Ayden reading: Age 2 (almost 3)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sit back and enjoy the story!

Proud to be a muggle!

Okay, I have been glued to "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows" for 4 days. I had a lot of interruptions, having 2 small children to take care of and a husband wanting to know if it's good, but I can't say anything to spoil it for him. Our house is in shambles, I haven't cooked anything that takes longer than 10 minutes to prepare, Josh attempted to do laundry because we were running out of clothes. It was a GREAT book. I'm very pleased with it. I am quite exhausted, Josh is sleeping, but I have to tell someone!!!! Goodnight. I am now back to the real world, where I have to manually catch up on the housework. If only I had a wand!

Our search is over!

Okay, so Josh had no work for 7 full days, so we shopped almost every morning until Ayden started acting ready for naptime. Finally, after a trip to Townecenter's Baby Gap and Hammond Aire Plaza's Marshalls, we found these 3 pairs of shoes. From left: Stride Rite Tennis shoes that light up! He wouldn't take them off when he tried them on, so we had to tear off the tags to pay for them. Middle: More sandals because Ayden wears these out fast. Right: Baby Gap Converse-style shoes that he didn't really need, but they were cute and on sale. We visited a grand total of eleven stores (twelve if you count searching on ebay) before we found shoes to our liking. I don't plan on getting out of my pajamas today because I am so tired of leaving the house. I seldom feel this way, but it's quite relaxing to do nothing. I say nothing, but I have been doing my regular mom jobs! Both boys are sleeping, so I plan on sweeping and mopping in a few minutes. I have already prepared and fed meals for breakfast and lunch, pumped, killed ants in our guest bedroom and cleaned up that stinky mess, changed 5 diapers, done 2 loads of laundry, assisted in arts and crafts, and successfully managed to get both boys to sleep at the same time which hasn't happened in a week. Wow, when you list things out, it makes life sound so busy. Nevermind on both boys napping. I just caught Ayden reading "Sam's Potty" out loud to himself. He said he wanted some water and he's quiet again, so we'll see what happens.

Ian' 5 month photo shoot

Every month I try to remember to put Ian in his cutest outfit and take a billion pictures. Here are a few from the 22 that I took this morning. He has graduated into his 6-12 month clothes, so we have a whole new wardrobe to choose from!!

Ian is 5 months old.

Our little sweetie-peetie!
About Ian:

• He coos the most when riding in the Jeep
• He's laughing a lot more now, especially when you tickle his sides
• He grabs at things now
• He eats rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas, green beans, and peas.
• He doesn't cry when he wakes up in the morning, after sleeping for 12 hours. He just looks around and talks to himself
• Fussy time of day: When winding down for his nap. That's 10am, 2pm, and 5pm.
• He yodels when sucking his thumb
• He enjoys an occasional tongue bath from his good friend Jouie the Cat
• He displays the brightest and biggest SUNSHINE smile with any human interaction

Shop 'Til You Drop! The Search For Good Quality Shoes At an Affordable Price.

Our 1st stop: Tanger Outlet Mall. I always raid Ayden's piggy bank for quarters and I let him ride after he survives through each store we go to. (That's our red Jeep in the background, and I didn't even realize it when I took the picture!)
Daddy and Ian watching Ay ride Garfield. Ian was licking Josh's hair and drooling all over him.
Whatcha looking at? By the way, Ayden's shirt says "I tried to be good, but I got bored." We enjoyed some home cookin' at Craker Barrel.
This is my sassy face that Josh has to look at.
This is Josh making fun of my sassy face. Pretty good, huh?
Our 2nd stop: the MALL. AHHHH! Ayden got a Dragon this time.
Josh met us at the mall this time, YIPEE!
One of our many stops to browse for shoes.
Ayden crawled in here, looked at me, and said "Mommy, it's scary in here" with a quiet tone in his voice.


STILL NO SHOES BUT WE'RE HAVING FUN LOOKING!

Our very own Cabbage Patch Kid!

The other day, my friend, Jeni, made an observation that Ian's wrists look just like the wrists of a Cabbage Patch Kid. Later on, I was playing with one at Brooklyn's house, and sure enough! Their wrists are sewn so they have a crease just like my little E!
You're right, mom!
By the way, check out my new hat!

Happy Birthday, America!

Hooray for the red, white and blue! Okay, we've had our camera for years now, and last night was the first time I figured out that it has a self timer! Now we can all be in more pictures! Happy 4th everyone! This is my country, land that I love. I cried all through sacrament meeting on Sunday because all of the music was patriotic. My favorite: "America, the Beautiful." The verse that really choked me up:
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
It's so true. Some of us can't understand why someone would join the armed forces, but our soldiers understand more than the average American. They know that they are a part of something bigger than themselves, and they are willing to do what it takes to protect our freedom here in America. I don't have a clue how it feels to live in a town destroyed by bombing, or to be on alert 24/7 in case another bomb strikes. I've always had food on the table, running water, electricity, and I'm surrounded with love. I need to remind myself more often of how blessed I am.

Ian's Last Bath In the Sink

It's a sweet and sour moment for me.
My "infant" son no longer fits in our sink.
These kids grow up so fast.
Isn't there a way to keep them small forever?
Sooner than I'd like to admit,
he'll be taking a bath with BIG bro. Ayden.

Yes, We Went To the Mall AGAIN!

This time Ayden was a cute Dalmation.

He started out with a tongue...

....but it soon became a goatee when he had an itch.

Ainsly (above) and Brooklyn (with Ayden in the stroller)
both got these patriotic flower/rainbows.

This little ham ran around with Ian's hat on.
Doesn't he look like a dirty hobo?

This is a quick thank you to Kim and Brooklyn for picking us up for the 3rd or 4th time because we've been without a car for a while. THANK YOU for helping us get out of the house to expel some energy!