Grace turns 3 and lots of other happenings

Wow, so much has been going on the last couple of months! We've been busy busy but having so much fun!

Grace- I just started her in a dance class and she LOVES it!
Today is her 3rd birthday! I can't believe how big she is getting. I love her to pieces!
She had a family b-day party back home in California with all of her cousins, and Mark and I threw her a party here at Chuck E. Cheese. She's been having so many parties I swear she thinks her birthday is everyday!
She is my little chatter box! She talk and talks all day long, some people may think she's shy, but when you get her going she will talk your ear off.
She is obsessed with the doctor! She got a doctor kit from my mom and will purposely throw her babies down the stairs so they can go to the doctors and she can "fix" them with her doctor kit.
Has been potty trained for about 4 months now! Wahoo!!!!

Rocco bud- He went from not wanting to crawl, walk, stand up, clap, or high five to all of a sudden doing all of that in one week. Once he turned 11 months he just decided it was time to be mobile. Which means crawling everywhere and walking just about on his own!
His personality is so relaxed. I just think he didn't feel like crawling until recently. It's not that he couldn't, he just didn't want to . haha! that pretty much sums up his personality.
His hair is so thick and grows so fast! I give him a hair cut every 2 weeks.
He has 6 teeth, only eats table food, loves to swing, and has started drinking whole milk. Hooray! No more buying formula!
Turns 1 next monday! I love this little boy so much!

Stef- I've taking up running. I run about 5 miles every morning. I used to hate running, (and I still do while I'm doing it) but I feel so good afterward and it starts my day off so nice!
ran my first race. It was the 5k freedom run. Mark and I did it together while pushing our kiddos in the stroller. We gave them a ton of snacks and juice to hold them over while we ran, and it worked pretty well.
Still teaching the 6 year olds in primary. Hard age, but I have fun doing it!
Mark surprised me and took me to St. George for my birthday with no kids! Mark's mom came to to watch Grace and Rocco, which was so nice of her! I missed them so much but it was so nice to have time alone with my hubby again!

Mark- Got a promotion at work, and is loving his new position.
Is starting his masters program at the University of Utah in August.
Works out every morning and is looking rather buff if you ask me =)
Is the best daddy and hubby ever!

So there you have it. If you made it through this entire thing, good job!

Mark's Graduation

Mark graduated a few weeks back with his bachelor's in business from BYU. We're so proud of him! His parents flew done from Wisconsin to attend the ceremony. Grace did not feel well at all that day. She was on the verge of an ear infection and bad cold. Hence, the reason why she looks crabby in all the pictures! Mark got accepted to the University of Utah which he will be starting in August to get his MBA. He's doing the night program which is two nights a week for 2 years. That way he can still work during the day. What a stud! I'm so proud of him and how hard he works for our family!

My Little Hunk and Hunk-ette!

FREE Crib

Do you need a crib or know someone who does? Grace "graduated" to a big girl bed today so we have an extra crib. It's in great shape! A few scratches here and there, but it looks great.

We posted about it when we first got it in 2008, so if you want to see pictures, click on this link:

http://markandstef.blogspot.com/2008/10/graces-room-donefinally.html

Catch Up

Wow, it's been a while! I blame the lack of blogging on the winter. We really haven't been doing anything exciting to blog about it. But to keep us from going insane from boredom we've.....
painted toe nails, played toys, had a visit from Papa, played dress up princesses, cleaned in our underwear and high heels, and took A LOT of trips to Costco and Target. I swear I can just walk around those stores for hours. Oh yeah we were all sick for like 2 weeks straight too! Both kids had double ear infections, coughs, sore throat, the whole works. But we're all healthy now! Hopefully for a while... We've also been enjoying the nice weather we've had lately, and have spent many hours at the park, and riding our new bikes! Yep, we finally got bikes and a trailer for the kiddos to sit in behind us. Mark and I have wanting bikes for a very long time, so it's been really fun to get out of the house and ride around with the fresh air. Well, thats about all for now. Rocco and Grace are getting so big! Crazy how time flies...

Dinosaur Museum And Christmas! (Picture Overload)

Before We left for Wisconsin we went to the dinosaur museum with some friends. Grace loved it! Well, she loved digging in the sand at the end for dinosaur bones. What she didn't love...the SHARK! You can't tell very well in the picture but she freaked out when Mark brought her close to it. Pretty funny. But Rocco bud on the other hand liked it. You can see his big smile right in front of the sharks mouth.
We have a bad reputation in our house of giving gifts before the actual holiday. Actually Mark and I have been married almost 5 years and I don't think we've ever given each other a present on the actual date it's supposed to be given. I thought I was bad at surprises and then I married a person who is even worse than I am! We both just get so excited when we buy the gift that we can't wait to give it to each other. So we don't wait! I know we're really bad! So unfortunately this means we also gave Grace and Rocco their presents before we even left for Wisconsin. Grace got a new table thats just her size. Isn't it cute? It even matches our kitchen perfectly.
We had a blast in Wisconsin. Besides the fact that I was FREEZING! It was a lot of fun. We went sledding, Ice skating, made sugar cookies (I think Grace ate more than she made), looked at lights, went to lots of museums, and just hung out. Grace loved playing with her cousins, Jack and Will. And we got see our newest nephew, Ben who was just 3 weeks old, so cute! It was a good time had by all! Grace loves to do the cheesiest smile in almost all of her pics. She tilts her head and squints her eyes. She doesn't normally smile like that but eveytime she see's a camera thats her "cheese" smile.
On a side note...I've started potty training Grace this week. And it's not going so well. So if you have suggestions, tips, or advice please send them my way!