Girls Day

Usually every Thursday, my brother in law, Travis, has the day off, so he offers to take Chayse out for some guy time and do whatever. Chayse loves going and talks about it all the time! He especially loves it because Travis spoils him rotten!

Well this last Thursday, I wasn't nannying Lil' J..so it was just Miss Alexa and I. It was so fun to spend some time with her. I don't usually get that one on one, unless Chayse is sleeping or when Brandon takes Chayse to work out with him..(Chayse doesn't actually work out with him..no our 2 year old does not have a 6 pack and biceps the size of potatoes)..but usually then..Alexa is sleeping too. Her and I just layed out on a blanket..played with toys...she drooled a lot..I sang a lot..and we just looked at eachother a lot. I am so thankful for that time, because with two kids..its hard to always give one child that undivided attention. Especially as much as the first one gets..because all you do is stare at eachother.

I sure do love my little girl, and love the femininity she brings to our home! Im used to playing with sharks, dragons, trucks, and tigers and spiking his hair. I love and adore playing with my son, and expriencing his interests..but on the other hand I love all the pink, all the cute clothes and the cute bows and headbands.

I love having one of each!

Here are some pictures of Alexa the other day! Love her!

Online Garage Sale!

Here is an entertainment center we are wanting to sell. It's yours for the low price of $75! Anyone interested?

This is how the kids entertain us before bedtime....

We got quite the kick out of having Alexa "chase" her brother. Chayse sure loved it too! They seriously adore each other. Whenever we are in the car..she will stare at him and smile for as long as her little eyes will stay open. He is the ONLY one who can make her belly laugh and she doesn't like it when he leaves her side at times. This morning I was getting ready and she was just hanging out on the floor by my bathroom and she started getting fussy..then Chayse came in and she stopped right away and just grinned at him. He kept coming in and out to bring his toys in my room..and every time he left she got a pouty lip and started to cry...and the second she saw him...life was good again.

I love that they love each other so much.

P.S. Though it looks like she is flailing about...she was loving the whole thing. Haha!

Baby Borrowers

K so I am probaby way behind in finding this out because I dont live in Boise and my sister said it was on the news..but I had no idea that Baby Borrowers on NBC was filmed in Eagle! I am watching it right now and I saw on there Boise Little Gym or something like that..and I was like what the heck! Now they are at Eagle Island I believe. It makes me miss Boise. I wonder if life will ever take us back there....

I Wuv Nursery! (says Chayse)

Well Chayse finally did it! He went to nursery the whole time without me there! Though I had to tell a little lie to get him to stay. Is that okay to lie in church so you can get to your classes? I guess thats something that will be discussed at the pearly gates at a much later time. For now..it works! :)

I think that since we started going back to church when Chayse was 2 1/2...he was a year behind all the others who had started when they were 18 months. The first couple times he went okay, but we only stayed for half the time because we had to leave early for various reasons. Then all the sudden he started freaking out. We wondered what had happened and all he could explain was that it was dark in there. It just seemed to get worse..as soon as the closing prayer ended and the music started..he automatically started to shake and cry and say, " Cant want to go to nursery Mommy..Cant want to go!". It was so sad and sometimes hard to handle as he was screaming bloody murder. It got to the point that we wondered if we should even mess with going to anymore than sacrament. I just felt it was important to keep trying though..and I guess it paid off!

Over the course of this last month it went from him needing me the whole time, to him letting me leave a little bit, to letting me leave halfway through..to today..where he went the whole time and didn't need me one bit. When the music started after the prayer..he got a scared look and started to sniffle but just said he wanted me to take him. I took him in and he started to play and I told him I had to go get a drink, and he said ok and I left. I guess he only asked for me once! Im so proud of him because it really was a huge step for him to be able to do that!

I need to give a huge thanks to Jenny and Jacque who helped him out in nursery so much! Jacque, our neighbor and good friend, offered to come to nursery because he felt comfortable with her and she stayed the whole time for a few weeks. She wanted so bad for Chayse to be able to stay the whole time and for me to be able to go to class. She totally didn't have to stay and miss her own class, but she did. I know it really helped for him to feel more comfy there! Thank you Jacque..he obviously adores you..specially when he tells me at 11pm when he WONT go to sleep, that he wants you to come lay by him!

Jenny is Chayse's nursery teacher and another friend of mine. She started coming to our playgroup a few weeks ago and Chayse has gotten to know her and feels very comfortable with her as well. She told him yesterday she didn't want him to cry when he came to nursery today, because it would make her sad. When we were almost to nursery Chayse stopped whimpering and said, " I not be sad for Jenny." Thank you Jenny for helping to encourage him to come. He really likes you a lot and loves to see you!

To some this may not seem like such a huge thing, but for him it was. I think he has a little bit of social anxiety at times, and when he hasn't ever been watched by family except once or twice...it's a huge step for him to put his comfort in someone else's hands. Good job Chaysers!

I Heart Ebay!

So I have had my eye on a Chi Straightener for a couple years now, but I just haven't ever wanted to spend $110 on a straightener. Well, I used my friend Jacque's the other night after she did my hair and I just knew I had to have one. I looked on ebay..bid on 3 straighteners and was outbid every time...so I figured the beloved Chi wasn't meant to be in my possesion at the time. Well I got an email saying that the seller of the last one I was outbid on, was offering me a second chance offer for the low low low price of:

$25.00!!!!

MOTHER MAY I!

Of course I accepted that offer faster than lighting! Can you believe it? A Chi will be mine here in the next few days...

I HEART Ebay!

P.S.

My friend Jacque gave me a cute funky new do. Its dark brown with reddish weaved throughout! It was a work in progress but came out fun and spunky! My husband loves it..so Jacque..you passed the test!

Here are a couple pics of the new do..Though I need to get some of the back cuz its way cute and stacked with lots of layers!

Be Happy

Last night at dinner, Chayse offered to say the prayer. This time he wanted to do it all by himself. We bowed our heads and folded our arms and he looks up at me and points straight at me and says.."Dont help mom!"..then he folded his arms again and put his head down and this is what he said...

"Dear Father

bless food

bless grandpa

bless grandpa and grandma

they be saved

bless us

bless to be happy

In Christ, Amen! "

Im probably missing something in there, because it seemed like it lasted longer than that..but let me just tell you, immediate tears welled up in my eyes. How beautiful is it to see the sweet spirit of a 2 yr old come out through his prayer. My husband said, " Wow he asked to be blessed that we would be happy." That's what he wants plain and simple. I took from that..that we if we can all just be happy...life will be so much more enjoyable.

Thank you Chayse for the prayer you offered and what a great one it was, specially for being your first one without anyone's help! I love you buddy!

Alexa is 5 months Old!

She is doing so great! She is eating baby food now. She loves her fruit and she doesn't mind peas but hates carrots and sweet potatoes. She is drooling like no other and chewing on everything in site, so Im pretty sure she is teething. She is sitting up on her own now. She finally got the hang of sitting all by herself without any support yesterday! She hates laying down now. She has only rolled a couple times, I guess she feels like she doesn't need to get anywhere right now. Sitting up for her is just fine! :)

Here are a few pictures I have taken of my little sweetie! We were having a little photoshoot the other day. She is so patient with me! :) I love that she will do it because Chayse is smart now, and doesn't give in to my photo shoot ways anymore.

"Not too fond of the sweet potatoes Mom!"

Give me the dang binky!

This is her "poop" face. I had to post it..it's hilarious! She gets all red in the face and its a pretty intense process haha! Look at those baby blues! I love her pretty eyes!

Weight Loss Update

Well, I am quite proud of myself! Since I walked out of the hospital with Miss Alexa I have lost a total of 30 lbs!!! In the month of April I worked with a personal trainer and then decided to continue on my own. In that month I had lost 7 lbs and I think that is the last time I updated you all. Since then I have lost 11 more lbs! I still have a little more to go, but Im so happy that after letting pregnancy weight get the best of me, I am getting it off and feeling great! :)

4th of July Weekend

We had a fun 4th of July weekend with our family and friends! We went to the Fireworks on Thursday night with The Ringers, and had a blast! They are such a fun little family. The next day we hung out at the InLaws and bbq'd and then we went home and did Sparklers, snappers and ground flowers with Chaysers! He loved them, up until he burned his thumb on a Sparkler. Alexa just hung out and watched all the activity. Then the next day, my dad and brother came up and we went to 2nd Dam in the Canyon and hung out by the water and just soaked in the beautiful weather and view. Then we headed down to the Cruise In. (A parade of lots of old cars and some new ones try and sneak in.) It was my dad and brother's first time, and they loved it. Hopefully my dad will bring up his 1956 Jeep Willies next year to ride in the parade. Well here are the pics to prove our good weekend! :)