Bryce's Hair

Who would have thought that Bryce's hair would be more difficult to do something with than Hope's hair. Maybe it is difficult because he has baby hair. I don't know. Do I just let it go all-natural? Do I comb it over to the side like a missionary? Do I put some gel in it and spike it? I guess it does not matter. He always looks handsome and adorable to me!

Every day Occurences

We have had a rough week. The condensed version of what has been happening includes (but is not limited to): lack of sleep, crying, humidifiers, coughing, lack of smiles, sore throats, and a mommy who would have gone over the edge had Daddy not been Superman and helped in every way possible. Despite the difficulties I still caught some pictures of funny every day occurrences.
Hope spilled breakfast on her PJ's so I took them off downstairs in the kitchen. She kept saying, "I want shirt. I want shirt." Since I was in the middle of cleaning up breakfast I told her to go upstairs and get a shirt. She went upstairs and came down with 2 pairs of pants, socks, shoes and a bow. Everything but a shirt! I put them on anyway and told her that she did a great job.

The second part to Hope's clothing choice is that when we went upstairs to her room I noticed this pile of clothes she created while upstairs........there are probably 10 shirts in that pile........I guess just not the one she wanted........ =)
This is one of Jared's favorite photos. We keep putting Hope on the potty and she loves to sit on it. She never goes to the bathroom but loves to sit on it. This was Hope trying on my reading glasses. What a big girl. What followed next was a phone call to Daddy and Hope jibber-jabbered while sitting on her potty. I then saw her grab a book and flip through it on her potty. I couldn't get her off of it for probably 30 minutes.

Hope likes to play in my bathroom cabinet while I get ready in the morning. This day she was thrilled (and very quiet) to find stickers.........

Sweet Bryce..........He has been pretty sick and I am so glad that he is getting better. We have missed his giggling, cooing, and smiles. He has just started to jibber jabb "dada, dada, dada" and although he is still battling a runny nose and coughs he is back to being his gentle mannered little self.

Hope......I don't understand her. She battles me almost every day for both naptime and bedtime. She seems to loathe bedtime, but give her a empty laundry basket and what does she want to do with it? Make a bed........

We love our Uncle Dano

Today Dan (Jared's brother) checks into the MTC. Hope has had a special bond with him since she was a baby and we'll all miss him terribly for the next two years. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day we went to the Sacramento temple with Jared's family to do family baptisms. It was a wonderful experience and all I wanted was to get a good picture of Hope with Uncle Dan. Below are the best of my attempts. (the pictures that I really want to turn out well are usually the ones where the kids are not cooperating!)

Kids are like sponges

It is amazing how much kids are like sponges. They are so smart. They learn by just watching us. A couple of weeks ago I had a million things I was working on (including changing Hope's clothes) and I walked into her room to find her with her table set and she was dishing food. How cute! She wants to be just like me and do what I do. For the bottom picture I told Hope to "Smile for Daddy!" She will do anything for her Daddy.

little man

Our little man.....actually we call him "buddy". Daddy always comes home and scoops up Bryce and says "hi buddy!" Hope now says, "hi buddy! hi buddy! hi buddy!". Bryce is now 6 months old and weighing in at a solid 18 lbs, 11 oz. In fact yesterday I was asked if Hope and Bryce were twins since they are so close in size. He is just a strapping youngster I like to say. He is sitting up on his own, remains a sweet baby and is pure delight to us. Just like Daddy, take care of the basic needs (food, sleep, running pipes) and he is perfectly content. His favorite person is Hope. He lights up when she is around and almost refuses to nurse if she is near because he doesn't want to miss one second of her.

100% Girly Girl

Sweet Hope. She is all girl. She loves necklaces, bracelets, bows, clothes, purses, dresses, and everything about being a girl and Mommy. When we pull out a new outfit or a dress she smiles and says, "mine!". When I go to get my wedding ring or some jewelry out of my dresser she begs and whines until she gets to wear something. (then she'll wear it all day and sleep with it if we forget to take it off) So today I bought her a little Smackers girly kit with lip gloss, face glitter, nail polish (which I quickly hid), and chap stick. She put it all over her face. She was so happy to have it. She kept saying, "thank you momma" over and over again. For now it feels more like the "terrific twos" instead of being terrible. :)

playing at home

It has been over a month since our last post. We have been busy with Hope's 2nd birthday, Christmas, and many family functions. Best of all was having Daddy home for a few extra days both for Christmas and New Years. In fact my favorite day in the last month was the Sunday night after New Years. We all got in our pajamas that afternoon, Daddy made a scrumptious dinner and then we just played together as a family for 2 hours. Hope had a smile or giggle on her face the entire time. It felt like a little piece of Heaven.