselves.

(don't kill me em...i didn't think they'd be this big...oops)

He is born

2010-12-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

we went to see a live nativity put on by our church about a week or so before christmas. we did a lot of fun things to get ready for christmas this year, but this night really stands out. the nativity was darn near perfect once it got rolling (after mary fell off the donkey during her grand entrance-good thing she wasn't really pregnant!). the set was amazing, the narration and music was just right (not too cheesy or in-your-face), and the cast was fantastic (mary was beeeeautiful). it was a seriously classy production. aside from the birth of the baby jesus, my favorite part was the "o' come, o' come, emmanuel" procession. it gets me. every. time. partly due to nostalgia from my choir days and then just because it's such a great song. definitely one of my favorites.

the kids loved the angels and the star and getting to pet the donkey and see the baby jesus after the show was over. the peppermint ice cream we enjoyed together afterward was a treat, too.

if you live in vegas this is a "must-do," put it on your list for next year.

*the photo above was taken by a photographer hired to document the production (i'm still trying to figure out the source). rumor has it that it is untouched. isn't it amazing?!?! it looks like a painting! i'd love to get my hands on a print...

"a fancy little christmas eve"

2010-12-28T11:10:00.003-07:00

we had a little family christmas eve the night before we left for utah. it was perfect and i loved having the special time together, just us.

the kids and i donned our fancy attire and as soon as dad arrived home from work he was greeted by the maitre'd (nash). nash folded under the pressure and couldn't exactly remember what he was supposed to do, but eventually he coaxed dad to the table, set in our fanciest dishes and lit by candlelight. the fireplace crackled in the background (thanks l&d!) and the christmas tree sparkled.

the first course was served: baguette with olive oil and balsalmic. then we moved on to the rest of the fancy dinner: herb-roasted cornish game hen with pearl onions, mashed cauliflower with blue cheese, and a festive pisachio and beet salad. nash & haven were freaked out by the whole chickens on the table at first, but then they took a few bites and the fear was gone. they loved it. and nash asked for a christmas dinner with chicken on the bone again last night. then, of course, we had some martinelli's and offered up some toasts. the kids thought toasting was pretty fun and we had a few rounds. nash calls it "the toast, not the one you eat." his toast was the best. something along the lines of "we got a biiiig truck and put all our stuff in it and we moved to las begas MERRRRY CHRISTMAS!"

after dinner the kids opened their gifts from each other, from us and from my parents. nash picked out a little kitty furreal pet for haven. haven picked out a travel lite brite toy for nash. they put on their new jammies and we put in one of the hit gifts: beauty and the beast. when i bought the dvd for them a few weeks ago it came with a free cd with a few beauty & the beast tracks on it. i figured we'd get some mileage out of it before they opened their gift so we've been playing it in the car. the kids know all the words and love to sing along. and nash can sometimes be overheard singing in his room. (this makes me so stinking happy-it was my absolute favorite movie as a kid. i was obsessed.) so they were just a little excited to get the actual movie (please just ignore my presence in the video. i'm so weird):

finally, we said farewell to jolly & beaker. we'd been prepping haven for a week or two on this. we told her that if she could give jolly all of her binkis to take to santa, that santa would bring her a dollhouse on christmas morning. she was totally on board and was so excited about it that she even ran to the front of the line to see santa at our ward party a few nights before and told him the plan. well, when the time actually came it was pretty rough. she threw a HUGE fit. it was actually pretty hilarious and steve took a video of it. but i guess nash got a hold of the camera and deleted it the next morning, so it's lost and gone forever. in its place is this (nash being a bossy older brother, haven in her christmas jammies, christmas toys scattered everywhere, and a glimpse into our little home):

but she did it-she said goodbye! and we've been binki-free ever since. only problem is that she's decided she can't nap without it.

wishing you a merry christmas

2010-12-24T09:00:00.024-07:00

we sent a christmas card out last-minute with the above family photo, so some of you may get it. here we were in our christmas outfits. just imagine some red in there because the color versions are...blah. i've decided that my motto for this year is: "you win some, you lose some. especially when it comes to kids, baking, and taking your own family's photos." at least i keep trying, right? it was dark (inside), the camera was propped on blankets, we took two shots, i used costco + a template which wasn't the color scheme i thought it was, and i sent it late...but i tried, and i did it, and it isn't perfect, and i'm still fine. i think nash's face saved us here. classic boy. he could give mad max a run for his money with those ears. hope you've all been having a wonderful christmas filled with good times, good food, and good company!

merry christmas!

santa train

2010-12-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

on saturday we took a train ride to see santa. haven cried. nash requested a yo-yo (a modest request considering he had been thinking about asking for a submarine).

p.s. we have the inside scoop: santa's favorite cookies are peanut butter.

chocolate-covered cherry cookies

2010-12-12T09:13:00.002-07:00

the other day we made cookies for a cookie exchange. not really part of the advent, but still festive. this recipe is from my grandma, and i believe she got it from taste of home (you bunco girls might remember this one from last february). it's normally pretty simple, but i'm not having any luck baking in this house (crappy oven + altitude changes + letting haven help, i guess), so i ended up throwing batch one away and doing it all twice. and they didn't turn out great. blah. you win some, you lose some. at least haven had a blast making a sugary mess with every utensil we own.

this is normally a really good cookie-sort of a cross between candy and cookie and great to add to cookie plates. maybe you'll have better luck (note: the photo above is prior to frosting/baking so this isn't how they look when they're done):

chocolate-covered cherry cookies

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1/2 c. butter
1 c. granulated sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1 egg
1 1/2 t. vanilla
48 undrained maraschino cherries (10 oz. jar)
1/2 (6 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk

in small bowl combine flour and cocoa. set aside. in large bowl beat butter till soft. add sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. beat well. add egg and vanilla. add flour mixture.

shape into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. press center down and place cherry in center of each.

in saucepan, combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. heat till melted. stir in 4 t. of cherry juice. (thin with more juice if needed). cover cherry with frosting.

bake at 350 degrees for about ten minutes. move to rack to cool.

p.s. if you try these i think this is a great way to finish off the frosting part. i've also read that you can wait to frost them until after baking, which might be a better idea so that the frosting doesn't crack/dry out.

p.p.s. my blog is super cool and is a day ahead (see the date on the post?), don't let this confuse you...i have no idea what's going on.

christmas banks

2010-12-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

a few days ago our advent activity was to make christmas banks and discuss chores and helping. we haven't established a household chore system yet (call me lazy) but i figured this was the perfect time to introduce the idea. we used some little gift boxes i picked up on after-christmas clearance last year. we simply cut a slit in the top of each box, taped the bottoms to make them more secure, and called it done. the kids have been earning change for doing things like unloading the dishwasher, cleaning up their toys, saying nice things to each other, taking laundry to the washing machine for me, setting the table, etc. they also lose coins for fighting and asking me for treats at the store (i am sooooo mean). depending on their total earnings come december 21st we'll choose a store and the kids will shop for each other's christmas gift with their money.

gingerbread men

2010-12-10T10:13:00.002-07:00

this was serious business. look at these hard-at-work faces:

alison and i planned to make gingerbread men with the kids using the leftover gingerbread from our house. the recipe was clearly not meant to take the form of little cookie men. alison and i managed to form ten or twelve deformed little men before we gave up (screaming/fighting children might have factored in to our defeat as well). once baked the cookies didn't look so bad, so the kids and i frosted that night. i tried a technique called "flooding" to frost mine. i don't know how i've never tried it before but it was really easy and i love the way they look.

do any of you have a tried and true recipe for gingerbread men? i want to give it another shot...

hot cocoa

2010-12-08T21:07:00.003-07:00

tonight steve read a christmas book to the kids and we all had hot cocoa with bob's sweet stripes and marshmallows (as evidenced by haven's shirt). then haven told me to "take pictures, mom. with your camera." so i did. this is my favorite...with the only light coming from the christmas tree.

speaking of christmas tree lighting, em took this picture of the kids with her phone while she was here last week. i sort of love it.

beaker & jolly

2010-12-07T16:22:00.002-07:00

my favorite advent activity so far (and i'm not sure what's going to top it other than christmas morning) has been the arrival of santa's elves.

on saturday night there was a knock at the door. nash answered and announced "there's nobody there..." then i heard a gasp. someone left something! there on the porch sat two little elves with special letters from santa. if you could have seen nash's face! santa sent "beaker" to watch nash and "jolly" to watch haven. after a long round of Q&A as to how the elves got here (santa dropped them off), if they are real (yes!), when do they move (when people aren't watching), how long they will stay (till christmas eve), what do they eat (candy canes, gingerbread, and hot cocoa), we put the kids to bed. nash plays in his room for a bit before he goes to sleep, so i snuck upstairs and positioned beaker outside nash's door, knocked lightly, and then hid. nash opened the door and gasped. he then ran downstairs to tell dad all about how beaker wanted to see him so he came and knocked on the door! i went in to tuck nash in to bed and he explained to me that because beaker is a guest we needed to make him a bed. so we did just that and they drifted off to sleep. when nash woke up the next morning he found that beaker decided to take a ride on his horse in the night.

periodically throughout the day the elves move about. we've found them climbing down the stairs, reading books, hanging upside down from shelves, etc. each time the kids scream with excitement, "they're real! they're real!"

last night they must have gone back to see santa because they were gone when we woke up, but after we ran some errands this morning we came back to find them sitting on santa's mailbox. they had delivered nash's pile of letters to santa and brought back little gifts from him!

not only did santa send little snowmen for the kids, but he must have sent some magic, too, because they've been playing together (happily) ever since! which is why i'm posting twice in one day! christmas miracle!

advent time

2010-12-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

the advent has begun and is keeping us busy and excited for christmas. so far we've decorated the tree + house, strung lights outside, opened christmas nightlights, gone to a movie, written a million letters to santa, watched christmas shows, crafted, and made a gingerbread house. apparently this gingerbread house was originally included in a 1960's relief society magazine. my mom's friend introduced her to it in the 80's and we've been making them ever since. some years my mom made them in mass and sold them, some years we only made one house. there used to be a method to it all, but now most of the candies that we traditionally used are scarce, so this year i went simple and easy. the kids were pretty excited about it and i even let them help a little ;) nash applied the gumdrops to the roof. next year i'll make two; one for me to perfect (my piping is not the best, as you can clearly see) and one for them to destroy!

nash is dying to eat it...too bad they don't taste as good as they look!

the urge

2010-11-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

often when i enter a room alone but know that someone (usually steve) is following me, or whenever i hear the kids say "hey, where's mom?" from another room, i feel this sudden urge to hide. usually it's just in the closet, but sometimes i get more creative.

a few nights ago, while in utah, bevie and i scurried home from holwonder's house after watching a super classy movie about celery ;) as soon as i entered b&d's front door the urge hit me. i took a turn to the right with the intent to hide in the office and scare bevie. except that there was a christmas tree box in the way which i had no way of seeing in the dark. i crashed into/through/over it and fell to the floor. so instead of being spooked, steve came in the house to find me in a bundle on the office floor. laughing and crying. since i was unable to speak for a few minutes he put his "sean spencer, psychic detective" skills to work and figured out what had happened. my big toe still hurts. after pain like that, i wasn't sure i'd ever want to scare again.

but, just a few moments ago i heard nash and haven announce that they were coming to find me and BAM! the urge came back. so i did what any thrill-seeking mom would do. i hid in my closet. nash is the best victim for these tactics. he goes from a simple, "mom? where are you?" to complete meltdown in about three seconds. as soon as said meltdown commenced i crept out behind him (apparently he has absolutely no peripheral vision), grabbed his waist, and yelled whatever people yell to scare other people (in other words i have no idea how to spell it out). he literally leapt into the air, and had i not been holding his waist he would have, most likely, taken a nose-dive. i laughed, he cried. is that bad to do-oo?

and that's what's going on at our house. a never-ending game of hide and seek.

big boy bike

2010-11-20T19:43:00.008-07:00

today, just two days before turning four, nashy mastered* a big boy bike! no training wheels involved. ever. all i can say is i am now a firm believer in balance bikes. nash rode one for maybe an hour a week for the last two months. he got his shiny new bike this morning and...well, see for yourself:

*i'm using the term "mastered" loosely here. he still needs to work on getting started on his own + braking instead of using his shoes to stop. but seriously, this is his first time riding his bike. super impressive.

okay, sorry i made you watch that. it lacks excitement. yes, this was the best footage i had. unless you want to see the super poor-quality video i took with my phone (which is not an iphone). you'd also have to hear me yelling in excitement like only the proudest parent can do.

p.s. stay tuned for photos of nash's birthday party - argh, and the cutest pirates ye ever did see...

last night...

2010-11-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

after the kids went to bed i kept hearing funny little noises. i thought it was just coming from outside. at 9:30 we headed upstairs to watch our nightly psych episode (do you watch this show? i used to think it was completely stupid, but after starting from the beginning (thanks to netflix) i think it's pretty darn funny.). anyway, so as i was coming up the stairs i could hear little birdie chirps coming from haven's room. i crept down her hall and flung open the door to find her laying in a circle of her books reading "the poky little puppy." i just thought the circle of books was so cute, she'd probably been up long enough to read each and every one. and, might i point out that she has the cutest collection of vintage golden books? that she takes care of? it wasn't always the case, but she's past the book-ripping stage and has discovered she loves these books. they are loaded with fat babies, puppies, kitty kitties, butterflies, and all the things she loves the most.

p.s. despite having stayed up at least two hours past bedtime haven was up and at 'em at 6:30. the girl seems to over sleeping these days. which is no good because i seem to really enjoy/need sleep these days :(

trick or treat

2010-11-02T15:44:00.001-07:00

we had such a fun halloween. between the pumpkin patch, the preschool party, the ward trunk or treat, scary movie night, and trick or treating with the cousins i think we covered all our bases. we're really sad it's over. or maybe that's just me. i took down all the halloween decorations yesterday and was depressed the rest of the day. i love, love, love halloween. so much so that i'm already working on next year's costumes. the wheels are a turnin'...

oh, and just because my mom wanted to see, here are a few of the decorations i made this halloween:

1. i added a witch hat + bow to haven's silhouette and a top hat + houndstooth bow tie to nash's. i've got plans to do something similar for christmas, too.

2. i made the halloween tree using a dollar store plastic urn, black spray paint, and then a little gray paint rubbed over the top for texture. don't you love that chartreuse reindeer moss? i also made a quick & easy glittered "boo" banner + a cute little halloween butterfly shadowbox using graphics from the graphics fairy. i framed that witch there at the bottom but never got around to hanging it (old lady photo here, then i added a cardstock witch hat).

3. the cute pumpkin was inspired by a craft i saw at michaels. they used funkins but i just glittered a pumpkin light i already had. the hat is made with velvet zebra scrapbook paper and embellished with black boa + a glitter spider. and i, of course, got lots of use out of my black and orange doilies that i love so much.

4. the wreath was made using a straw wreath and lima beans, a la dana, then a nice coat of pumpkin orange spray paint. i love the orange glitter wreath hook (thank you, target). i then attached some more glitter spiders using pins and used some scrap fabric to hang the wreath from the hook. now that halloween is over i can replace the black & white fabric with a fall ribbon and remove the spiders and i've got my fall wreath done.

oz

2010-10-31T08:14:00.000-07:00

safe and sound at the emerald city, despite all the lions and tigers and bears (and a very wicked witch)! oh my!

happy halloween!

i'll get you, my pretty...

2010-10-29T20:45:00.003-07:00

and your little dog, too.

notice the pigeon toes? runs in the family...

primary program

2010-10-28T11:57:00.001-07:00

about a month ago nash received his assignment for the ward primary program:

"when i serve my family, i serve god. i can serve my family by _________."

he learned his line in just a few minutes and i'd periodically test him until the time came for him to actually perform. he would change the ending around, sometimes saying things as simple as "being nice," and sometimes he'd go into a lot of detail and list all the chores he could ever do. i was so sure he was going to get up there and wow everyone (not even the eight-year-olds had their lines memorized). first, we filmed a little trial run in the hallway:

then it was time for the actual program. we were't allowed to film, which is really sad because this kid put on quite a show. i was rolling. and just a tiny bit embarrassed. (and why was i the only mom in the room that was laughing/crying?) nash looked like maybe he had a few screws loose up there. rather than sing, he rose up and down on his toes with his arms rising straight out in front of him. over. and over. and over. to the beat. he did sing the last few lines of "follow the prophet." problem was that he sang it louder than all the other children combined and straight into the ear of the kid next to him. "HE KNOWS THE WAAAAAAAY!!!!!"

finally, it was time for him to recite his line from the pulpit. the kid just couldn't hack it. he was so distracted by all the faces looking at him that all he managed to mutter out was something like "serve god...family...do dishes," and then he ran away.

i'm just proud of him for getting up there and doing it at all. i'm still terrified of speaking and have been avoiding the bishop like the plague so i don't get asked to speak!

way to go, mashy bay!

can i get a woot, woot?!

2010-10-18T12:30:00.008-07:00

did you know...

stevie bevie passed the nevada bar! we can now officially call him stevie bevie, esquire.
the kids think that dad is a "liar." because it's hard to pronounce "lawyer" when you're 2.33 and 3.83 years old.
i think dad is a superhero. can i brag for a minute? i know it's annoying sometimes, but really, he doesn't get enough credit for all the things he accomplishes. top 10%, order of the coif, highest honors, editor in chief of the environmental law journal, jackie chiles president (okay that one didn't take a lot of effort. how does the beeves always manage to become the president of the most ridiculous clubs on campus? remember how he was the BYU BBQC president? what? you don't know what that is? it's the barbecue club, silly. the one that served up burgers once a quarter for $1 (and grilled cheese on a bun for girlfriends for free ;). and that's all they did! which is probably why the club no longer exists...but still. he was the PRESIDENT!!!), a gazillion cali awards (for top grade in a class), and finally, the most-hours-of-tv-watched-by-a-law-student award.

okay, i made that last one up.

let's here it for stevie bevie!!!

*the above photos were taken just moments after stevie bevie, esquire was sworn in by the judge he is currently clerking for. haven was, obviously, thrilled to be in attendance.

the great pumpkin patch

2010-10-06T22:55:00.011-07:00

last year around this time we pretty much knew we'd be living in vegas in a year. so when alison posted about their pumpkin patch trip (here), i was just a little depressed. okay, really depressed. but we got lucky and we happen to live a stone's throw from a pretty cute little (overpriced) pumpkin patch. so...we took a little family trip tonight.

despite the fact that she has been a not-so-happy girl the past few days, haven put on a pretty good show for the camera:

nash filled the wheelbarrow with pumpkins we had absolutely no intention of purchasing. total cost of the pumpkins in this wheelbarrow: $35 (what?!?!)

then the cousins came and the party began. (this may be the cutest cousin picture ever).

there were lots of fun rides as long as you had parents who were kind enough to buy some "took-its" for you. these kids were pretty darn lucky. swings first.

having fun...

looking good...

oh, no! haven is usually our thrill-seeking child, but for some reason tonight she looked like this:

and she obviously felt like this:

after the swings came the bouncy house castle followed by the teacup knockoff...

i thought i'd take haven on the teacups, but after we buckled her in she started to freak out. steve took a picture and cut her out of it because she was crying. so haven and i got out before the ride even started, which is a really good thing because four hours later and my head is still spinning just from watching the ride!

i guess that makes me a bad mom for documenting the cutest tantrum she's ever had (below). all she wanted was "tickets to the castle, mom"! (she ends every sentence/question/request with "mom" right now and it's so cute + maybe a little annoying.)

aaaand, it actually felt like fall tonight!!! cool and breezy. dark, beautiful skies. couldn't have asked for a better evening.

i want to go to there

2010-10-02T20:08:00.002-07:00

naomi (my sister-in-law) just posted this picture. this is where i grew up. good ol' franklin, pennsylvania. it's fall there (like, real fall). and it's applefest weekend. this is always a hard time for me to be away from "home." but this year it's just a little harder since i'm in the desert and there is absolutely nothing to hint toward it being fall here. except the pumpkin patch down the road and the thunder that woke me up from my nap today. it got me a little excited, but it's not enough.

i am homesick.

drat.

edited to add: come on, people. i already said i like it here (in las vegas), right? a girl can wish she was home (where she grew up, where the majority of her memories took place, where her family lives) one weekend a year, can't she? i didn't say i want to move there or live there or that i am unhappy here. geeze. and now i'll crawl back in my non-blogging hole ;)

brynnlee

2010-10-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

this is my mom's cousin's newest addition (i have no idea what that makes her in relation to myself. second cousin once removed?). isn't she perfect? those lips! those eyes! her little chin and that ear. seriously, i could devour her. and, to make it all better, she was the best. baby. ever. she opened her eyes a few times, but never a cry.

sophie

2010-09-28T14:33:00.001-07:00

this little cutie is one week younger than haven. yet she has a gorgeous head of hair, full of curly locks. she may even have more hair than i do. i might be just a little jealous, but i think a hair-stylist mommy deserves such a child. i probably wouldn't know what to do with so much hair anyway.

lisa + aaron {sneak peak}

2010-09-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

more to come...LOVED this place

a big first

2010-09-13T21:21:00.001-07:00

nash started preschool last tuesday. when we woke up it was cloudy for the first time since our arrival in las vegas and there was a double rainbow. we took a few photos (i did not direct him, this was all him. nerd.). then we dropped him off at miss jamie's house. he was pretty excited but then when i picked him up and asked him how it was and what he learned he said "i'll tell you tomorrow." he said the same thing on thursday. he just needs a little time to mull things over i guess. but i did overhear him tell haven, "miss jamie said we never kick or hit or push." and he sings a really, really terrible rendition of a song with the same lyrics.

there are probably a million other things i should update on, but i'm sort of feeling "over" blogging...maybe i was away too long? a few las vegas highlights so far:

aside from starting preschool nash also started sleeping in underwear. and eating sprouts.
we've killed a LOT of bugs (cockroaches, black widows, crickets)
every time we are out driving after dark the kids scream "lights of las vegas! lights of las vegas!"
and every time we drive anywhere else, any time of day, they yell "palm trees! palm trees!"
the first week it was one thing after another...first the disposal, then the dishwasher, then the lights, then a barking dog (well, the dog was/is an everyday problem). but it seems the kinks are all worked through now....knock on wood...
we have played with cousins almost every day since we moved in
havey got a big girl bed (which will also serve as the guest bed-come visit!)

and, drumroll....

i actually like it here

i know.

and we're off...

2010-08-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

we're all packed up in a budget truck and we're headed south to our new home...which i haven't even seen yet (yikes!). internet access may be scarce for a while..see you on the other side.

i do shoes

2010-08-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

happy birthday, bevie!!!

2010-08-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

we miss you and love you and are so sorry we are so far away...five more days and you'll be wishing we were far away again ;)

and something fun for the rest of you, here's stevie bevie at age 3 (26 years ago).

isn't he the cutest?

nose-picker

2010-08-22T10:41:00.001-07:00

jack

2010-08-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

have

2010-08-18T22:33:00.002-07:00

i'm already failing at the picture-a-day thing. but i have a really good excuse-my parents have been here. they stayed after the wedding junk was over to help me with the kids, since i had four different appointments on three different days in salt lake (reminder: i don't live there any more so it's now a commute). one of those little appointments came with some really great news. it was my six-month tysabri follow-up. i had MRIs and labwork done two weeks ago in preparation for this follow-up visit. i wasn't expecting much; when i first started on tysabri the doctor told me that it's not that common to see lesion reduction, especially not until after at least a year of treatment. and lots of people never see any reduction (for those people tysabri just stops progression of the disease). well, i have had "a significant reduction of lesions" and have "no active lesions." i'm actually getting a little better!!! and i feel a million times better. let's just say monday was a great day. so great, in fact, that i decided to celebrate with a chick-fil-A sandwich + honey mustard dressing. the chicken wasn't worth it, but man, that dressing...

emmy + nate {open house}

2010-08-16T11:42:00.027-07:00

emmy's open house was on saturday. i'm still recovering from all the hard work. i think it turned out pretty fabulous, but i was so tired by the time it happened that i was pretty lazy about the picture-taking.

details:

nate & em made homemade ice cream (pistachio, mango & vanilla)
chocolate-dipped waffle + sugar cones with sprinkles, nuts & rainbow chips
key lime + cheesecake filled cupcakes,
chocolate dipped cookies
lemon + cucumber flavored waters.
twinkle lights + tissue pom garlands + japanese lanterns
an intimate dance party at the very end.

now they're back in arizona doing the newly-wed thing, apparently still in love ;) and we're returning all the crap we didn't use + getting ready for the final phase of our move to las vegas in two weeks (where we'll reunite with bevie). i can't wait to be with just my little family and have nothing to do but be together...

brother + sister

2010-08-15T19:26:00.020-07:00

a few notes:

they are so* related.
nash is swimming! this is a big deal. something that warrants its own post (coming soon).
i love these two.

*use of the word "so" dedicated to my dad.

and tonight we party

2010-08-14T07:21:00.002-07:00

sound effects

2010-08-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

one-a-day

2010-08-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

for the rest of august i'm going to take a cue from sheena and post one picture a day. we'll see if i can handle it, but for today...this is (one-third of) what keeps me going:

mr. funny-groom

2010-08-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

just editing photos and came across this one...he thought he was pretty funny. okay, we all did. for some reason the pigeon-toe thing just isn't cute on dudes.

pennsylbania

2010-07-25T21:33:00.001-07:00

while i was packing to leave for our trip nash and i had a little chat about where we were going. i told him we were flying on the plane all the way to pennsylvania. he thought for a minute, "pennsylbania?" he asked, and then, "what's a pencil?" confused, i replied, "it's what you color and draw with, you know that, silly." and then he asked, "well, what color is bania?" oh this guy is too cute. if i had to answer him, i'd definitely say that "bania" = green. see for yourself:

our trip was full of fun little moments like taking a walk on the old train bridge with grandma & great grandma

catching fireflies

roasting marshmallows & making smores

playing in the rain with uncle andybob

skipping rocks and taking a little dip in the allegheny river

six plane rides, two tram rides, a taxi ride, and two nights in a hotel (nash is really proud to have done all that, for me those parts were probably the least fun). we took a little tiny commuter plane from cleveland to franklin (and back) and when we landed nash exclaimed "the captain did a great job flying, mama!" he then stuck his head into the cockpit and let the captain know what a great job he'd done.

it was a pretty exhausting trip if you can't tell...oh, and someone got a haircut and a shiner.

the end.

kosker family

2010-07-23T06:55:00.005-07:00

i had so much fun shooting this cute family. they were so easy and the location & lighting were beautiful. julie, i hope you love these as much as i do. below are some favorites from the session, but there are lots more on their way to your mailbox!

see more here on the 'liz anderson photography' fan page.

if you'd like to schedule a family portrait session with me (it's not too early to start thinking about christmas cards), visit my website or email me at liz@lizandersonphotography.com. utah portrait sessions are limited since we'll be moving to vegas soon!

sneak peek: kosker family pile

2010-07-21T14:29:00.002-07:00

julie was the winner of my giveaway back in march and we shot this last week while i was home in pennsylvania. i haven't seen julie since high school and it was so fun to meet her cute little family. hazel just had her first birthday so it was the perfect time for some pictures.

i can't wait to edit the rest of the photos-but at the same time i'd like to fast-forward to september so i don't have to think about all the things i have to do from now till then: edit, shoot, edit, have a garage sale, pack, clean, move out, take care of kids, three doctor visits, two weddings, find a place to live, move in, unpack, organize...and i've completely lost my summer tan already...so i've got to try and fit some pool time in there somewhere. most of this without my bevie since he's already in vegas getting ready for/taking the bar and then starting his new job. wish me luck and preserved sanity ;)

just married

2010-07-18T14:40:00.001-07:00

she (they) did it!!! it was the HOTTEST wedding day ever. more photos to come once i get home.

silly cousins

2010-07-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

for grandma's birthday we all pitched in and got her this photo holder. rather than attempt to get photos of all the kids together (yeah, right!), we opted for individual photos instead. we recycled the cat-eye glasses and moustaches and the kids busted out some of their best silly faces. it was a fun spin on the usual "photos for grandma" gift.

reunited

2010-07-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

my absolute favorite part of chelsey & james' reception, aside from all the usual bride + groom stuff, was this special moment. lori (chelsey's mom) and her old BYU hawaii roommate, deedee, hadn't seen each other in years (i think maybe since lori's wedding?). i'm pretty sure the sight of each other whisked them both into years passed; squealing, spinning around, hugging and kissing each other, laughing and crying. it's one of those moments i felt honored to capture. and one that left a mascara smudge on my left eye for the rest of the evening (my right eye was too busy working to cry).

chelsey + james wedding part 2

2010-07-09T09:00:00.003-07:00

a few shots from the reception...a little favor to chelsey since she's watching haven for me this morning while i'm off in PA with nash for emmy's wedding.

havey swims

2010-07-06T16:17:00.001-07:00

haven has decided she really likes to swim. i'm such a proud mama! look at her little kicks! if only you could see her face...she was so excited. every. single. time. (and she did this for what seemed like an eternity). if anyone came near the pool she'd say "look i swimming!" she even floated out to the deep end and didn't want anyone near her. little miss independent at it again.

nash, on the other hand? he won't even don his swimsuit anymore. the kid is deathly afraid of the pool. i guess the silver lining lies in the fact that i know he will never get in the pool when i'm not around AND haven got to have a "first" before nash. something that rarely happens for a little girl living in the shadow of her loud, attention-grabbing brother.

chelsey + james wedding part I

2010-07-02T07:32:00.001-07:00

chelsey and james really wanted a photobooth at their wedding and this is what we came up with. it was a lot of fun and kept the guests busy during the reception. i made the moustaches and cat-eye glasses with craft foam and we had a large supply of glue dots on hand for prop application.

thanks to em & chari for your help! couldn't have done it without you.

chelsey + james {salt lake city temple wedding}

2010-06-24T08:27:00.001-07:00

a favorite from last night's session. chelsey is one of my best friends and i'm sooo happy that she is finally getting married ;) she deserves to be happy-the girl spreads happy around like it's wildfire and i'm so glad that she found her special someone to share the love with.

FOR RENT

2010-06-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

i finally got the house listed this morning. if you know of anyone looking to rent in salt lake, send them our way? details here.

emmy's shower

2010-06-16T19:45:00.002-07:00

a few of emmy's friends and i threw her a bridal shower on saturday. her only input was that she wanted it to be "picnic-y". it was windy and gray so we opted to stay indoors, but i think it was the best indoor picnic i've ever been to.

on the menu:

pulled pork sandwiches on soft rolls with cole slaw
honey ham & swiss on soft rolls with the most delicious mustard/poppyseed pesto i've ever had (i ate mine sans ham and it was still amazing)
great grandma kline's baked beans
potato salad
watermelon
mexican coke

plus pie & ice cream for dessert and those cute little pie pops were our party favors.

decor included that awesome aqua plastic lace tablecloth that i am still dying over, a sewn paper/ribbon pennant banner, and, of course, my new favorite: paper flowers.

i think it turned out pretty cute and we had a great time. we only planned one activity: the paper dress game. each team had maybe twenty minutes to create a dress made with only tissue paper, toilet paper, and tape. contrary to the judge's final decision, ours was clearly the best dress.

a pleated bodice, v-neck, elbow-length sleeves, a hi-low with a bustle, a french-inspired veil, flower detailing, AND we had a professional seamstress on our team (not to mention a professional model. gosh, i have the worst posture ever and could i look more like my brother? it's andy in a dress! in my defense, this is not my "normal" face. at least i don't think so...). yet we didn't win? i'm not mad about it or anything, really.

AAAAaand finally, the presents. guests were asked to bring a gift that coordinated with an assigned movie. it was pretty fun to see how people interpreted this. let's just say em made out with some good stuff. (the rosary was from the gift inspired by "the sound of music" and the book is from the gift inspired by "amalie," which may or may not have been my assignment. just keeping it real.)

she's got a LOT of reading to do...good thing nate is far, far away...

i never do this

2010-06-16T09:10:00.001-07:00

BUT...i really want to win sheena's giveaway because this print is an absolute necessity for haven's in-the-works new room. seriously, doesn't this face...

and this wall...

need a little pick-me-up? i mean, lately haven has been sneaking out of her room and sleeping at the top of the stairs. next to the washer and dryer. i think that's her begging..."please, mom, can't i have a cute room, too?" or maybe she just needs a door...

go check it out. i'm loving all of vibeke hoie's illustrations. go buy some...but please don't win the giveaway or i'll hunt you down and take it from you. mark my words.

UPDATE: I WON!!! this great news comes on a great day-i was up with nash last night changing sheets, clothes, and the puke bowl. i deserve this! right? thanks sheena & vibeke. i can't wait to hang that bad boy up!

this week we

2010-06-11T12:06:00.004-07:00

enjoyed the thunderstorms, evening showers, and even a double rainbow

made a bunch of stuff

rediscovered some old favorites

started building haven's bedroom wall (finally!)

ate loads of cherries & strawberries

found out that steve graduated top 10% with highest honors!!! (sorry, had to sneak in some bragging)

went on lots of walks & runs

played with friends

read books (really liking this one)

took naps

relaxed.

the calm before the storm...

summer, well...every other day

2010-06-04T10:52:00.001-07:00

i'm not sure what's up with this spring/summer so far. it's been super hot and sunny just about every other day, then cool and cloudy on the alternate days. we've been doing our best to take advantage, and i'm sure about one week of relentless (hot) sun will do me in and i'll be wishing it were cloudy again. luckily the kids are in heaven as long as they're outside. have you ever seen a happier boy?

we're headed south for the weekend to see if we can find some sun (and to chaperone emmy and nate ;) have a happy weekend!

just this evening

2010-06-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

there's this ten, maybe twenty minute window in the evening where the light...it's like butter. oh, man. gets me every time.

green drink

2010-06-01T10:31:00.001-07:00

my good friend, gina introduced us to this amazing smoothie that has since become a favorite around here. if i don't make two servings, i quickly regret it. nash and haven love "green drink" and will scream until i share mine. usually that ends with me having one or two sips of my own drink! surprisingly, it doesn't taste like grass-which most of the green smoothies i've tried can't claim. this is good stuff. it's quick & easy and super good for you. plus, how many kids do you know that really like to eat salad? it's a great trick to get your kids to eat their greens.

"green drink"

2 cups organic baby spinach
4 oz. organic pineapple-coconut juice (like rw knudsen or santa cruz organics. both sold in glass jars in the health food section of the grocery store).
1 frozen banana (i like to buy lots and let them get nice and ripe. then i cut them up and freeze them so they are ready to go.)

blend, remove your kid's shirt (it stains!), serve & enjoy!

and many, many thanks to gina!

birthday out-takes

2010-05-27T11:52:00.002-07:00

found these funny so thought i'd share:

nash wanted to help me when we went to take havey's pictures, so i let him use the flip. he thought he was sooo important. i love his coaching in these videos and that he captured the behind-the-scenes-sadness:

she really wasn't happy about taking pictures so i feel really lucky to have gotten anything out of the effort! and, just so you know, i didn't prolong the agony for too long...we played around and took a break until emmy came to help get some smiles out of her. and then we lost the balloons...

it was a good time to call it quits.

since sunday's complete meltdown she's been pretty darn happy and so so so cute (go figure, right?).
like in this video (please excuse the obnoxious three-year-old in the background. the kid thinks he should star in every video/photo ever made):

i LOVE the way she says "i love you." it kills me. and did you notice her lisp? told you so!

thanks for her super cute dress, grape grandma! and don't worry-that peanut butter didn't touch the dress. she was uncharacteristically careful despite those messy hands she just showed you!

birthday re-cap

2010-05-25T08:40:00.007-07:00

we had two little parties for haven. the first was a backyard bbq with some friends on thursday. i took photos of all the decor and the cupcakes before-hand because the weather was so crazy that it was looking like we'd have to do the party indoors. the weather turned out great! so we got to play in the backyard and eat burgers, hot dogs, baked beans, sweet pototo fries (with curry dipping sauce), salad, cupcakes and ice cream. bbq-ing is the way to go! so easy, minimal clean-up, and smells darn good. plus the kids aren't quite so loud since there aren't any walls and floors to bounce the sound all over and drive the parents mad! we actually ALL got to sit, at the same time, and have conversations! that's success in my book.

party two was on sunday with the family. for this party i made a giant cupcake cake for the birthday girl. we got home from church at 2:15 and realized we needed to leave for orem at 3:00 in order to get dinner going. i had the cake and fondant made, but forgot about the ganache so i had to make that and threw that thing together in about 30 minutes. let's just say the picture above is very flattering. good thing it was still pretty yummy. it also helped balance out haven's completely horrible attitude. she was the WORST she has ever been. whining, crying, screaming, kicking. it was unreal. i think three days of late-nights, no sunday nap, lots of sugar, and chaos about did her in. this bad attitude accounts for the lack of copious pictures of the actual birthday girl.

i made more paper flowers and the birthday banner a while back, so the party prep was easy. lauren used her cricut to cut out the letters for me (thank you, lauren!). we also had red & white polka-dot napkins and red & white striped paper straws for our mexican coke.

i took haven's party dress off before i let her eat her cake and ice cream at the bbq. which is exactly when we realized we may not have changed her diaper all day. oops! she had the heaviest, saggiest diaper i've ever seen. good thing the party was just in our own little ghetto!

and at the family party things were so chaotic by the time we did cake and ice cream, i was lucky to get even these two shots. i don't even know if she blew the candles out on her own or if one of the cousins/brother did it for her (that's my guess. the cousins and brother were a little excited and wanted to help her do everything!).

"presents!" we heard that A LOT over the weekend. havey was pretty excited about getting/opening presents. she got spoiled rotten with dresses galore (she loves dresses & skirts. each time she'd open a present that was anything made of cloth she'd say, "pretty skirt!"), a couple other outfits, a puzzle, a backpack, four bracelets, pots & pans for her play-kitchen, a swimsuit coverup, loads of books, butterfly sandals, money for the bank, alice in wonderland, a bubble machine & tons of bubbles, and some other toys. nash even picked out two hello kitty toy candies at the store and wrapped them for her all by himself. he was pretty proud of himself.

and because we went to the doctor for a two year check-up and two shots yesterday, here are haven's stats:

weight: 27.7 lbs/ 64%tile

height: 37 inches/ 100%tile

personality: 120% stubborn

if we go by yesterday's numbers (which the doc said is the "rule"), haven will be 74 " tall at maturity. um, 6'1"? i laughed, but i suppose it's possible-my side of the family is pretty darn tall (i'm the shortest, i think). looks like a few of the boys i've had pegged to become her husband may be out of the running now ;)

happy birthday, havey girl!

2010-05-21T07:29:00.002-07:00

and the celebrating begins (okay, it began last night...a thorough birthday review will be posted next week). i'm trying reeeeeally hard not to bug her by sticking the camera in her face today, since she is our special birthday girl. as you can see, she's not a fan of the camera. luckily i planned ahead and took these on monday (although i should have done a little further planning and styled her hair!). i can't believe my silly, stubborn, beautiful girl is two. TWO!

you can read more of my haven-gushing and see more birthday photos over here if you want...i kept it to the bare minimum here.

building blocks

2010-05-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

haven has become quite the builder, making towers taller than she is! she will only make towers with the square blocks, even though i've shown her how to do it with cylinders and rectangles. go figure, she's a particular little girl. the thing that amazes me is that she doesn't get upset when they come crashing down. she gets pretty frustrated when things don't go her way most of the time, but she just laughs and starts right over when her "bocks" fall. maybe she's just growing up...after all, only four more days and she's two!!!

bevie did it!

2010-05-14T13:13:00.005-07:00

pictured above: steven clark anderson, doctor of jurisprudence
class of 2010, university of utah s.j. quinney college of law

and because the ceremony focused SO much on the faculty and not enough on my stevie bevie (for shame!), here are a few reasons why i am so proud of him:

for the past three years he was a law student. for a lot of people, law school becomes life. grueling hours, stress, anxiety, sacrifice, and very little in between. but not for stevie. he was also a husband, a father, a home-owner, a skiier, a biker, a "big brother," a church-goer, a grocery shopper, a cook, and a million other things. what i'm saying is he managed to have a life and made law school look easy (and he did really well, too). while the speakers thanked spouses and children for sacrificing time with their spouse/father, i was thinking "not me!" i'm just really proud of him for doing SO much to make our family happy. and i'm really glad that our kids get to have "get you" time with their dad every single day. he is THE BEST!

we love stevie bevie!!!

fishies!

2010-05-12T14:59:00.008-07:00

we went to the aquarium yesterday and all we got was these lousy photos ;)

i love haven's face in the far-left photo on the second row-she's pointing to a snake! oh, and in two of the photos you can sneak a peak of emmy's beau, nate. he's the oldest of eight kids, and man did it show. he's going to make a great dad. haven was a little scared of him at first (as she usually is with new people), but she warmed up pretty quickly. and nash was grabbing nate's hand pulling him off to "show him something" at every turn. and, as always, my kids were the loudest ones around.