Cody's End of the Year Party

Cody is officially done with First Grade. Last Thursday Cody had his end-of-the-year party and I took the girls over to watch the festivities. The first graders did relay races and had popsicles.

And here's Cody with his cute teacher that he loved so much: Mrs. Chun. She always told the kids that her middle name was "fun". Cody believed that his teacher's name was Mrs. Lisa Fun Chun from then on.

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And now it's summer vacation and I couldn't be happier. We started off the summer having a pool party in our yard with a newly acquired kids pool and slide that someone was giving away. Neighborhood kids came over throughout the day and Cody and Kylee played their hearts out.

Video: Discovering Whip Cream

Here's a video of Liv eating whipped cream for the first time...

Videos: Kylee's Birthday Concert

I AM LIKE A STAR SHINING BRIGHTLY:

"I am like a star shining brightly

shining for the whole world to see

I can do and say

happy things each day

For I know Heavenly Father loves me"

HAPPY SONG:

"Ducks in the pond quack a happy song

Mother hens cackle the whole day long

Birds in their nest

Wind in the treetops

All join in singing a happy song"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU:

"Zippety-aye and hidie-ho

There's something we must do

Let's sing a song that we all know

Happy Birthday to you!"

Kylee's 4th Birthday

She called it her Tangled Birthday (after her favorite movie)

The day started out great. Kylee came in our room at 6:00 am all dressed and whispered in our ears "it's my birthday!" We gave her a birthday hug and then she skipped into the bathroom to brush her hair (and then wouldn't let me touch it the rest of the day). Lucky for us, Steve was able to stay home because he had put in extra hours earlier in the week.  He got to go to Norfolk, Virginia and tour a Destroyer, an aircraft carrier, and a submarine.

While waiting for Cody to get home from school, Kylee had fun playing guitars and singing with dad (awesome videos to come), helping us put the final touches on her Tangled cake, and helping dad with the yard work just before a down pour of rain.

While we finished the cake Kylee sampled all the frosting colors. 

We decided to make Rapunzel's tower from Tangled. It was our first time doing a fondant cake and after spending two nights and a few hours that morning on it we finished it. 

Looks just like the movie right? :) 

Oh and I should mention that the poor cake couldn't actually stand on it's own (small detail). The foundation of the actual tower wasn't strong enough to hold up the top part. So I held it for the pictures. Oh well. We tried.

 Kylee could not wait for Cody to get home. She wanted to open her presents as soon as he walked in. She was so excited to get her first clue. (Her hair was soaked from walking Cody home from the bus stop--it was pouring really hard!)

All of her clues had to do with Tangled of course. This clue has to do with lines from the song "I've Got a Dream." She finally found her presents behind her bedroom door next to her "enormous piles of money" (her piggy bank). 

presents! 

 Cody gave her a little fan for her room.

Nail polish from mom and dad and a hair flower from Livy. 

Packages from grandmas and grandpas! 

books, stickers, candy 

playdough! 

coloring book, markers, crayons 

more nail polish! 

Sleeping Beauty doll

sandals and clothes

After presents we had pizza (after all it was Friday and pizza is her favorite) and cake while we watched Tangled. It was a great day!

Video: Heart Melter

We came across this movie of Cody. He was three years old--(about 3 years ago). 

My heart completely melted and I haven't stopped thinking about it ever since. Every time I look at Cody I just want to kiss his cheeks now. My sweet boy is getting so big and it's hard to even remember that he was like this once.

Since watching this I have decided 2 things:

1. We need to video our kids MUCH more than we do. 

(In fact, I got the camera out right after that while we were making dinner and tried to capture something great but all I got was Cody wiping out while jump roping -- which was TOTALLY funny but he was NOT happy about it so maybe we can post that later on when he isn't mad about it ?? we'll see -- and then whining from everyone else. I'll keep trying though!)

2. Based on #1 I would like to hire Raquel to be our personal videographer to document our children (or anyone else who can bring out their adorable and talkative selves).

Anyone interested?

Our Domestic Baby Girl

Liv is really getting around these days. One of her new favorite spots is the play kitchen set. 

She can't stand on her own, but she likes to pull herself up to anything and everything. It takes a lot of skill to make dinner with one hand and hold on to the countertop with the other.

A Summary of Grandma Tammy's Visit

Grandma Tammy came to visit during Cody's spring break the first week of April. The anticipation of having Grandma come was almost too much for the kids. They could hardly wait to have some grandma time.

I realized that the only thing I had posted about that week was Livy crawling. So here are the rest of the pictures (not too many though -- I guess we were too busy having fun)

Grandma sent a package that got here before she did. She couldn't fit all of the fun projects she wanted to do with the kids in her carry-on luggage (or Mary Poppins bag as we like to call it because she fits so much in there). As if waiting for grandma wasn't hard enough they had a package that they had to wait to open too! Kylee and Livy got some new headbands to share.

 And here is just some of the loot. Candy, books, headbands, jokes, stickers, jewelry, and crafts. How did all of it fit in that box?

The kids were by Grandma always. Grandma would get out of the shower and the kids were ready and waiting to hang out with her in the bathroom as soon as they could. You know Cody loves his grandma if he wants to watch her do her hair and make-up. 

And of course Kylee was Grandma's sidekick the entire week. 

Coloring eggs was one of the projects they did since it was the week before Easter. They also made cupcakes, colored picture frames, and read books. 

Steve and I were able to get a few things crossed off our list that week. While grandma and the kids were partying we got some of our emergency preparedness to-do's done. We found a great deal on a tent. Steve had to try it out in our living room and take a little nap to make sure it worked.

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The day Grandma was coming to town Steve's front fake tooth fell out while he was at work. He couldn't talk very well with it in his mouth because it would just fall out and if he took it all the way out he couldn't talk without a monstrous lisp (plus it looked a little redneck). I got these little emails from him throughout the day that were pretty entertaining. Things like: "I have to go to the bathroom. I hope my tooth doesn't fall in the toilet," or "I was talking to someone and my tooth fell out of my mouth. The guy was so surprised he almost threw up." By the time he got home from work he was tired of trying to hold the tooth in place with his tongue so he took it out and filled the hole with a piece of chewed neon green gum. When he would ask the kids to do something they didn't hear a word he said. They would just stand there staring at his mouth. It was hilarious to watch. That night Steve said to me, "I'm going to bed. My tongue is exhausted." Luckily the dentist glued it back in the next day as a temporary fix.

This week Steve is getting an implant put in: titanium post drilled into his jaw and then after a few months of healing they can put in a more permanent tooth. Well, let's hope it's permanent!

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Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. Livy is now 11 months old as of yesterday and we are starting to get excited for the birthdays that are coming up at our house. Although Kylee has been talking about hers for a few weeks already.

Videos: Kylee's Lunch Conversations

Kylee likes to talk about princess movies. In the first one I asked what her favorite parts of Beauty and the Beast were:

"When the beast turns into a prince. When it shows a different prince I like that part. But his father was lost. His father was lost. That's all. I like when she gets married. That's all. That's all I like. Can you take a movie?"

Then she started talking about Tangled (the part where Rapunzel goes to the Snuggly Duckling Cafe and meets all those thugs)

"Because the bad guys are in that room. I don't like those guys. But they do sing with her. I don't want to be by those guys. But they're not real. Can you take a movie?"

Video: Cascade Falls Hike

Here's a video of Kylee and Livy chasing Cody on our hike yesterday. It's too bad you can't hear Livy laughing though.

Cascade Falls in Patapsco State Park

Yesterday was a fun day for our family. Saturdays are always a day I look forward to because we get to forget about school, work, and homework. In the morning the kids got dropped off at a friend's house to play while Steve and I went to the temple. Then we fed the missionaries for lunch and went off to Patapsco State Park for a little family hike (only 10 minutes away).

There was a waterfall that was calling our name.

Livy had fun in the stoller being pushed by Cody and Kylee. She loved it when whoever was pushing the stoller was chasing someone. (That's what the pictures of me running in front of the stroller are all about). She would just laugh and laugh.