First Day of Preschool August 2014

Danny was so ready for preschool to start back up again. We LOVE his preschool and teachers! Mrs. Hales, Mrs. Keohne, Mrs. Smith, and Mrs. Tullis. 

Danny was 4 1/2 when the school year started. He was REALLY into Ninja Turtles, wanted to be just like daddy, loved to play outside, and absolutely adored his baby sister.

      First day of school August 2013, and August 2014

Crater Lake August 2013

For years Nick and I have talked about how it's so weird that we are from Oregon and have never been to Crater Lake. Well now we have! We had a quick get away. Just the two of us! 

 None of these pictures are edited. The lake really is that blue!

I love going on trips with just Nick. We've done it about four or five times in the last 7 years, and I just love it. We listened to Ender's Game and it was our first road trip in the Focus. We got so much time together, and we ate out every meal. It's pretty darn fun and romantic!

We rode a trolly around the lake that gave us a tour. We got to hear all about the history of Crater Lake and why it is so blue. We recommend it! It's pretty interesting, and you get to ride on a cute little red trolly.

At the end of the day we hiked up to one of the highest peeks, and of course the view was amazing! We took so many pictures along the way because it was just so beautiful everywhere.

This is the view from the very top of our hike. Very pretty! Thank you for taking me Nick! I love spending time with you. Let's do something as just the two of us again really soon!

Happy Birthday Little Lilly!

Lilly turned 1 on August 6th. First Birthdays are so special for Parents. They get to see their sweet little baby open presents and smash cake in their face for the first time, but the biggest reason to celebrate in my opinion is the fact that WE SURVIVED THE FIRST YEAR!!! The newborn stage is so challenging for me, and as sweet as it is, I'm so glad it doesn't last forever! 

I chose a watermelon theme, because watermelon cakes and cupcakes are so fun to make!

I borrowed a Cricut machine from a friend to make her birthday banner, and it was soooo fun! I love those things! Someday when I am working full time I am going to buy one and make all kinds of cute decorations for my classroom!

The cake smashing part is always so fun to watch. Lilly was very dainty and ladylike about it.

 When she finally figured out it was edible, she dug in a little more!

Danny had a great time. It's always nice having an older sibling to show you how to rip your presents open! Lilly's favorite toy she opened was a pink stuffed bear from daddy!

Another noise making toy! YAY! My mother-in-law always apologizes for buying noisy toys that will drive us crazy, but I really don't mind them : ). As long as there are not four going off at once. Now that could make me crazy!

We had such a good time with all of the grandma's and grandpa's, and of course Uncle Sam. 

We sure love our sweet Little Lilly! 

Wheat Harvest Time 2014

Riding with Uncle Sam (I still can't beleive Sam is old enough to drive the wheat truck!!)

It's really special to take Danny out to the field just like my mom took us when we were little. It's what the  guys on the farm work toward all year, so naturally it can be a stressful time. I think having visitors can help eleviate some of the tension!

In the past Danny would get pretty bored after about 30 minutes in the field, but this year he just sat and watched the wheat go into the auger for a long long time. I was the one who was getting bored. We rode with Grandpa Dave in his combine. I have lots and lots of memories sitting at my dad's feet in the combine just like Danny is here.  

Oh and Danny had his very first swim lessons this summer! I wasn't very good about taking him swimming when he was younger, so he's not very comfortable in the water yet. He is more of an "observer" than a participant ; ). We'll be working on that this summer!

Summa Time 2014 (June and July)

Last summer was Nick's first summer vacation as a teacher, and it was GRRRREAT! Sometimes I question whether I want to be a teacher for the rest of my life, but after experiencing the whole summer off my my Nicky-pie, I am pretty sure it is the career for me :)!

Here is a little about how the kids are growing and changing.

Let's Start with Lilly. 

In these pictures she is 10-11 months old and all over the place! She began walking at about 9 1/2 months and soon she was in and on top of everything. 

She would climb anything around her and wanted to do everything Danny was doing. The dresses that Lilly and cousin Naomi are wearing were sewn by Grandma Colette for my sister Amie and I. Sometimes when I look at Lilly I feel like Im staring my baby pictures : ).  Lilly loved to be outside and would raise her hands in the air when we asked, "How big is Lilly?"

On to Danny!

Danny was 4 AND A HALF in these pictures. He would remind me often that he was close to turning five. He is still such a Daddy's boy and can never get enough playtime with other kids! The ninja turtle crew is Danny and "Zach' girls." Danny climbed his first tree this summer with dad and didn't want to come down! Moving onto his second year of preschool, Danny seems like such a big boy, but he still [refers to sleep in our room. We are working on getting him to sleep on the floor more than in our bed. He keeps telling us that he will sleep in his club house bed, "when I'm five!" We are counting the days!

The picture of Danny walking alongside Nick is one of my favorite pictures from the summer. We were getting ready for the 4th of July parade and Danny insisted on changing into a blue shirt "just like daddy's!" We are so proud of the smart, handsome, and funny kid he is turning out to be!

We did what we thought was going to be "a little bit of landscaping," this summer. Maybe we were just too picky about getting it perfect, or really inexperienced, because it took FOREVER! Nick did most of it of course, and it really did turn out nice! 

Our summer was filled with family time, and house projects and we really loved it. Even though we enjoy teaching, we find ourselves daydreaming about our next summer vacation, and all the fun things we are going to do!!

Hooray for HAIR! (Jan-May '14)

Here is a quick recap of January through May. Thinking of trying to catch up on these months with separate detailed posts is overwhelming, plus being low on sleep with a new baby causes memory loss. SO I'll just do a quick little summary with mostly pictures.

January

Danny and Lilly quickly became buddies right around the Holidays. She just wanted to stare at him, and he could make her laugh louder than anyone. Danny used to get mad at me when I would put her down for naps because "we're not done playing mommy!"

I took Danny on one of my trips to Tri-Cities and we stopped by the temple to see the place where mommy and daddy got married!

I'm not exactly sure when these pictures of Danny and Aunt Ashley were taken,  but can you see the difference between the two???

As you can see, Lilly's hair left us for a little while, therefore we became a bit addicted to headbands and hair bows! 

Danny in the tub.

 Just a quick note about Danny and getting his hair washed. He HATES it. I still have to cradle him like a baby and do my best not to get anywhere near is eyes or ears, but I can only do so much with that thick curly mass!

This was my first attempt at a sibling photo shoot at home. Not as easy I thought it would be.

The tongue. She used to always have her little tongue poking out.

Danny was trying so hard to always smile at me so that as soon as Lilly looked my way, I could snap the picture.

                                   Even when getting smacked in the head he kept his smile ; )

 I don't think she liked how the flower tasted. 

Ah there we go! Got one of her! No smile, but we'll take it!

And of course I got a good one from my photogenic little guy.

February

Valentine's Day

For some reason I really love this holiday. We made homemade valentine's and it was really fun!

This is when we found out something new about Danny:

"Mommy can I give a valentine to the girl that I love?"

"Who is the girl that you love?"

"A girl at preschool."

"Well what's her name?"

"I don't know."

"Well you should ask her what her name is tomorrow when you see her."

The next day he came home and told us, "Addison! Her name is Addison!"

Danny's preschool has a cake auction every year in February. Danny requested a "love train" cake.

Nick has never sent me flowers before on Valentine's Day, but he surprised me this year with these! They were huge and beautiful, and I forgave him for all the Valentine's Days past ; )

Nick had play practice that night of Valentine's Day so I hung out at Mom and Dad's and had a little Valentine party. Dad had a great time ; )

On to March

Some friends talked Nick into auditioning for South Pacific here in town. It was REALLY good, and Nick did awesome! He usually refuses to do these kind of things, but this time he gave in, and even had quite a few solos. He was the MOST HANDSOME sailor on stage! It was so fun for me to see him do something completely out of his comfort zone.

Mom and I waiting for Nick's play to start.

Danny and Lilly taking  bath at Grandma's

Aunt Jordy took this picture. Lilly is definitely going to have BLUE EYES!

Over Spring Break Nick and I took a trip to Cannon Beach BY OURSELVES! I was sick and gave it to Nick the first day we got there, so we spent a lot of time relaxing and eating good food!

I think Nick was born to live near the ocean, and someday we might. Nothing about a bull full of shells looks appetizing to me, but he inhales these things!

This picture is for my dad. We ate at Pig'n Pancake the last time the whole Spratling family came to the coast. About 4 years ago. Every morning my dad would try and talk some of us into going back. My dad loves a good pancake!

April

Nick's Birthday!

29 years old. He thinks he is so old, but look at that baby face. Nick doesn't like us to make a big fuss over him, but we do anyway. This year we really spoiled him with store bought Marie Calendar's Pie FROZEN SOLID.   I guess you're supposed to take it out of the freezer a few hours early. 

Danny and Nick got to sit in a life flight helicopter just for fun.

This is the only picture I took on Easter. Holidays are SOOO much fun with these two!

Road trip to Woman's Conference with mom. 

Met up with these crazy sisters, went to uplifting classes, and ate lots and lots of chocolate!

Temple Square with Aunt Ashley

Lilly's hair started to come back by now! Yay my baby girl isn't going to be bald forever!

Danny is my snuggle bug. I hope he never grows out of that.

We are Apple fans in this house. We start them young. This picture of our i pad addicted family makes me smile every time. 

Lilly is 8 months old in this picture and Danny is 4. Our first year with a baby is pretty insane, but it goes so fast. I'm trying so hard to enjoy every day with these two, because all of my older and wiser friends tell me these are the best years!