Monkey Business

Bountiful Basket Review

2010-10-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

So here's the Run down: You go on to the Bountiful Baskets Website on Tuesday or Monday(depending on where you live) and you contribute 15 dollars to get this basket pictured below. Pick your location and then choose what add ons you would like! I added 5 loaves of the yummiest bread I have ever tasted for 10 dollars! There was also a box of apples, a pumpkin, tortillas and a few other things that you could add! You could also upgrade to the Organic basket for 10 dollars more(I'm going to try this next week).

So Once you have placed your contribution you print your receipt. Saturday Morning you head to your location at the time that is on the receipt and wait in line with your Laundry basket to get you food! Easy!
The quality is great and the variety is good! The Bread is amazing!!!!

Happy Birthday Nate!

2010-04-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

I love Nate!!!! I am so happy he was born!!!! He is such an amazing Father to the boys!! They love him soooooo much! I love you Nate!!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday!!!!

Comparison shots 1 year old

2010-03-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

Caden

(not the best for comparison of Caden)

Drake

Jack

FHE- Family Rules

2010-02-09T18:26:00.000-08:00

For family home evening we made a rules chart for our little family! The rules apply to everyone in the family and we all decorated it together and the boys helped match the pictures to the rules. It was a great FHE and we had a lot of fun together. We also have a primary song to go with each of the rules so that we can sing the song when we are talking about the rule we've broken or followed:)

I found random pictures online through google search but I think it would be a better idea to snap some pictures of our family doing the rules! I didn't think of that till after:)
One of our rules is "Kind Words" so we brain stormed some nice things to say to each other and wrote them in little bubbles.

They boys had a ton of fun with the glitter glue and heart stickers!

Comparison Pictures of the Boys

2010-01-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

9 Months old

Caden, Drake, then Jack:)

Spiritual Growth with The Boys!

2009-11-16T19:04:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start using this blog to log the spiritual side of teaching that goes on in our home. If you want to see the school side of things go to Littlehandsbigwork.blogspot.com. Anyway, Me and the boys have been doing really well with scripture reading. We haven't missed a single weekday for 3 weeks and we have read most weekend days too. I use the Scripture Stories Series put out by the church. Every morning we sit down to breakfast we say a prayer together and then read one Chapter. It's not super long but it is the perfect length for them and the pictures help so much! I like that the "Characters" were the same outfit through out so it is easy for the boys to remember them if they are in another chapter. It makes me feel good to know that it is put out by the church as well. We are on Book of Mormon Stories and for someone who did not grow up in the church it is very helpful!

Family Photos!

2009-07-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of family photos that we had taken recently. The boys were not happy during the session so it is amazing that she got the shots that she did! I will be really busy this next week because we are moving in to an apartment to get a little more space while we wait to hear about our house (It's a short sale:(grrr!) Anyway, I should be back to posting in about a week!

SO Pretty

2009-07-13T11:44:00.000-07:00

This is a picture I took of my sister and it just makes me want to be pregers again! Isn't she beautiful!

The boys

2009-06-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

Cute Jack!

2009-05-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

2009-05-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

Comparison Pictures

2009-05-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

I was having fun on my computer looking at old pictures and I started to compare pictures of the boys. It's kind of cool!

ONE DAY BEFORE DELIVERY
(Caden, Drake, Jack)

Birthday!

1 MONTH

6 WEEKS

Just Pictures:)

2009-05-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

Jack is on the left

For JUST one week!

2009-02-07T20:33:00.000-08:00

I am going to make myself a healthy lunch everyday after I put the boys down for their nap! I'm also not going to watch any online T.V. until I have made myself the healthy lunch! I bought all the fixings for yummy Veggie sandwiches so I am excited for this goal! It will make me feel better to sit down and have a real meal at lunch time.

Join Just One Week

For JUST one week!

2009-01-17T13:02:00.000-08:00

So I did really good on my kitchen goal this week again but that is mostly because I have changed My habbits so it is a lot easier!

As for the nagging, I didn't do that well the first three days but Idid realize what an issue it is! I really nag Nate way too much! As the week went on and I realized how hard it was for me it just made me want to try harder! We have had some really great moments this week because of our goals and I am contininuing both for this week as well and adding a new one for myself:

I will Give Nate a Big Kiss and a very Long Hug every day when he gets home from work! This may seem like a simple thing but for me it is not. I am not a very touchy person but Nate needs that physical touch to feel loved. At the end of the day I've been touched so much by the boys and I'm tired and pregnant but it makes Nate feel so good so I am going to do it!

If anyone here is wanting more updates on the boys check out www.picturesforgrandpa.blogspot.com and www.littlehandsbigwork.blogspot.com

For JUST one week!

2009-01-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

I reached my goal of having the Kitchen clean everyday but the first day my water got shut off in the middle of a batch of idshes! Not my fault. I'm glad that I really focused on in this week because I realized a lot of the things I'm doing that are makinging the kitchen harder then it has to be.

My goal this week is to not Nag Nate once!!! Nate wanted to join in so his goal is to keep his temper and have fun for one week:) This should turn out to be a fun week for the both of us!

For JUST one week!

2009-01-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

For one week I will have the kitchen clean everyday before my husband comes home. Read this post:)

Look What Mom Made!

2008-12-23T20:39:00.001-08:00

She Just sent them and I'm in love!!! They are so adorable and just knowing how hard she worked on them for us makes me and my little family feel so loved!

Thank you Mom!!!

Merry Christmas From Caden!

2008-12-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

The Jeep Got A Face Lift.

2008-12-17T20:23:00.000-08:00

Well here is the exciting story. I was going home from work, I just merged onto the Loop 101 in Scottsdale. I was in the right lane in traffic. traveling about 35 mph. I wanted to change lanes, so I looked over my left shoulder to move into the middle lane, after I looked over my shoulder and found that it was safe to change lanes I looked forward and found that my lane had stopped. I started to move into the middle lane to avoid a collision but failed to do so in a timely manner and clipped the left rear of the truck in front of me. After I hit the car in front of me my car stalled and sat in the middle lane for about 2-3 secs when I got nailed from another car from behind. This car kinked the whole body that now the rear doors are popped out on the top and the doors are hard to open. We had liability insurance so I am going to be doing all body work by myself. Every body involved in the accident are ok. The jeep still drives good.

Caden's Burn!

2008-12-08T14:28:00.000-08:00

My poor baby! We were at Costco and they were offering samples of cocoa. Caden wanted one, so I got him one. The woman serving it had it in a plastic juice pitcher and was pouring it into little Styrofoam cups. She new I was giving it to him and she said nothing about it being hot. Nothing in my head made me think it would be very hot so I (foolishly) gave it to him without testing it. As soon as it touched his lips he screamed and it spilled on his chest. I wasn't too worried but I got him water and was trying to calm him down. After a few minutes I couldn't understand why he still hadn't calmed down so I looked down his shirt and I could see his skin peeling and his skin was bright red. I found Nate and he went to get a manager. We had to file a report and They brought Caden candy, ice cream and a whole pizza. They were really nice about it and they admitted that they should not have been serving a drink that hot to any costumers let alone children. He feel asleep on the way home and when he woke up he was happy as a clam and hasn't said anything about it since. It's healing just fine but it looks pretty bad.

Things That Made Me Smile this Week!

2008-12-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

Leave a comment and tell me something that made you smile this week!

We were taking pictures after church on Sunday and Caden noticed that there was a red Jeep that looked just like ours. He proceeded to try and get us into the car but we explained that it wasn't our car and that ours was at home (we walk to church). After a few minutes we hear Caden start screaming bloody murder(watching some one drive away in the Jeep), "My Car! My Car, NOOOOOOO My Car!" He threw himself on the ground crying because he thought some one was stealing our car! It took several minutes for us to calm him down. We couldn't help laughing. You gotta love his passion for cars:)

Nate Got a 350 dollar bonus this week for fixing 100% of his cars right the first time. P.S. He is loving his work!

Drake took his first step! Just one but it was very exciting!

Drake eating his cereal!

Caden telling me "No pictures Mama!"

Drake watching a movie in his lazy man pose:)

Watching Caden Dance and do Karate moves while watching Kung Fu Panda!

Happy Birthday Drake!!!!! (Video at the End)

2008-11-30T18:43:00.000-08:00

My sweet little man is 1!!! I can't believe it! He had such a great day! I took these adorable pictures of him after church and then we went home for a nice nap.

Later that night Drake had a delicious dinner and then dug in to his Birthday Cake! He was giving bites to everyone with his fork and Daddy, Mommy and Caden all helped eat it:)

This is a video of us trying to take Drake's Cake away from him! He was not happy about so we gave it back!

Cute Boys!

2008-11-24T10:44:00.000-08:00

So we only stayed for sacrament at church this Sunday because the boys were being absolute nightmares but I did manage to get some pictures of their new Sunday outfits from Grandma and Grandpa Packer and their new dress shoes from Grandpa Drake. These smile did not last long. Caden was doing pretty good till we got to church and he took off his shoes and sock and didn't want to wear his pants anymore!! Drake just Cried but I did get one little smile out of him. We are going to take them to get portraits done soon now that they are feeling a little better. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa's!

Teeth Suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-23T13:55:00.000-08:00

Caden and Drake are both teething! Caden is getting his third year molars!! Drake is getting some side teeth! They are so miserable, and therefore Mommy and Daddy are also miserable! Caden doesn't want to be out of our arms and Drake just screams! Here are several pictures of the misery.

Good News!!

2008-11-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

Good News Number 1 is that Nate just got his first pay check! Whoo Hoo!

Number 2 is that they re-rented our old apartment so we don't have to pay rent there anymore and they are going to give us back rent for November!! We were going to have to pay for the rest of the year so this is very good news!

Good news number 3 is that I should be able to go to the doctor soon! Nate is getting the insurance at his work set up today. It's not the best insurance right now but in one year we will be eligible for the good stuff! Since we plan on staying at this job for a long time it is very comforting to know that we will have good health insurance for the whole family.

Good news number 4 is that Nate is loving his new job! Everything about it! He is so thrilled with all of the positive changes compared to his last job. He got a great raise, better insurance options, he likes all of the guys he is working with (there are three other vegetarians which make it a little more comfortable for him.)

All in all things are going great! We will let you know once we've been to the doctor!

Bird Park, Sick Weekend, and Playground pics

2008-11-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

This is a long post but I have had quite the weekend! The weekend started off great! My Dad watched all of the kids so that me and my sister Misty could go on a double date with our husbands and it was so much fun!!!!! My dad treated so that made it even better! We just laughed all night and just enjoyed hanging out without the kids. After a relaxing evening we took all of the kids to the Bird Park in the morning. The bird park is a bird sanctuary, and it has free roaming chickens, roosters, peacocks, wild turkeys, and pigeons. The kids loved feeding the birds and Caden loved covering his ears and running in to the birds. There's also a playground and Caden really liked playing with his twin cousins.

We put the twins playpens in my dads room for nap time and when I went to check on them I found this...

She pulled down a bag of stuff in there and found a pink highlighter to decorate herself with! It was very cute! The weekend started to go bad as soon as my sweet nieces left. Caden threw up and kept going until Sunday night! I felt so bad for him! He spent Sunday and a lot of Monday on the couch watching movies and sleeping. As if that wasn't enough Nate and my dad got sick too! Nate had to take Monday off because he was up all night puking!
We have been having so much fun in Az. One of my favorite things is that there is a fun park really close that we go to everyday and the boys love it! It's so fun to be able to get out of the house! I really felt like I couldn't so anything in Washington unless I called for a ride or waited till Nate got home. Now I just hitch up my wagon and off we go!

There's also a little farm thing by the playground and we go and feed the horses! Isn't it cute!

Happy Birthday Caden!!!

2008-11-13T08:57:00.000-08:00

My baby is 2!!! I can hardly believe that my little boy is growing up so fast!!! Everyday he learns something new and gives me even more reasons to love him! He is such a good big brother and a sweet loving son. Happy birthday Caden!
The night before Caden's birthday we let him open his presents from Grandma and Grandpa Packer. I'm glad we decided to open it a little early because Caden carried his Pack Pack (back pack) around the whole next day. He also carried his cars in side. He looked so cute with a little back pack on. I put diapers, pull ups and wipes in the big packet and he uses the little pocket for cars! It was really sweet to see caden unwrapping them because he was so excited but he still took the time to throw away all of the paper!

The morning of Cadens birthday he woke up to a room full of balloons and he was happy about it but Drake was ecstatic! I filled his playpen with them and he had a ball!!

After Grandpa Drake asked Caden what he wanted for his birthday breakfast Caden decided on Toast! Grandpa took us all out to breakfast and got Caden some extra toast. After taking the boys shoe shopping (Grandpa's Treat), He took them to Peter Piper and it was a lot of fun.

This was Caden's favorite ride. He would come and get tokens from Grandpa and get on all by himself and put the coins in! It was very cute! Drake liked the ride to but his favorite was this little air plane (and the pizza!)

Here's Caden looking out at grandpa from the play structure holding the car he got with 300 tickets(Some guys gave him a bunch from playing basketball). I was so proud of him because he went down this really dark and scary slide all by himself!

For dinner we took Caden to Red Robin, he had his usual cheese pizza and cantaloupe. He loved when they came and sang to him! Caden and Drake were clapping and Caden loved his Sunday. He started passing out bites to everyone, so sweet!

Here we are leaving red robin. Caden looked so much older wearing his new big boy shoes and caring his new "pack pack".

After Red Robin we went home and celebrated my sister Jante's Birthday as well. We got Caden to big remote control trucks and he loved them so much! I didn't get any pictures with them because I was trying to control him a little. 2 year olds get a little crazy on their birthday!

The Trip to Az!

2008-11-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

So we made it safely to Arizona! It wasn't the best trip but we made it and that is what matters!

Here is Drake in his car seat all ready to go. I don't know why but I just love this picture of him.

Caden sleeping at Grandma's house!
Here's the lovely flat we got on the way down to Az.

My boys waiting for the Uhaul guy to come fix the tire! Two hours later we were on the road again!

We got in around 2 in the morning and Nate was about to die of sleep deprivation! We are here and settled in and Having fun. We will be celebrating Caden's birthday this Wednesday so I will post again after that.

Caden Saying Good Bye to His Friends at the Halloween Party!

2008-11-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

Caden was so cute Trunk or Treating! He was a total pro by the 4th car! He was so adorable saying trick or treat and so happy when they would give him something!
In case you can't tell, they are both ghosts!

Caden and his Buddy Daniel.

Hugging his friend Kyle!

This is his buddy Eli. They are only 5 days apart.

Anyway, such a fun night and it was great to see everyone before we left. We will miss everyone in the Edmonds ward so much!

I'm using my PS3 internet and it won't let me type much or add pictures. We are getting the internet to our comuter hooked up tonight.

2008-11-05T10:52:00.000-08:00

We are in Az! We are having a wonderful time! Nate's Job is going great! Me and the boys have been having so much fun with Grandpa. More Later Today.

2008-11-05T10:40:00.001-08:00

We are in Az! We are having a wonderful time! Nate's Job is going great! Me and the boys have been having so much fun with Grandpa. More Later Today.

2008-11-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

We made it to Utah! (writing this on half a tank of sleep)

2008-10-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

We left our apartment at 8 am and didn't arrive in SLC until 2:3oam! That's 17 1/2 hours if take in to account the time difference. One reason it took so long was our back door to the jeep would open half way through the trip! We spent half an hour trying to get it open while Caden ran circles around a bench?????? Don't ask me! I think he was going crazy from being in the car so long. Anyway, we still couldn't get it open so we had to pull EVERYTHING out of the car so that we could take Tara out to go to the bathroom! I felt so bad for Tara because the whole time we were trying to get things fixed she was whining in her kennel! So that was about an hour delay!

As far as keeping the boys happy on the trip, I got very frustrated! The first 6 hours were great! I was rotating toys and snacks to them and there were just peachy but after their nap (a long one, too) they were impossible!!! Nothing I did made them happy! I told Nate to pull over at the next rest stop and they had some time to play while we spent and hour doing the whole door thing! We we got back in the car I told Nate, "I'm Done!" I was so frustrated from trying to entertain them and they were just throwing the toys on the floor and whining! so I ignored them! They both fussed for about 10 minutes and then they were quiet! They were staring out their windows and cuddling their blankets and they were quiet!!! I think I was just trying too hard. We stopped for dinner and then they both fell asleep for the rest of the trip!

As for us, no sleep! I promised Nate that I would stay awake the entire trip and talk to him so that he would stay alert. We talked about everything! Some things twice! we also played a trivia game on his iPod that was really fun and helped the time fly by faster. We were doing great until 20 miles outside of SLC we were losing it! But we were so close!! I was telling Nate to stay alert and he was trying so hard but started getting a little loopy and I started to get a little droopy! We made it though! Everyone is safe and we got some sleep and are looking forward to more sleep tonight! We are going to stay here until Wednesday morning and then it's off to Az! Pictures coming later, and there are some cute ones!

We Are Moving To Arizona!!!!!

2008-10-23T19:51:00.000-07:00

Nate went to Az for an interview this Tuesday and they gave him the Job!!! He loves the shop and the people he met. he is very excited about the health care they offer, the bonuses and cafeteria! When we told his current boss that he would be leaving, He laid him off!!! It's OK, he said that he was going to have to lay off other guys so it might as well be him since he has a job waiting for him. The crazy part about that is there is no reason to stay any longer. We are taking these next few days to pack, then we will drive out Sunday morning, spend 2 days in Utah, Leave Wednesday morning and be in AZ that night! It's all kind of crazy but we both feel really good about it. Later I'm going to post all of the things we will miss about Washington and all of the things we are looking forward to in Arizona but, for now here are some pictures of the boys being so cute in the Wagon that their Grandpa Drake (my daddy) bought them. It was so fun to dress them in the cute sweaters (hand me downs from my Sweet Nephews, Thanks Bec)!

Trying to get a cute picture of the boys together...

2008-10-20T13:33:00.001-07:00

in their matching Monkey PJs! It was hard! There isn't even a "But look we got one good one!" We did have a lot of laughs though:)

Looking Back...

2008-10-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

So, I was browsing through old photos and I came upon this "Lovely" (I'm embarrassed to show it!) picture of me at the hospital when I was going to have Caden.

After 36 hours I finally had a C-section to get my sweet little Caden out and if you look closely you can see that My eyebrows hadn't been plucked in like forever! My Hair is a mess and my face is breaking out all over! Let us Fast forward :)
Here I am right before my scheduled C-Section with Drake, Eye Brows plucked, Hair Done, Clear skin!
Even after he's born I don't look half bad.
The Lesson here is that you just don't have time to primp when your water breaks in you Dad's Living room!

My Baby Ticker!

2008-10-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

I think I have finally settled on the one I like! I have changed it 5 or 6 times! I really like the ones that tell you a little info about the babies development but the floating baby really bothers me at certain stages. I also like the ones that are just a count down but then they don't have the little snippets of info. I like the snippets of info because I don't have the time or desire to keep track like I did with Caden. I read my pregnancy book every day when I was pregnant with Caden but now I feel like it's really redundant! So now I have my perfect Ticker! It shows the baby but not in a way that creeps me out, It's looks nice on the top of my blog and it gives me the snippets of info I want! Let me know what you think:)

Drake Decided to Get Himself Dressed!

2008-10-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

Caden's Letters

2008-10-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

Caden loves letters! I've always read books to him and point out words and letters to him but I was still a little surprised when he started pointing to letters and words and asking me what they were (Wastha!). When we were first potty training Caden we would give him a choice of stickers after he would make it to the potty and he would always go for the letter stickers! He took the K and B's off of every sticker page and since then he has learned more then half the Alphabet and he points them out where ever we go. I was trying to find a poster of the ABC's to put on his wall and I couldn't find one that I liked so I decided to make this...

I made it from the scraps from other project so I didn't have to buy anything new which was great! I filled it with some dollar store ABC cards and Caden loves it! He takes all the cards out naming them as he goes and then puts them all back. In the picture you can see that I have addition and subtraction cards in there but they aren't for Caden, don't worry! I was thinking when he is older I could put those in and he could use a dry erase marker to write the answers in!

the letters Caden knows: B C F G H I K L M O R S T U W Y

How creepy does my floating baby look this week???

2008-09-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

I'm thinkinking about removing my widget until it shows a plump cute little baby.

Ward Talent Show and Chili Cook Off!

2008-09-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

So last night was our supper fun ward activity. Me and Nate were on the committee so we got to help out and it turned out really great! Our babysitter totally rocked out to a spice girls song with her friends! I think she should preform more often because she totally owned that stage!!!

Our Family talent was the Balance Beam! Caden was so excited to go on stage and do it. We were behind the curtain because we were next and he was clawing his way up the stairs saying "balance beam" over and over! When we got up there he went across once only falling once or twice! The cutest part is that he gets right back on where he falls and keeps trying! I was hoping he would do it more than once but when everyone cheered he smiled and ran off stage! It was adorable!!!!
Our fearless leader Sara played the piano while her to adorable children danced! Her daughter was so sweet! Sara's little boy came out but then ran off stage so Her daughter ran and got him and helped him dance around the stage! It was beyond sweet!!

I taught these two adorable stars a dance and they did such a great job!!! We had all the other kids in the audience come to the bottom of the stage to dance with them but we got some Young Men instead (See Bottom Picture)

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home!

2008-09-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

I had to get pictures of the boys and Tara greeting Nate. The boys love their Daddy soooooo much. Caden talks about him all day long "Dada work, Dada car, Dada home?" I love it!!! Anyway, here are some pictures of just moments after Nate's arrival home!

Yummy!

2008-09-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

Feeling Better

2008-09-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

I was super tired and sick this last week and a half but I am feeling much better. Thanks to Nate letting me sleep a lot and my sweet friend Sara giving us a Date night.
Monday was the first day that I really felt like we were back in our routine. We got up, we ate breakfast, We played in the play room, we went outside came home ate a snack, took a nap (all of us:), they played in the room while I got all of my chores done and then before I knew it Nate was on his way home and I was starting dinner! It was fabulous!!! Ahh, but it was not to last! Drake is getting another tooth so he is cranky as all get out and his nose is running which is pretty yucky! Caden is still on routine but he has had friends coming over and tries to show off (I'm guessing) by acting like a loony. He seriously runs around kicking toys and just acting like a mad man and then when the friends are gone he's back to normal!
I'm still a little queasy but I have been eating a lot more then last week. When I was prego with Caden I craved Sub sandwiches, skittles, Pepsi, and chocolate cake. With Drake it was Nasty chicken sandwiches from fast food restaurants, Mac and cheese and peanut butter/banana sandwiches. Now with baby number three I am craving salad!!! No joke! I was sitting at the computer and all of a sudden I really wanted salad! Then the next day I wanted a salad for lunch! Right now, I really want a salad! It nice not to be craving junk that I know my body doesn't need. I'm kind of wondering if the cravings are healthier because I have been eating so much healthier since Drake was born? We'll see. Watch next week I'll be craving greasy cheese burgers!

My Sweet Boys!

2008-09-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

I got Tagged!

2008-08-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

by Life with Libby!

The rules: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

3 Joys:
Spending Time with My Husband
Watching my boys learn something new
Taking care of my family

3 Fears:
Spiders and Roaches(I just cringed)
Driving
My boys getting really hurt or worse

3 Obsessions/Collections:
Nutrition
Planning things
Scrap booking

3 Facts about me:
My favorite sandwich is peanut butter and banana!
My Favorite TV Shows are Ugly Betty, Lost, and High school Musical:Get in the picture.
I love being Pregnant!!! Especially planning for the new baby!

I'm going to Tag Becca, Rozemary, Lisa, Julie, and Bryan!

Number 3

2008-08-26T08:42:00.001-07:00

Me and Nate are expecting number 3 on April 2nd. We are super excited and can't wait to meet the new little person. I'm feeling great and I have a feeling it's a girl! We'll see!

I Got a New Hair Cut

2008-08-08T11:10:00.001-07:00

Too Fast!!!!

2008-08-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

Wow! Just today Drake has all of a sudden grown up so much! He decided that he is not content to roam the floor anymore so he is pulling up to standing and crusing(walking holding on to stuff) all over the place. It's so cool because it's like with in in 24 hours he's already got it down like he has been doing it forever. He still hasn't figured out sitting back down (he's getting better) so we have had some spills but that doesn't stop Drake! Drake love to use Nate as a jungle gym.
I couldn't belive when I walked in and saw Drake on top of the chair and trying to get into his cool new jumper.

He walked all the way from one end of the couch to the other!
Just Cute! (Melissa I think he looks like Resee in this picture)

I just had to post this cute picture of Drake's teeth. His has the top ones but the top middle hasn't com in yet so it look really funny.

Bad Mommy!

2008-08-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

All of the post lately have been mostly about Caden! I just realized that so here is a super post about Drake, filled with pictures of coarse.

Drake is the Happiest little baby boy you will ever meet and he loves going outside and observing the world. He will sit in the grass and watch birds fly and trees rustle forever

Whenever me or Nate sit on the ground he crawls as fast as he can to get to us!

He likes to climb onto low things now. Daddy's chair is his favorite!
We found out his favorite food so far is pasta stars with a Spinach/Marinara sauce!

He Loves the Pool!!
He loves to follow Caden and do whatever he is doing!
This is just a cute picture of Drake driving us home for the Museum.

He's not saying any real words yet, He is exploring like crazy, he loves his big brother, he loves to climb and eats like a champ! So that is Drake in a nutshell lately! Oh and he has 4 teeth and two on the way!

Children's Museum

2008-07-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun! It was really fun to see Caden just running free and exploring. His favorite things were; the train table, the roof top playground and the water room. How cute is he riding the dog?!?!

Memory Time!!!!

2008-07-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. I will revisit your blog and leave a memory as well!!

Happy Memory making!!

Taking a stand!

2008-07-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

I had a ton of cleaning to do today so I let Caden go bare bottom all morning so that I wouldn't have to help him with his underwear! Every time he goes Pee he jumps up and down and shouts for joy so that is how I know to come over and empty his potty. Well, he had already gone 2 or three times when I wasn't looking but all of the Pee seemed to be around the potty and not in it! He is usually so good about sitting down the correct way and not spilling, that I decided I'd better watch and see what was happening. He ran over to the potty but instead of sitting down he stood in front of it and moved his hips trying to get it in the potty! It was so cute!! I put on his underwear and taught him how "open" them and pee in the big toilet while standing up. He thought it was pretty cool. I think he needs a few lessons from Dad before he can do it on his own.

I'm a Big Boy Now!!!

2008-07-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

Caden is Potty trained!!!! We started training him a week and a half ago when he started bringing us his potty(We were using it as a stool in the bathroom:) after he would go number 2 in his diaper. I still wasn't sure if I should start until he started holding his legs together saying "P P P P". He is pretty solid now. He goes all on his own if he has no underwear on but he still needs help if he is wearing them! We declared him officially potty trained when we went out and about all day and he had no accidents! He still has trouble when we aren't around. Sariqd watched him for us and he had 2 accidents in his pull ups so I think he is still confused as to who he can ask for help from. All though we have had a lot of success these last couple of days with number 2 he still a little hit and miss, but he gets over half in to the potty so that's pretty good for a 20 month old!Here are some high lights from the whole experience.

Who doesn't like to read on the potty?

There was one day that we just needed a break so we played in the hose diaper free!

Caden was so cute when he would say nope! It was always his answer!

Yummy Recipe

2008-07-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

I added a yummy Vegetarian Taco recipe to the Walk and Not Faint Blog, check it out!
The link is to the left in the blog list!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures and more Pictures!

2008-07-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

These pictures are so out of order because Blogger is being weird!

Caden has been loving playing on the back patio in his sand pool and Tara's Kennel

He love sitting in the chair that I use when I'm out there.
We bought Caden a light up fan 4th of July and he was fascinated!
Me pulling the boys (and our friend Eli) at our ward breakfast slash 4th of July parade!
Thanks for the Wagon Grandpa!
Spiky fourth of July Hair
Drake is getting so good at sitting up! He loves it!
Caden has been loving playgrounds, people often ask how old he is and are shocked at how well he can climb, slide, and monkey around for his age!

Drake love going to the beach! He is so calm when we are there.

He has been scooting a lot, but most of the time it's backwards!
Caden has been loving his wagon, he takes all of the things he loves in it (Cars and his blanket)
Fourth of July!!!
Caden pulled Drake in the Wagon all by himself all over the parking lot! I have got a very strong boy on my hands!

Drake has problems with food anymore besides the mess!!

We give him soy milk with his meals from a cup but we have to hold it! He wants to hold the cup so bad but it always ends in spilt milk on the floor and none in his mouth!
Drake Loves having his two little teeth brushed! Especially when he gets to hold the tooth brush!
Caden loves the beach!!! He fell in once and then respected the water much more!
He loves running up and down the water line throwing rocks and running from waves! He such a joy to watch!
So that's all of the stuff we have been up to!

...Walk and Not Faint.

2008-06-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

Samantha and I have decided to start a new blog entitled, "Walk and not faint." The first post is an article found in this months Ensign, by William T. Stephenson, MD. During this past week I have been thinking a lot about abstaining from meat. I had a discussion with a guy at work about how you can get your protein from vegetables galour. We visited a couple of websites on nutrition and health. The things that I saw were encouraging on how we have no need to eat meat. Although I love the taste of a Super Star with Cheese from Carls Jr., the fact is that meat is on the list of causes of cancer, it kinda scares me. One of the articles that I read stated that the Seventh Day Adventist in LDS terms follow the word of wisdom to the "T" better than us Latter-day Saints. The word of wisdom clearly states that it would be pleasing unto our Heavenly Father if we would only eat meat in times of WINTER, COLD, or FAMINE. We as members of the church do not eat meat sparingly. It is the main dish in breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don't see the need to eat meat when we are not in times of famine. I have decide on Friday June 27th to not eat meat anymore unless that is the only thing on the store shelf. I guess I have known for a while that I should eat meat sparingly or not at all, but it is really hard to give up some tasty burgers. The word of wisdom is true and we should follow it. Fruits and vegetables, grains and herbs will give us all that we need to live long healthy lives. I even believe that eating fruits, vegetables, grains and herbs will cleanse, prevent, and possibly even cure cancer and diseases. Therefore we are starting an additional blog to inspire all to eat healthy and live long. We welcome your comments!

This has been a 2 cents message from Nathan Packer

Wall E

2008-06-30T12:12:00.001-07:00

We took Caden to he first Movie theater movie! I know what you are thinking, " Are you Crazy?" You can't take a 19 month old to a movie theater!!!" Well calm down! I never thought I would take my kids to the movie till they were like 5 or something, but Caden can sit through Cars, Nemo and his current favorite Ratatouille and he has been watching the preview for Wall E and gets really excited. So, How did it go? Great!! He loved it! He sat through the whole thing occasionally switching laps or booster seat. At one part he got very worried about Wall-E and started shouting out his name! The people around us chuckled so I think they were ok with it! We left Drake with or friend Candice and he slept the whole time:) It was fun to go do something with just Caden!
PS It was a very good movie. Highly recommended! Three thumbs up, Me Nate and Caden!

Happy Belated Birthday to me!

2008-06-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

I never posted about my Birthday because I have been having too much fun with my presents form Nate and Mom! I'll talk more about that later :) So for my 23rd B-day Nate Let me spend several hours doing stuff I never get to do like straightening my hair and giving myself a pedicure and getting all gussied up! He took me out and we had a very good time! Here is a pic we took when we got home.

Here I am opening my presents. Yes, Nate did wrap my present in the quilt mom made us! It was the prettiest thing he could find!

So what did I get? And What I have I done with it? So glad you asked...
I got a Sewing Machine from Nate and every little accessory you can think of from Mom and Dad, the cutest of which is this adorable pin cushion that Mom made! I should of taken a picture without the little yellow pins, it's much cuter without them. The next picture is the curtains I made for the boys room. The next picture is the cradle bedding I made before I had the sewing machine and I did it all by hand. I never finished the bag I wanted to make to hang over the side so I finished it! Now when the baby wakes up at night I will have everything I need right there and It looks cute! The last one is a search and find bean bag and I plan on making more for friends who are having babies. I really love sewing! My next project is going to be slip covers for these chairs! Wish me luck! And if you have any tips before I start feel free to comment.

So sleepy!!

2008-06-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

Caden wasn't feeling well on this fathers day. All day he has been whining and crying. It is so hard to figure out what is going on with him. He's pretty good at telling us whats up, but today was really hard for him. He had a really hard time in nursery. After church he was dozing off in the car, but we wanted to keep him awake so we could go to the park and beach after church since the weather is SUNNY AND WARM. Very unusual for what the weather has been like. Before we were going to go to the park we needed to feed Drake. So we started Cadens favorite movie Cars to keep him happy before we left. And he fell asleep watching the movie. It was so adorable.

p.s. here is a picture of me and the boys on fathers day

Nate

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day! I have a wonderful father whom I talk to for at least an hour a day and he fills my life with incredible love and advice! I have gone to him so many times searching for answers and he has them every time. He's always there when I need him and I love him dearly!

I don't even know what to say about Nate!! He is the perfect father for the boys. They love him so much! No one can make drake smile like Nate does! Every time, Drake sees him he coos and smiles and you can see the love he has for his daddy. When we got back from Az I knew that Caden would be happy to see his Daddy but I wasn't prepared for just how excited he would be! He saw Nate before Nate even noticed us! He started laughing so hard and trying to get out of the stroller. He just kept saying Dada over and over. It really showed me what a strong bond he has built with his sons! When Nate comes home Caden yells "Dada" and then patiently waits at his feet until he takes off his greasy work clothes so that he can get a hug! Nate works so hard all day and then still comes home and changes diapers and plays with the boys and gives baths and stories and songs and giggles! He's incredible! Nate, I love you so much! I want the world to know how much you mean to this family! You our the king of the house and couldn't be happier! I hope we give you a wonderful father's Day!

Early Birthday Celebration!

2008-06-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Came to Visit! Dad was on business and stopped by to celebrate a little early (My birthday is Saturday). He took us out to olive garden and brought cake. He also brought presents that I'm not aloud to open :( It's so hard for me to wait because I loooooovvve opening presents. Even packages that come in the mail and I already know what they are I still love opening them!!! I promised Nate that I wouldn't peek because he says that peeking at one would give away the rest! I'll let you know what they are on Saturday when I turn... drum roll please... 23 I can't believe I am 23 and I'm already married with 2 children! Crazy! Here are some pics from our early celebration! P.S. Grandpa isn't smile because he has a cold sore and it hurts to smile :( I'm sure he was smiling on the inside!

Just the Boys!

Me and the Boys at Olive Garden!

Blowing out my candles! Caden helped :)

100th Post!!

2008-06-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

Isn't that exciting! The reason I'm writing today is even more exciting!! Drake is finally eating solids!! He's been eating from his munchie and some toast and cheerios but he refused to eat from a spoon! I was even giving him the sweet stuff (bananas). Well apparently Drake is not a banana boy like his brother, who could live on bananas and bread alone! So what got Drake eating like a champ...Squash!!

P.S. Grandma picked out this chair for Caden and it is great! You can attach it to a chair or it can sit on the ground. It also folds up and it has a lid to keep the tray clean while you travel! Caden loves his and doesn't like that Drake is using it so we are going to go get Drake his very own! So, thanks Grandma!

Beach Fun!

2008-06-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

We've decided that we might never see the sun in Washington so we we went to the beach despite the clouds! I wasn't to cold but it got colder later which is why Caden is wearing my coat in the last picture! Nate thought it was funny and Caden did too! Caden's favorite thing to do at the beach is to throw rocks into the water! Surprised huh? He's all boy!

Grow Drake Grow!!!

2008-06-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

My Little boy has grown so much in the last month!!

His first two teeth broke through when we were in AZ
He can sit up
He is scooting but mostly backwards
He Can get up on all fours but no crawling yet!
He said Dada, more accurately " Da da da da da da da" But still so cute
He still refuses to eat from a spoon but he did pick up a cheerio all by himself and ate it. Maybe he will just skip the spoon and go strait to finger foods. He also eats a lot of fruit from his Munchie and eats toast.

Those are just a few of the things he is up to. Here is a picture of him and Caden on the chairs my sister Misty got for them! Caden loves them. He sits in them to watch tv or movies.

Here he is, so proud of himself for scooting and rolling to the basket of toys. He started under the little play gym on the car rug!

We are Home!

2008-06-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun in AZ! Caden got to play with his Aunts, Uncles, and cousins and be spoiled rotten by his Grandpa. Drake absolutely adores his grandpa. Drake slept in my dads room and slept better then he does at home! Every time Grandpa looked at drake he would smile and get all excited! It was very sweet!Here Caden is with his Twin Cousins, Patricia and Leora at the mall play area.

Grandpa bought Caden a pool and he loved it! The palm tree sprayed water and he would point it at met so that I would run and scream!
He snuggled up on the couch and watched Cars, his favorite movie! Grandpa bought it for him on Blu-Ray and we watch it literally 20 times on grandpa's beautiful new TV! We were seeing the movie in our sleep!

We went to a splash park which was really fun! We went with Aunt Chanda and Caden's cousins Rayden, Aislee and Kord.
Girls night out!!! We put all of the kids to bed and and me and my three sisters went out to dinner and then back to Jante's house to play pool.

We did all kinds other fun stuff but this is all I have the energy to type right now! More updates later!

Arizona!!!

2008-05-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

I am so excited!!!! I'm heading off to Az to see all of my family! Nate is staying behind but both of the boys are coming with me for two weeks! I will be flying out the 17th and coming back the 31st. My family hasn't met Drake Yet so I am very excited for them to meet him! We have so much fun planned with Grandpa Drake!!!!!

Here's what we've been up to.

I had a wonderful mother's day with all three of my boy's.

Drake has been enjoying playing with his monkey that his favorite Grandma made him. It sleeps in his crib and I often find him chewing on it's hand.

He's also been enjoying his feet! I don't blame him, they are deliciously adorable!

Caden has been so much fun! It finally warmed up today so we went on an hour long adventure around the apartments. He looked at ants, threw rock, climbed, jumped, balanced on a log, ran through a field and chased some older boys around. It was like he was afraid the sun wouldn't come back so he wanted to get every boyish thing he could in that day.

Nate Road his bike today and loved it. He also saved us and the environment 8 bucks in gas!

Moms: Read this before Mother's day

2008-05-10T09:21:00.001-07:00

This is a link to my friends blog. She is incredibly insightful and I love her blog but this post really hit me!
http://icecreamdiary.blogspot.com/

Fruit Anyone?

2008-05-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

As long I as I can remember my awesome Daddy had a bowl of fresh fruit on the table. He had one rule, "You can have as much fruit as you want as long as you don't waste it". We were pretty good at following the rule and now that I am a mom I have the same thing on my table. I would love to say that the same rule is being followed in my home today as my Dad's house when I was a kid but... Just take a look.

As I've said in previous posts, Caden loves fruit and has yet to master the fine skills it takes to peel any piece of fruit. The worst part is that sometimes I don't see him trying to eat them and I find them later all yucky! I guess my child hood memories will have to stay in the kitchen and not on the table where my little guys can get them :)

Mirrors and Melllllon!

2008-05-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

Drake and Caden are so adorable! Drake is getting a lot more active now. He loves grabbing everything in his reach and is trying desperately to get the things that are not in his reach. He can roll from his tummy to his back but he has only gone the other way a couple of times. He loves when I sing to him! It can be anything and he will just smile and coo! I love it! He's also been loving this baby mirror that I got on clearance for 3 dollars!

Caden is so active but in a good way. He is still very much in to cars, in fact they still take up 90 percent of his playtime. He love to eat fruit especially melons. I get a new one every time we go shopping and have it cut up in the fridge. We he wants some he goes to the kitchen gate and says "Mellllon". It's adorable. In the past three weeks he has eaten and entire Honeydew, Cantaloupe and Watermelon. I'm struggling to get him to eat Veggies so if any one has tips on that PLEASE tell me. The only way I get him to eat them is if I put them in something else like peas in scrambled eggs or blended spinach in fresh apple juice. It's hard because most of what me and Nate eat are vegetables.
Caden lined up all of his cars in front of Drake and then started driving them on his head:)
I'm doing really great. I've done a couple of little projects lately that I will post about in my "DIY" post, coming soon to a blog near you. I've also been really watching what I'm eating and trying to get my body back in shape before I get pregnant again. I am now 6 pounds lighter then when I got pregnant with Caden but as all mothers know my body looks nothing like it did back then:) I'm trying to tone up so that I can at least resemble my old self. I'm also excited because in two weeks I get to go see all of my family in Az. None of them have met Drake so that will be great.

Nate is doing great. Work has it's ups and down but at the end of each pay period it all seems to work out which is a wonderful blessing. We thought he would be back to riding his bike by now but the weather is just silly! We are still waiting for warm sunny days. He's also been loving our PS3. Him and some guys from work play online together and he has a lot of fun.

Caden' First Day of Nursery!!!!!!

2008-04-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

My little boy is growing up so fast! I went with him to Nursery today and I will next week but then he is on his own. He did really well at free play time and of coarse loved snack! Music time was pretty good. He did some hand motions and stayed on his chair until the lesson started. He got very antsy and wanted to get up! The teacher was asking the children what things Heavenly father created and Caden said "Cars!" I guess it's true but not really the same as flowers and animals. Then he colored a little and played with balls. It was so fun to see him do so well!

Peek-A-Boo!!

2008-04-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

New Videos to The Left

2008-04-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

I put some new videos to the left in the Video bar.

One for you...One for me!

2008-04-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

So the other night we decided to try giving Drake some solids just to see where he stood on the issue. As you can see form the first video he does not like it at all and later he started gagging so we are going to hold off a little longer. The second video is of Caden "Feeding" Drake. P.S. The reason Drake's shirt is pink is he was enjoying a strawberry in one of these. It's awesome! You can put fruit in it and the baby can chew on it without choking! Drake Loves it!

Cute Pictures of the Boys!

2008-04-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

I know I just posted but this is an All Picture Post! Enjoy:)

Spring Fling!

2008-04-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

Our Ward had a really fun activity and I'm not just saying that because I'm on the Committee! We had a band/Appetizer potluck/Cub scout Cake Auction! I made this Truck with ding-dong tires! I was really happy because a lot of people were fighting for it and it finally sold for 80$! The little boy was so happy to get it! I had so much fun making it.

The band was really great. We had so much fun Dancing. Caden loved it and he would clap and cheer when they would finish a song. The appetizers were awesome! We had so many things to choose from and they were so diverse! There were so many cultures represented on the table. Here are some highlight pictures.

Anyway, we called this event the Spring Fling and the Ironic part is this is what it looked like outside!

Like Father Like Son!

2008-04-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

Caden has so many toys! Two shelves full and then some. However, all he has wanted to do for the last few weeks is play with his cars. He has a bunch of metal cars and a couple of bigger cars and he loves them. He takes them all over the house. He grabs a couple at a time and brings them all to one spot and then once they are all there he plays for a minute then starts taking them to a new spot. It's adorable to watch and it keeps him so occupied that I can get a lot done. I'm sure the phase will pass eventually but for now I'm enjoying it. I love walking into the room and seeing what new place he has put them in. The most interesting spot? On the dining room table in the fruit bowl. Here he is with them on the window sill.

A Rare Warm Sunny Day!

2008-04-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

It was so Beautiful!!!! Caden and Nate walked up and down the beach picking up rocks and throwing them in the water. Anyway, enjoy the Sunny Day Pictures. Grandma, don't look at the first picture :)

I tried to carry Drake on my shoulders but he kept grabbing my hair! On the way home we bought a baby pool and Caden loved it! We had also gone to the playground but we were dressed a little too warm so we left early.

Funny Story

2008-04-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

So I let Caden come in the kitchen with me when I make breakfast in the morning but I keep a very close eye on him. Well, the other day I heard Drake crying so I went to get him and when I came back Caden had an ice cream scoop and was scooping water from Tara's dog bowl into her food bowl! I went quickly to put drake down in the living room and when I got back Caden was putting it away in the drawer! Yuck! Made me wonder haw many time he has done that before!

Bounce Bounce!

2008-04-07T11:26:00.000-07:00

We got Drake a door way jumper and he loves it!! I wish I had gotten one back when Caden was younger. Drake hasn't really gotten the jumping part yet but he loves that he is standing and he can watch Caden play on the floor and he loves the toys that are on it. Caden really wants to get in it and I keep trying to explain that he's too big but he disagrees :)

Growing Boys!

2008-03-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

My boys are growing so fast! I keep telling my Dad about all the little milestones and every new word that Caden says and he Jokes "It's almost as if he going to grow up to be an adult one day." I know that but I can't help it! I love watching them grow and learn new things!

Monkey Number One is into dancing right now especially if it's on a table! I don't know why the table makes it more exciting but I'm going to keep my eye on him. He is also really into cars and trains. Every waking minute that he's not eating he is driving cars around the house make car sounds. It so obvious that he's his Daddy's son. I also bought him a new DVD called Word World. It's on PBS and it's bright colors and very educational. He calls it "Woad Woad".

Monkey Nuber Two melts my heart everyday. He so sweet and laid back. He's becoming more and more observant everyday. He likes to watch Caden play and me clean. He likes to stand holding our fingers and he can sit alone for a very short time. He has also started sleeping in Caden's room with him! Me and Nate were very excited the first night and it went really well. He still wakes up twice a night but it doesn't seem to bother Caden. If he does wake up he just lays in his crib watching me nurse. Last night he put his hand through the bars of his crib and played with my hand till I was done nursing. It was so sweet!

Nate is doing really well, he's making good hours at work and recently got a raise. He's hit another plateau with his weight and now has a new goal! He wants to get to 210 and get a better TV. MEN!!

I'm doing really well too! I love staying home with my boys and we've had a lot of play dates lately which has been really fun. I also switched Caden and Drake into the bigger room. Caden needed more play room and now he has plenty. He loves the extra room to drive cars around and now me and Drake can be on the floor without taking up the whole room! I've also been scapbooking and re-organizing some things in the apartment! Spring Cleaning! I've also been enjoying reading everyone's blogs!

So that's what our family has been up to lately!

Snow in Spring?????

2008-03-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

We've had some spinklings of snow these last couple of days and it's been fun for Caden. He's had a friend over these last couple of days and they both stand at the sliding glass door and say "Snow" Over and over. Well, last night we had just put the boys to bed and huge snow flakes started to fall! I couldn't resist getting Caden up to see it and Nate took a video.

Let em Eat!!

2008-03-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

Nate often cringes when he sees Caden eating. He doesn't like to see him get messy and he hates cleaning him up! I don't exactly enjoy the mess but I do love that he is learning to eat by himself. I love that he uses the spoon and then takes five fist fulls and then the spoon and then fist fulls. I know eventually he will start figuring out how to eat a little neater but until then I will just keep cleaning him up and adoring how cute he looks with food all over his face. Oh, and a tip for anyone who has their child eating over a carpeted floor, get one of those clear office chair mats that have the spikes underneath. We put one under Caden's chair and it works great.

Breakfast Oatmeal

(add applesauce and cinnamon instead of sugar)

Lunch Cheese Ravioli and Veggies

Videos

2008-03-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

I posted some new videos of the boys to the left : )

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T10:44:00.001-07:00

Hot! Hot! Hot!

2008-03-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

My husband is such a hunk!!!!! He is down to 216!!!! 1 pound till his goal weight!!! He looks amazing! I keep doing double takes when he comes home from work. I'm posting a before picture when he was 250, I had to lighten it a lot so it's hard to see but you can really tell by looking at his face. And a Hot Hot Hot Now picture. I'm so proud of Nate. He is living proof that all you have to do is eat healthy and you will be healthy :) I love you Honey.

Oct 14th 2007
March 18th 2008

Spring

2008-03-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

I'm still pretty new to the Mommy game so I love hearing other moms tips for all kinds of things! This season I have heard so many good tips for Spring and Easter. Here are a few that I have decided to adopt.

1. Separate the "First Day of Spring" and Easter Sunday.

Me and Nate are going to give the boys their Easter baskets on the morning of the first Day of Spring. Then we will have our egg hunt when Nate gets home. On Easter Sunday We will focus on the Savior.

2. Toys instead of Candy.

Me and Nate don't give our children candy, so were trying think of things to put in their baskets. We decided after several different tips from other families that we would get the kids new spring toys. This year we got Caden his first beach toys and got Drake some colorful baby cubes.

3. Plastic Egg Fillers

Instead of Candy in the eggs I have come up with some of my own ideas and adopted them from other people. Money, small toys, Hints to lead them around till they find the big prize, or puzzles.

4. Egg Hunt Drama Solution

You can limit the Drama of who got more eggs or the little kids not getting any. Color code your kids! The littlest would be one color and they could be out on the grass and easy to find but your older kids could be another color and you can hide them in harder places. If each person has their own color you could fill the eggs with things you know that the child likes. Me and my friend Rozemary are going to try it with her daughters and Caden.

So these are the tips that I liked. If anyone else has any good ones please comment. I would love to hear from those with experience!

Sweet Little Drake!

2008-03-11T22:35:00.001-07:00

Check out that tongue!

Computer Glich!

2008-03-11T22:24:00.000-07:00

We were at the apple store looking for a game for Caden and I found the perfect one! It's called giggles and it lock out the keyboard so that no matter what Caden presses it will just make fun things happen on the screen and our computer is safe! Sounds pretty cool huh? Well, it was until I got the Camera out to take a picture of Caden playing and the whole thing went Hay-Wire! Screens were poping up and all kinds of different applications were opening! After we finnaly got it to stop the computer was still acting wierd like when I was typing, "E" would make a random folder open!!! We rebooted and everything went back, needless to say I'm calling Tech support! As you can see from the picture I didn't even get a picture of him playing the actual game! Grrr!

My Monkeys are Growing Up So Fast!!!

2008-03-03T22:17:00.000-08:00

Monkey #1
The other day Nate stayed at work to fix up the white jeep and didn't get home until after the boys were in bed. That night when I said to Caden "Time for your bath!" he started to look around very confused and then started crying "Dada!!" and threw himself at the front door! Usually taking his bath is his favorite time of the day and usually it's with Daddy. I tried to make things better by showing Caden that Daddy was not on the other side of the door but just as I opened it a car pulled up and Caden got all excited saying Dada over and over again. It wasn't Dada! So I made everything worse. He calmed down when he got in the bath and went to sleep but the next day was worse. Every once in awhile he would sulk over to the door and then throw a fit as if Daddy was there and I just wasn't letting him in to see him. I called Nate and said "It's a beautiful day, why don't you take him to the park when you get home." So Nate agreed and even got off an hour early and then a storm came!!!!! So we tried to think of somewhere to take him to play indoors and I had never been to chuck e cheese's before so we went. Caden had a blast and so did we. The pizza was way over priced but it was fun. Here are some pictures of my big little guy playing.

Monkey #2

Drake is the sweetest little baby in the world! He is sleeping really well at night now. He only wakes up once or twice and goes right back to sleep when I feed him. The only problem is he only likes to sleep in our bed so I end up on the couch sometimes. But hey, sleep is sleep! Drake smile a lot and he start to fuss when you aren't looking at him and then when you do look at him he gets all excited. He start to try and roll over now and he's really interested in watching people walk around. He loves sitting in his bouncy seat and watching me clean the kitchen. He getting better at taking a bottle of pumped milk. He wasn't very good at first but I switched to a different bottle and he chugged it down. He's taken it four time now which makes me feel like I can have a little more freedom. Enjoy these cute pictures!

Paintballing!! Ouch!!

2008-03-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

Some of our friends invited us to go paintballing this past weekend and it was so fun! This was Nate's first time but he did way better than a lot of the other guys. I was having so much fun until the last game! Nate had just gotten shot and I was moving foward to get the guys who had got him. As I creeped foward a guy from my own team was behind a tree and shot me in the butt and hip 4 times from 5 feet away!!!! I have 4 huge welts. Here's a picture of the one on my hip. It still hurts.

How I feel this week...

2008-02-29T09:16:00.000-08:00

All About Drake!

2008-02-23T11:33:00.000-08:00

Drake loves sitting in the new glider (the old one broke and I realized how much I couldn't live without it!) The reason he loves it is because it locks into the recline position so he can look around but still be comfortable. P.S. I LOVE my new chair! Thank You Honey!

Drake has been holding up his head really well. He love when I put him in the boppy like this because he can climb over it by kicking his little feet.

Drake has been talking so much lately. Nate goes absolutely gaga when Drake is cooing in his arms. It is very sweet to see.

Hot Stuff!!

2008-02-19T08:56:00.000-08:00

I Haven't been updating Nate's mission because he has been maintaining the same weight for the last several weeks. However he is now at 222!!!! I am so proud of him! It's starting to get a little warmer here so he will be able to ride his bike again soon which should be the boost he needs to get to his goal weight 215. Good Job Honey!!!!

The Whole Family is Hooked!

2008-02-12T13:45:00.001-08:00

We are so hooked!!!!! Guitar Hero is so fun! If you don't already know what it is I'll tell you. Basically you get to play awesome songs on this fake guitar and you have keep the rock meter up in order to complete the song! Caden loves watching us play and dancing (Head banging) to the music. We are so in love with this game that we are going to get a second guitar so that we can play a Tour together. By the way, in the picture of me playing, Nate made me put on his grungy Matalica hat! As if that's not enough we have also gotten LOST. My brother mentioned that he loved the show Lost and that he has to watch the newest episode as soon as it comes out so I decided to check it out online, where that have all four seasons in HD streaming so it looks really nice. We are already on season 2! I know what you are thinking, "This family needs to get out more!" But we can't because it's so stinkin WET here! I can't wait for summer. Beaches, Playgrounds, Sunshine... I feel toasty just thinking about it : )

Pictures for Grandpa

2008-02-07T12:08:00.000-08:00

I started another blog. I titled it "Pictures for Grandpa" because my dad is in California right now and he can't get pictures through his email using his phone, however, he can see them on my blog! I wanted to post more pictures but I realized that not everyone wants to see tons of pictures so I created a new blog special for him. Anyone eles who wants to see lots of pictures of the boys is welcome to view it as well. The link is to the left.

Drake Was Blessed 2-3-2008

2008-02-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

Isn't he so sweet! Thanks for the outfit Grandma Paker! And the beautiful baby blanket was made by the boy's Great Grandma Packer.

Hair Cut!

2008-02-03T16:27:00.000-08:00

Before and After

It had to be done! Caden's hair was getting way to long. I was nervous about cutting it myself because his hair is so thin but it turned out really cute. He kept trying to take my scissors and comb but we eventually got the job done.

So Many Monkeys!!!

2008-02-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

My boys are so lucky to have such a sweet Grandma. She spent a lot of time making the boys these adorable Sock Monkeys. The boys love them! Caden carries his all over the house and Drake smiles when we make the monkey kiss him (that's how I got the adorable photo below)! It's so sweet. Thank you Grandma for all your hard work! I'm sure they boys will keep them forever!