Last Year in My Twenties....

Folks, it's official. I am no longer a young spring chicken... I'm getting old---er. ;)

And since I'm getting older my priorities have matured... like eating ice cream for breakfast, because.... why not? 

I've definitely realized how much quality time with Tyler means to me. I was lucky enough to get to go out to dinner at a new Thai food restaurant in Sandy called Thai Home. 

It was in a little old house and was clean and the food/ presentation was amazing. 

We would definitely go back .

I also think it's interesting that my birthday present wish list as gotten real practical over here.... cookie dough scooper, and electric palm sander... I was so happy about both of these. Like, for real. 

I might be one year older, not necessarily wiser, but I am pretty pleased that I've been blessed with an amazing husband and three healthy and active kiddos. That I work from home doing something I'm passionate about. That I have great neighbors, and good friends.

 I am blessed.

 And happy. 

And officially 29. 

Zayden's 3rd Birthday

Last month (oof- wish I was more on top of this!) we celebrated Zayden's 3rd birthday. I feel like we're starting to shift into a new stage of parenthood-- the one with no babies around. Yes. My baby is no longer a baby at all. He's very independent. He's fearless, he's silly and funny. He's loving and affectionate. He's stubborn- but the times he's stubborn are usually inopportune ones. He's my little mover and shaker-- he can always be found dancing to a good beat. He's sweet and just a little on the small side for his age, but who knows he could sprout up at any time. 

His 3 year stats are as follows: 

Weight: 29.5lbs (23%)

Height: 36" tall (13%) 

Zee loves to help out (on his terms) with cooking and cleaning. 

His favorite chore is vacuuming and he's actually quite thorough when he does it. 

It can be hard to be the littlest one-- often in the shadow of older siblings, but Zayden finds his own ways to stand out. He's definitely into puzzles as of late. Has a little obsession with the Little Mermaid movie/ and or book (mostly due to Ursula and all the music- I think). He likes to play sports with dad or his brothers. He loves superheroes and has quite the imagination while playing with them. My favorite thing about Zayden right now is when he walks over to me and says very sweetly "My love you". He's been saying My instead of  I for a while now and I've tried to correct him, however I find that there's a tiny part of me that loves that he says it wrong. The other thing he says after I respond with "I love you too" is a follow up from him with "Me too!" 

Zayden loves nursery and for now is the oldest one in there (and has another year left). He likes to sing songs and I was surprised to find out that he knows Follow the Prophet, or at least the chorus. 

Zee is at the age where he didn't particularly care what we did for his party, but did request strawberries on his cake. Since his birthday fell around March madness playoffs we sort of went with a vintage sports theme. He was quite happy about the hot dogs and chips and popcorn... 

Since I had such a small request from him for a cake I decided to go with strawberry and cake batter ice cream cake topped with whipped cream and layered on a graham cracker crust. 

We learned that holding three fingers is a little tricky, but sticking you tongue out definitely helps. 

Zayden was spoiled by our family and close friends. 

He got new superheroes, water balloons, clothes, a cape and mask, puzzles, farm animals, and lots of other stuff. 

I'm know Zee loves when we get to see his little cousin Cash. 

I'm also pretty sure Cash was eyeing all the things he wanted to get his hands on, but couldn't. ha ha! 

All in all, we are so blessed to have this little 3 year old stud in our family. 

It just wouldn't be complete without our third little musketeer. 

Happy Birthday our little Zayden Jace!

Happy Birthday Braxton!

It's sometimes hard to believe how quickly my boys are growing up. By the end of this year I'll have two kiddos in school. All day school, (since Kindergarten will be full day fall of 2015). That's crazy talk people! Only having one kid at home with me? I've dreamed about that day for a long time of changing diapers, wiping messy faces, washing dirty clothes, feeding countless meals, and breaking up multiple sibling fights on a regular basis. But you want to know the truth of the matter? The truth is the older my children get the more special I feel like my time with them is... because one day they will be full grown adults--- most likely taller than me, with deeper voices, more body hair.... and someday (clearly a LONG LONG ways away) they will have a woman in their lives probably more special to them than me. So for now? I'm just trying to cherish them being little, even in their messy, chaotic, loud, busy state of life and focus on preparing them to be those future amazing adult men. 

My Braxton Kaleb transitioned into our family with ease. As a baby he was SO happy. He hardly cried, unless he needed something and was an eager eater when it came to breastfeeding. He was an excellent sleeper, and still is to this day. Watching Braxton grow has been a pleasure. He's developed a funny sense of humor and can frequently be found "spoiling" our family photos with his goofy faces. He also likes to do silly things to make people laugh. Braxton is all boy-- the full package, which includes all things sports, superheroes, balls, dirt, and downing LOTS of food (seriously, I can't imagine our grocery bills when he finally becomes a teenager-- help!). But for being a rough and tough, busy, wrestling, tackling, running-at-all-times boy, he's also my most sensitive child. He is the only one of our kids who frequents nightmares from his vivid imagination. He's prone to cry if someone says something mean to him. He's great at giving compliments when no one expects them, and is a wonderful comforter to those who are sad. He can frequently be found expressing the words, 'I love you' and gives the best hugs and kisses. He's very affectionate.

Braxton has found his own little place in our family, which he does with as much ease as he did when he was a baby. I can't imagine being the middle boy is an easy task, but he's eager to learn from his older brother and mostly does a great job at being a big brother to Zayden-- though the two have their moments, I know they will develop a strong friendship over the years. 

As a five year old he's ready to go to school and is currently working on those skills at home with me. He's a good reader, though not as enthusiastic as Quincy was (usually food is a motivator for him to do more in this area). His confidence lacks a little, but he's gaining more each day that we practice and it's wonderful when he comes up to me to announce 'Mom, I know all the words on the front of this book!' He likes math and can be found at each dinner meal quizzing family members on math problems he doesn't know the answers to. He is anxious to go to school to make new friends and excited to invite those friends to future birthday parties, like Quincy can (we made a family rule that they could have friend parties when they are in school). 

I feel so fortunate and blessed to have Braxton as a part of our family. 

Happy 5th Birthday buddy! 

This year because his party was on a Tuesday so we decided to have his party the Saturday prior, which also happened to be my dad's birthday. It was fun for them to have a party together with a loose "The Flash/ superhero" theme. (Good thing Grandpa Loren didn't care. :) Braxton requested a Flash Birthday cake, which I didn't feel up to making and compromised on Flash cupcake toppers. My dad's usual request is German chocolate cupcakes, and the family requested I make an ice cream cake. Braxton picked milky way as the candy for it. Almost the majority of my family were able to come and I'm pretty sure my boys had fun hitting/ popping balloons with my nieces downstairs in Grammie's basement. We had lots of pizza and not enough salad, drinks and chips. It was pretty simple and as a result I feel like I definitely enjoyed the party all the more. 

Braxton got all kinds of things from family and friends. New Legos sets, tattoos, lots of birthday money, a movie, a watch, new boxers, new superhero shirts, Oreo's, new shoes, a tool set and more.... he loves it all and felt very special. :) 

Tyler even took him on a father-son date to the Blazers game Thursday before his party. He Loved riding the max downtown and getting pizza, cotton candy and pop. He even got a picture with Blaze the mascot and was so happy that the Blazers won. 

I'd say all in all that turning five has been pretty awesome for Braxton.