Just wanted to post something so that WordPress is aware that this blog is still active.

And here we go with a massive blog barf about Mila’s 2nd birthday party…

Because Mila is our little sassy pants, I thought a cowgirl-themed party would best represent her personality.  I kept the food pretty simple: smokies, peanuts (shell and all…not one of my best decisions), kettle corn, caramels, apples, bubble gum, chips, and soda.

I’m as city as they come, so I had to rely on my wonderful SIL, Kelly, to hook a sista up with some country get-up.  She came through in spades.  When she was in town for Kathy’s 60th birthday, she lugged up from Licking everything from a saddle to chaps and cowboy hats.  And made my party planning a whole lot easier.  Kathy loaned us the horse shoe, which was her father’s.  I like to think that Mila Marie is bringing Papa Stone the same joy in heaven as she brings us here.

The kids were all good sports and let me dress them up.  The biggest surprise was Mila wearing–and dare I say liking?–the cowgirl boots that she threw a fit over just a month or so ago.  Win!  Isabella changed out of her outfit about 30 minutes into the party, but I had my pictures.  🙂

Before everyone arrived we spent some time outside to get the last of the wiggles out.  Now that Mila’s a big girl, she insisted on swinging on the big-kid swing.  And loved every minute of it.

Sad story here: Isabella was feeling pretty pumped about wearing Daddy’s “magic” pink football gloves.

 

She promptly took one to the nose–and is probably cursing “magic” to this day.

When it was time to open gifts, Isabella assumed her role as head gift opener.  Mila took possession of the first baby doll opened and didn’t care about anything else until the vacuum from my mom appeared.

Before the party started, my mom spent about an hour on the floor with the bigs helping them wrap gifts for Mila.  They’re OBSESSED with tape lately and look for any excuse to use it.  (Note to the grandmas: Tape is an excellent Christmas gift idea.  I’m not kidding.)  Caden’s most-prized work of art was the gift he taped several of his bugs to.  I was proud of him for temporarily relinquishing control of his critters.

 

Party goers included: Kristen & Vihang, Nana & Uncle Mike, Dad & Anita, my mama, Derrick and his gang, the Welch fam, the Bradleys, the Morris’s, Lynette & Kendall, Papa Geno & Gramma Deb, and our neighbor Lin (for a minute before the party).  We have the best friends and family.

After gifts we blew threw an off-key version of Happy Birthday to a largely-disinterested 2-year-old and then gave her what she really wanted–a piece of cake.

My dad made the most-beautiful keepsake box for Bug.  Even more special is that he carved her name into it exactly as it appeared on her birthday invitation.  Events of the last couple of years have strained my relationship with my dad, but I hope he knows how much I love him.

My mom wanted so desperately to get a picture of her with the grandkids.  They weren’t having it–at all.  We got a semi-decent shot of her with Mila and Sophia and called it good.  I told her to give it 5 years.

Although a poor substitution for the happy grandma picture, at least she got a photo with 3 of her 4 kids.  We’ll Photoshop Muff in…

A birthday party wouldn’t be complete without one of Daddy’s piggyback rides, and Daddy didn’t let his Bug down on her big day.  He never lets her down.  He’s pretty fantastic.

 

Mila was a champ.  I was expecting an overstimulated, clingy baby, but she toddled around the party smiling at her guests and even loving on some of her favorites.  When the party was winding down, I captured one final shot that sums up our now 2-year-old pretty perfectly: See the second photo.

I love any reason to celebrate the miracles that are my children.  The day will probably come when they would rather celebrate milestones with friends over family, so I’m going to enjoy hosting silly, theme-based parties while I can, while hopefully making memories they will look fondly upon when they’re older.

We love you Mila Marie and have cherished every minute of the 2+ years of being your eternal family!  As I watched you run down the sidewalk tonight in your fuzzy jammies–pushing your baby doll in the [old, beat-up] stroller, with your sister walking beside you and sneaking a few kisses in on your cheeks until you realized what was happening, I thanked Heavenly Father for the millionth time for letting me be your Mommy.  You are my sunshine.

I’ll eventually get to blogging about Mila happenings at 2 years old, but I wanted to include a couple of pictures from her actual birthday.  When she woke up, we had a new doll and stroller waiting for her in the formal room.  She had been pushing around the doll stroller handed down from Isabella (and Caden), and it was showing some serious wear-and-tear.

We all sang Happy Birthday to her, and I made her favorite breakfast (waffles).  I could only get a few bites in her; she was too excited to push her stroller.  It must be great to be 2.  🙂

 

The weeks leading up to Mila’s 2nd birthday were fraught with mixed emotions by the bigs.  On the one hand, they were excited for a birthday–any birthday (birthdays mean balloons and cake, after all)–but there were surprisingly sad to see their baby sister turn a year older.  Especially Caden.  On at least a dozen occasions he said, “Mommy, I don’t want Buggy to have a birthday.  She’s so cute, and I don’t want her to get big.  I want her to be little.”  I hear ya, buddy.  😦

As I was rocking Mila that night before bed, Caden snuck into her room to deliver one last birthday wish.  He walked up to the rocking chair, leaned down to softly kiss her on the head, and said, “Happy birthday, Buggy.  I love you so much.”  Then he quietly tip-toed out of the room.  I am so grateful for the love my kids have for one another.

Like Caden, we love our Mila Marie so, so much.  Lots more on our love bug to follow.

October was a crazy month.  Activities every weekend, on top of crazy work schedules for Chris and me.  In anticipation of our Halloween party, the kids decorated pumpkins a couple of weeks ago.  I praised the makers of the foam sticker kits last year, and I continue to sing their praises.  These stickers again kept the kids entertained for a good hour and saved me from hours of pumpkin carving.  Even Buggy helped (and by helped, I mean rearranged the stickers, sending the bigs into a tizzy).

  

This year the kids requested that our house be “extra spooky.”  I think we upped our game, but the kids think there’s room for improvement.  Here are some of our additions:

Two Saturdays ago was Coen’s 5th birthday party.  Because his bday is so close to Halloween, his mom (Nicole, our fabulous child care giver) throew a Halloween-themed party.  And put a LOT of work into it, including an adorable Frankenstein cake.  Chris stayed home with Mila, and I took the bigs, who were thrilled to have an excuse to wear their Halloween costumes.  Chris convinced Isabella with this second picture that she’s invisible when dressed as a vampire.  (He took the first picture and when she stepped away, snapped the second.)  She’s been sharing news of her superpower with all of our friends and family.  🙂

I absolutely cherish one-on-one time with my kids.  Tonight I let Caden stay up a little later than usual since he wasn’t able to participate in our standard Saturday night sleepover in Mommy’s bed.  (Chris and I had to be up early on Sunday, and because Caden’s a light sleeper, we didn’t want to risk him geting up with the sun like we were.)  

For our time together, I took him around the neighborhood to look at the Halloween decorations.  A home up the street has a huge inflatable spider, and I knew he’d go nuts.  As we were driving up the street, he looked at me in the dark, big smile on his face, and said, “I love you so much, Mommy.”  Melted my heart.

Another cute moment with our boy was yesterday when he was telling us how the dinosaurs are extinct, but he called it “in-stinked.”  🙂

Every Fall my blog is riddled with posts about how much I love Fall, the pumpkin patch, campfires, an excuse to wear a jacket, etc.  This year will be no different.

I took the day off on Wednesday to allow Nicole time with her mother, who’s in town, and just because I needed a day off with the kids.  After we dropped the bigs off at school, Mila and I went to the library and then the Dollar Tree to pick up a few Halloween items.  After we’d killed enough time at these two places, we picked up lunch at Wendy’s and surprised Isabella at school.  Chris and I have eaten lunch with her multiple times over the past couple of years, but this was Mila’s first trip, and Isabella was so excited to have her baby sister there.

After picking Caden up from pre-school and giving Mila a nap, we picked Isabella up from school and then headed to our favorite pumpkin patch (Carolyn’s Cousins, in Liberty).  Because we have plans every weekend in October, this was our only opportunity to go, and I wasn’t going to miss it.  Chris met us there, and I was so grateful for the extra help.  Carolyn’s hosts “Family Freedom” hours on Wednesday nights from 4-6, and I had not anticipated how many people would show up at this time.  LOTS.

A visit to Carolyn’s isn’t complete without a ride on the train.  Mila loved it at first, but when the conductor started blowing his whistle, she covered her ears and didn’t remove her little hands from this position until the ride was over.

I’m not a big animal person, but baby goats really are the cutest.  All of the kids enjoyed petting and feeding them.  Mila can be pretty timid around animals, but after Isabella showed her how to pet them, she warmed up to the idea and would then squeal in excitement every time she touched them.

 

The slides are the bigs’ favorite part of Carolyn’s.  Isabella and Caden probably went down the big slides 20 times each.  Mila usually also loves slides, but she took the chicken exit this time.  Later on we found a slide that she loved, but the one attached to the barn wasn’t getting any love from her.

After we had played outside for a while, we bought pumpkin donuts, kettle corn, and drinks from the café.  Needless to say, my attempt to serve them dinner later that night fell completely flat.

The kids always stand next to the measuring stick.  When you see someone day in and day out, it’s hard to assess their growth.  I need to look at the photos from previous years and do a comparison.  Isabella was trying to keep the sun out of Caden’s eyes in the second pic.  🙂

More Fall excitement to come!

I will be so sad when Isabella becomes a proficient speller.  When I see her little notes taped around the house, or when her writing assignments come home from school, it’s the rare occasion where I don’t smile to myself and thank Heavenly Father for the blessing of parenting this sweet girl.

A couple of nights ago I noticed several notes taped to the front of the kids’ bedroom door (the room where Isabella and Caden sleep).

The first one says, “Caden, I have a cof [cough].  I am sore [sorry].  Sinseri [sincerely] Isabella.”

The second one says, “Sheldon, don [don’t] be node [naughty].”  (Sheldon is our ornery elf that appears every December 1st.)

The third note says, “No bowes [boys] ulwd [allowed] icse (except) fo (for) dad and ene-w-one [anyone] in uor [our] famle [family].  Sinseri [sincerely] Isabella.”

Love this girl.

The kids look forward to FHE on Monday nights and are constantly challenging us to come up with new and exciting activities to do as a family.

Two weeks ago we made prayer rocks.  The kids were really excited to paint them and even got into the concept.  When the kids get up in the morning, they put the rocks on their pillows so that when they go to bed at night and feel the rock on their pillow, they will remember to say their prayers.  When they lay down, they’re supposed to put the rock on the floor so they’ll see it/run into it in the morning, which will again remind them to say their prayers  The poem that went along with the prayer rocks says:

I am a special prayer rock.  This is what I do.  You put me on your pillow, until the day is through.

Turn back the cover.  Climb into bed.  Whomp!  Your special prayer rock will hit  you on the head.

Then you will remember, get up and say your prayers.  Just dump me on the floor, till morning I’ll be there.

You’ll get up the next morning.  Clunk!  I’ll stub your toe.  So you will recall, my friend, your morning prayers, you know.

Back upon your pillow, when your bed is made, your clever little prayer rock will continue as your aid.

If we forget our prayers, our days are not the same.  We need our Heavenly Father’s help to reach out highest aim.

The rocks worked great for the first couple of days, but now we’re back in the routine of Mommy and Daddy having to remind them to say prayers.  I just keep hoping that this routine will one day become a habit.

The prayer rocks were cute, but we’ve all really, really loved our campfires.  My mom got me a fire pit for my birthday this year, and we’ve already put this baby to good use.  We dragged it out for the first time this Fall on Monday night after having a lesson on what it means to be a leader and follower.  There is something so cozy about a fire, and we’ve all felt that peace when we gather around it.

Caden brought out his pop-up tent and put a blanket underneath.  Chris and I took turns squeezing in there with the kids and telling ghost stories by flashlight.  Mila didn’t care so much about the stories, but she loved playing peek-a-boo.

    

Daddy is the best pit master and made sure that we had a nice fire going to roast marshmallows.  Caden wouldn’t eat a single one of them, but he could have spent all night roasting them for the rest of us.  Pyro on our hands maybe?

It really is the simple things…

Last weekend we were at our home for little more than sleeping.  We kicked off the weekend by having a pizza party with the Justesens on Friday night.  We stayed late and were up early on Saturday morning to head to St. Joe for the Southside Fall Festival.  I think we’ve taken the kids up every year for this event, and it’s become a tradition-of-sorts with my mama.

We burned through our cash within an hour or so of being there.  Those kiddie rides are expensive!

But if you ask Isabella, the airbrush tattoo alone made the entire day worthwhile.

I think the camel ride was the highlight for Caden and Sophia.  Mila was having no part of any of the animal rides.  Really, Mila was having no part of anything besides me carrying her around all night.  I did get her in the train twice, but everything else was met with her clinging onto me tighter and a sharp, “No!”

We let the kids pick out a small item to purchase, and not surprisingly, Caden found a spider, while Isabella chose the exact same window ornament she picked out last year (which broke both times within the first day of purchase).  We ran into Nana, Uncle Mike, and Laura, and I was grateful to pass Mila off for a few minutes.

Few public outings are complete lately without a fit by Mila (or at least a lot of whining and fussing), and the SSFF was no exception.  This tantrum was because I wouldn’t let her have another drink of root bear.  There was no kicking and screaming, but the pouting and throwing herself on the ground had the same effect.

Sunday was our Primary program, and I was so excited to see my littles sing the songs they’d worked so hard to learn the past several weeks.  Isabella forgot her part and had to be prompted by a member of the Primary presidency several times, but her reaction to the forgetfulness was adorable.  She smiled sheepishly, giggled, and then repeated the words being whispered in her ear.  And Caden jumping up every time the kids sang “Sunbeam” in Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam melted my heart.  They had been instructed to not jump on that part, but my little Caden just couldn’t help himself.

I was emotionally wrung out by the time church ended.  Mila and Caden had been a handful during Sacrament meeting (and in Mila’s case, like 9 or 10 handfuls), and two hours of Nursery did nothing to help my emotional state.  But I had promised my mom that we would come back up to St. Joe to go to the apple orchard, and I wasn’t about to break a promise.  As soon as we arrived, I put Mila down for a nap, but that nap wasn’t enough to snuff out the grouchiness that had loomed all weekend.  I again had to carry her around the entire orchard, and when Ann asked if I was going to pick the apples (which I would, of course, naturally do), I couldn’t answer, “Not a chance” fast enough.  Chris wasn’t able to make the trip because he had church meetings, and I wasn’t about to carry a 25-30 pound toddler AND a 20 bag of apples.

We ended up picking a small bag of apples and buying some caramel popcorn from the gift store (which neither Caden nor Mila got to partake of because of their naughty behavior during church), but after an hour, we were all spent and ready to call it a night.  I made the drive home and couldn’t wait until bedtime.  My kids are my greatest joy, but there are days where you literally count the minutes until bedtime.  Well, on this night, I moved bedtime up 30 minutes and collapsed on the couch in a state of pure exhaustion.

Wonderful memories were made, but I was very grateful for a weekend like this one where we could just enjoy the outdoors and each other without anything planned.  We have something going on every weekend in October, so here begins a month of exciting events (my visit to Utah this week, Mila’s birthday, our Halloween party, and Halloween itself), but some inevitably worn-out kiddos and parents.  However, we’re now officially into Fall, and I couldn’t be happier.  Bring on the flannel PJ pants, pumpkin-spiced everything, and opened windows.  I’m ready!

Mila Marie.  So much to say about our little caboose at 23 months old.  I’ve always called her our kiddo made of sugar and spice, and this continues to hold true.

Mila’s entire world right now is (in this order): (1) Mommy; (2) Babies; and (3) Balls.  On the nights when Chris gets home with the kids before I’m home she’ll go room-to-room saying, “Mom?  Mama!  I want Mama.”  On the rare occasion when she detaches from me, you will find her taking care of baby dolls or finding balls and either playing fetch with them or stuffing them in Isabella’s purses.

She loves when Chris does the “roller coaster” in her swing.  He’ll pull it up at high as it will go and then let it fly.  Gets her laughing every time.

She still likes to look at pictures and videos on our iPhones at times, but (unfortunately?) she is not as interested in them anymore.  (I say unfortunately because sometimes our phones were the only things that would keep her quiet during church, or a meeting, etc.).  Thankfully she still loves her books, especially the pictures of balls.  When she sees an image of a ball, she goes crazy: “Balls!  Balls!  Balls!”

She can be the sweetest, most-sensitive, cuddliest thing one moment, and then BAM!–next minute she’s a monster.  And her meltdowns usually have to do with me refusing to carry her around everywhere–or catering to her every demand.  I used to say she was just ornery.  She’s flat out bad at times now.  She turns 2 next month, and I fear it’s going to be loooooong year.

 

Getting her changed (clothes or diaper) is not for the faint at heart.  She can wiggle out of a pant leg or the first tab of the diaper before you  take your next breath.  Shoes are the same way.  She usually kicks them off as soon as I buckle her in her car seat (especially when she has help from big sister, which happens often).  For her birthday party I bought these cute, pink cowgirl boots.  She hates them.  But thankfully she didn’t hate them enough at the time to prevent me from getting the perfect shot for her party invite.  🙂  After we took these pictures she climbed up the stairs and kicked them off.  Chris asked her if she wanted to wear her boots, and she immediately responded with, “No!!!”  I haven’t yet attempted to put her back in them yet…

How she falls asleep in her crib is adorable.  Her first hour or so of sleeping always involves her little body sleeping across the length of her pillow.

Because she has a big sister, everything Isabella does is “Monkey see, monkey do.”  Take nail polish, for example.

She can’t get enough of being chased.  She’ll wait for us around corners, and if we peter out before she does, she’ll say, “More!” (while beckoning us with her hand).

Because she’s been such a handful lately, I’ve given her the binky a lot more than I like.  Sacrament meetings are pretty much standard now, and if she’s driving me nuts at home, I’ll tell her to go fish one out of her crib.  I always thought I’d take it away when she’s 2, but I’m sure if either one of us is ready for that.

She’s finally talking.  Like really talking.  I could listen to her little voice all day.  Favorite words and phrases she says are babies (pronounced “bub-eez!”); balls; Dash! (Nicole’s dog…and when she says his name, she shouts, “Dashhh!”); I want Mama (we hear this one ALL.  DAY.  LONG.); cows; fishies (“fish-eez”); Sissy (for Isabella); I love you (“uh-you”); OK (“Oh-kayyy”); swing; and please (“peas”).

After giving Isabella the cold shoulder for the past year, she’s really latched onto her big sister lately.  Granted, she still tries to hit Isabella in the car at times (little rat), but most of the times it’s all smiles and snuggles.  She’ll learn over and pat Isabella’s head and hug her around the neck.  Isabella eats it up.  She’s waited a long time for her baby sister to show some love.

I recently introduced Mila to YouTube videos of babies laughing, and as cute as it is watching her smile and giggle alongside these babies, she now wants to control my iPad.  She’ll come over to the couch, climb up on my lap, and point at the iPad while saying, “Babies.  I want babies.”

She’s shown a little bit of situational anxiety recently.  If we’re in a new place, she’ll bury her head in my shoulder for a while until she feels comfortable looking out.

One last comment on Mila’s baby obsession: She’ll pass on the smaller-sized dolls every time if there’s a larger option available.  Some of my mom’s dolls are about her size, but she’ll find a way to lug them around and plop them in strollers.  Always giving them hugs and kisses, of course.  🙂

She’s showing hints of being interested in potty training, but we’re not pushing it too much just yet.  Just tonight she handed me the potty seat and sat on it for 10 minutes while I finished Caden’s bath.  But no dice.

An exciting even that happened recently is Mila ate a whole plate of grilled chicken.  She has refused chicken for as long as I can remember.  It only happened once, and she’s refused is several times since then, but I’m optimistic that I’ll have a good eater one day.

It’s hard to believe that we’ll be celebrating Mila’s 2nd birthday next month.  I think that I’ll always look back on this phase of her life as challenging, but the joy she brings us far outweighs the tough moments.  I so wish that she would go to Chris more often, but there’s a part of me that loves having a slightly-obsessed fan (OK, it’s probably more than slightly).  I love the feel of her little hands when she grabs my face or neck and plants a big kiss on my lips.  I love the new words that come out of her sweet and sassy mouth, and I love all of her other “firsts.”  We love you, Buggy!