2016 in Review

  2016 was a great year for our family!

The biggest news was that we bought our very first house. It is absolutely perfect for us, and we love it. We have the best neighborhood and ward, and we feel like we have lived here for many years already. Shortly after we moved, PE started a new job at a smaller engineering firm. It has been a blessing to have the new job.

This little sweetheart grew so much this year (and her hair grew a lot too!):

January

December

And this handsome boy just keeps on growing:

January............................................... December

My baby brother left on a mission to Nebraska. We are so proud of him!

In June, I received the happy news that my colitis is in deep remission! I am still on medication and have to go in every 8 weeks for an IV infusion, but I feel pretty great!

Our family had an awesome vacation in Newport Beach this year! We created many memories, including getting stuck in Baker, California for 8 hours while the AC in our car was fixed.

I got more involved politically this year, and had a really great experience campaigning for Evan McMullin. The kids had fun helping out! I learned a lot, and plan on staying involved and fighting for our liberties enshrined in our Constitution.

My kids got their first bike! P1 can ride it with the training wheels, P2 still needs to be pushed to make it go.

P2 graduated to a big girl bed, and has done great in it!

The kids got to meet their long lost cousins from Canada! We are excited to have them closer to us now. 

We have been extremely blessed in 2016, and look forward to what 2017 will bring. 

Happy New Year!

2.5 Year Stats

P2 had her 2.5 year well visit. It was our best visit yet because there were no shots! Yay!

The kids love playing with the trains in the waiting room.

P2 did a great job of standing on the scale to get her weight. But she cried when we laid her down on the table to check her height.

While we were waiting for the doctor, the kids had fun pulling faces for the camera.

P1 had me take pictures of his "tricks" on the chairs:

P2 is a super healthy girl. I am very grateful for healthy children. Before we go into the doctor, they have us fill out an assessment at home. It makes you go through a bunch of activities with your child to see how their development is doing. My kids these "tests" are super fun, and they get really into them. They have questions about their language skills, fine motor skills, etc. P2 scored really high in all areas, so there is no concerns with her development.

Stats:

Height: 36 inches (64 percentile)

Weight: 28 lbs 6 oz (47 percentile)

P2 takes a nap about every other day now. She sleeps through the night in her big girl bed. She is half potty trained. She always tells us when she needs to poop, which is awesome! I haven't changed a poopy diaper in months! But we still have quite a few diapers and pull-ups to use up, so we haven't pushed really hard for the other half yet. Also, because I hate cleaning up accidents.

She is usually a good eater, and we have finally stopped using sippy cups (except for special occasions, like when all the other cups are dirty). She loves to play with her big brother, and they can entertain themselves for hours on end, which I love! She does love to watch "Jake and the Neverland Pirates", and "Sofia the First". We just introduced them to "My Little Pony", and I think it is a new favorite for her.

She is a little sweetheart who will cuddle with you. But she is still also the drama queen and likes to put on a big show when she is upset. We love our little girl!

Christmas Day

My brother Skyped from his mission in Nebraska. It took some trial and error, but we finally established a 3-way connection. The kids had fun talking to their uncle and showing him all their new toys. My brother looked really good and happy; it was fun to visit with him.

It snowed a lot this Christmas, so we weren't sure if we would make it up the hill to visit grandparents. By late afternoon, the roads looked better so we started shoveling the driveway. Suddenly, a car pulled up, and it was Grandma and Grandpa! They came to see what Santa had brought the kids. So we went back inside and the kids opened some more presents.

P1 got a Sneaky Squirrel Game, which is a really fun and simple game for toddlers.

Both kids got fun "Look and Find" books that they loved. P1 got a Jake one, and P2 got a Sofia one.

We finally made it up Grandma and Grandpa's house. We had a yummy dinner, and the cousins exchanged gifts.

Grandma wanted to do the Nativity with the kids. P2 was Mary, and P1 wanted to be a wise man. We did a very condensed version since the kids only lasted about 5 minutes.

Mary had to be comforted by shepherd when she broke out in tears when they tried to have her hold the baby Jesus.

Here comes the wise man:

P1 got a cool "fish" from his cousin. It's not real, but is a fun bath toy.

This was the gift that P1 made for me. He said that it was a ship.

P1 got an awesome fort building kit from his other cousins. The kids have really enjoyed that one.

I got some fun Disney puzzles for Christmas. The kids liked to "help" me put them together.

On New Years Eve, we had an extended family Christmas party with my mom's side of the family. It was a full house, and it was great to see so many of my cousins and their families.