3 Years Old!

Technically, she's still got a few days until her birthday, but with Halloween right around the corner, things get a little crazy! And the weather today was so beautiful, I had to take pictures before we freeze!

It seems like just the past few months that she has gone from baby to a girly, frilly, prima donna princess. Sad to see her grow up, but she sure makes us smile - especially when she suddenly (and oh, so frequently) decides that she is mommy and I am Ashley, or that Jared is Clifford the Big Red Dog and she is Emily Elizabeth and should get to ride on his back while he crawls around the room.

Love you, sweetie!

Zion's Canyon for the Weekend

The three-day weekend at Tiff & Eric's cabin in Zion's with a bunch of the DeWitt family was so much fun!

The weather was absolutely beautiful, though it was about 100 when we were hiking down in Zion's itself. But, the little ones were troopers! They did some serious hiking. You'll notice Ashley's face is about the same color as her shirt by the time we were done!








The shooting range was a hit, as always. Jonathon and Calvin had a great time collecting used shells and digging/rolling in the dirt. Jared had the most fun with Chuck's newest addition!





The pool was FREEZING! But, that didn't deter the kids. Jared and I chose to head down the water slide and get it over with all at once! Sorena was slashing up a storm and thought it was the funniest thing ever.






Jonathon, Ashley and Calvin had the most fun with Grandpa's collection of sling shots! They were hours of entertainment. What little kid doesn't want to send rocks flying across the sky to hit random objects? The slingshots were better than any toy we could have taken with us.

First Day of Kindergarten

It was painful, but Jonathon started his first day of Kindergarten! You may be thinking it was painful for me - but no, the painful part was trying to get him into the car, over to school, out of the car, and finally, into the classroom. He really, really, really did not want to start school. His picture is a little silly, but it was definitely the best we were going to get from the little boy who was fighting against going tooth and nail! I know he's going to love it once he gets used to it - let's hope that's sooner than later!

Finally, a Pet...or Two or tThree or Four Pets!

We're not moving to a farm, just bringing the farm to Cedar Hills. On Thursday, we took the kids to get four little baby chicks, all different kinds, each about a week old. I can't begin to tell you how excited the kids are (and of course the biggest kid, Jared, is just as excited as Jonathon and Ashley) about their new "pets". Friday morning, Jonathon woke Jared at 6am to ask if he could go out an hold the chicks! We get that question all day long from both of the kiddos.

Jonathon decided to name each of the chicks for us. We attempted to have Ashley help him, but she couldn't think of any names. Jonathon, on the other hand, was ready and waiting with plenty of names. Goldie is his favorite. He loves her, loves holding her, loves taking her out of the box and putting her on the ground to peck around. Owl Face, the brown one, is Ashley's favorite. Being a two year olds favorite is not necessarily a great thing if you are an animal. She is still learning how to be gentle so we have to keep a close eye on her. This of course would be much easier if she couldn't open the door out to the garage on her own! The other two are Scarlick (I have absolutely no idea where the name came from and I have been assured it is Scarlick and not Scarlet!) and Black & White.

After asking for a dog for quite some time now, I think these chicks have appeased the kids, at least for a while. Jonathon actually told me that he thinks chicks are better than dogs because you have to feed dogs every day, but the food in the chick feeder lasts for a long time! He's a logical thinker, that one. :)

Sorena isn't too excited about the chickens yet, but that's probably because she isn't allowed to hold them. Instead she has been working on mastering the challenges of eating real food, sitting on her own and rolling all around. She is not excited about having to eat real food, either, as you can see by the look on her face. The one exception is graham crackers. She LOVES them and can finish off a quarter in about 10 seconds flat (if let her!).

Valentine's Gingerbread Men

What says Happy Valentines Day more than Gingerbread Men! Pretty much everything, but Jonathon really wanted to make these...especially since we had the little red hot hearts. I had very specific instructions on how the cookies should be made and decorated...from Jonathon. He had eaten some at Preschool around Christmas time, which he loved, so he was hoping I could recreate them!



Ashley did not care what they looked like as long as she could eat the frosting and leave the cookie.


And here's a updated picture of our smiley little Sorena. She's getting stronger all the time and has started rolling over every now and then...when mom isn't looking! I put her down, turn away for a few seconds, and I turn back and she is laying on her back completely off her mat. I'll catch her doing it one of these days, I'm sure of it!

Check Out Those Cheeks!

Sorena's going to be three months old soon! She was born with darling cheeks and they have only gotten bigger since then - especially when she smiles! And thanks to Bree for the darling hat - I think it turned out adorable...but there was no way I could wait until her 6 month pics!










This second picture is Ashley at the same age. Jonathon was asking me earlier today if the picture he was looking at from a couple years ago was Ashley or Sorena. Then he wanted to know why they looked like the same person.











Here's Jonathon about the same age...with the same cheeks (ok, you can't see them quite as well because his head is propped up, but they were definitely there!)

Bye, Bye Binky's

Over the last several weeks, Ashley has gone from wanting to have a binky (for naps, nighttime, and any time we let her get away with it) to wanting to have three binky's. It was beginning to be much more hassle than it was worth, and it was really hard to understand her when she would talk. They also weren't doing great things for her teeth. So, we took her to "buy" a stuffed animal with her binky's a few days ago. She was so cute. She walked up to the counter and handed the clerk a big handful of all her binky's (that I could find at the time!) to "pay" for her puppy. She was so proud.



This is Ashley sound asleep with her new puppy, Frosting. She came up with this name all on her own. It's based, I'm sure, on her favorite thing to eat (she leaves the cake, cookie or donut behind every time!).

We thought this transition would be much more difficult than it has been. She only asks about her binky with with silly, teasing look on her face just to hear you say that it is at the store. She's a silly little girl! Her memory is good though, and she knows there is still one or two around that weren't in her hand at the store and she asks for them specifically by color. But, she's satisfied when I tell her they are all gone. So now, instead of having her binky to go to sleep, she snuggles up with Frosting and she's out in no time. YEAH!!

And Then There Were Three...

So this post is way overdue, but here is our newest little addition, Sorena. She's a couple months old now, but here are a couple of my favorites of her as a newborn. Ashley STILL can't get enough of her. She gets so excited every time she sees her and just wants to hold her and touch her little fingers. Today she kept touching Sorena's cheeks at the same time and telling me, "Smiling at me, smiling at me!" She was so very proud of herself. Jonathon just loves her, as well, and wants to show her his toys and touch her soft hair. What a sweetie.

Easter Festivities

While they didn't quite understand why they were turning their eggs different colors, Jonathon and Ashley were both quite willing to dip, dunk and pour dye all over their eggs. Ashley only wanted to dip one end of each egg and then blow on it. Jonathon preferred the less messy way of spooning dye over the top of the eggs to turn them blue. And since blue is his favorite color, he refused to use any other color.



As soon as they were done coloring the eggs, they figured it must be time to eat the eggs. Ashley started cracking them before the dye was even dry. Needless to say, the hardboiled eggs did not make it out to the Easter Egg Hunt.


The kids made quick work of finding the hidden eggs with their cousins, though the one year olds did take a break from the hunt once they realized there was candy inside the eggs that they could eat. Their brother and sister were quite willing to help find the extra eggs.

Thoughts on Breathing

Breathing is something that I take for granted all day, every day...that is, until my doctor informed me that my little one year old was wheezing and could hardly breathe and needed to start breathing treatments immediately. Talk about feeling like a bad mother - I originally took her in for an ear infection!

While I liked the cute little face on the mask, it didn't make it any easier convincing Ashley that she should wear it. The poor little thing screamed and cried for all she was worth until she finally fell asleep right there in the doctor's office. The doctor told me later that the little two year old in the room next door kept saying, "Baby is crying, baby is crying..." Though it came out, "frying" instead of "crying". No matter how many times she tried to tell him that the baby was okay, he was still so concerned about her. I love little kids!

Thankfully, Ashley got used to the breathing mask pretty quickly, as long as she got to watch Mr. Rogers Neighborhood or Mommy & Me while attached to it. As soon as I get out the mask or the nebulizer machine, she walks over and turns on the TV. I'm pretty sure I have started a nasty little habit.

The good news is that Ashley is now breathing well on her own and her Bronchiolitis is gone. After about a week, she was back to breathing all on her own. YEAH!

St. George Weekend

We took a little family trip to St. George this past weekend to cheer on Shelly, Tiffany and Brent as they ran the St. George half marathon. It was a great excuse to get together with family from across the country!

While we were waiting or them to check in and map out the race, the four of us stopped by the Rosenbruch Wildlife Museum. Jonathon didn't think that watching people run counted as doing something fun on vacation. He wanted to see animals. We found this place as we were driving into town and it was quite the find.





Not only did we get to see SOOOO many animals, but the kids got to pretend to be animals (wearing the furs) and pretend to be mighty hunters. We had a wonderful time and Jonathon decided that this could now be considered a "real" vacation!




































The next morning we were off to the race bright and early. At the beginning of the race I had a little twing of jealousy and was wishing I had trained to race, as well. But after I saw the hills in the neighborhoods around miles 8-10, I started thinking that hanging out with the rest of the family, chasing the runners in the car was perhaps a better decision after all!
























We had a great time cheering on the crew as they ran by - though Jonathon preferred finding sticks for digging in the mud to watching random people darting by.










































In the end, all three runners did great in the race. Brent went a little TOO fast and we didn't even realize we missed him entirely at the finish line because we didn't think he would be there yet. Way to go guys! Huge accomplishment!