Ready for a baby!?!

I keep getting asked if I am ready for our baby to come. In a lot of ways the answer is no. Our child does not have a name or anything close to a name. We do not have his bed ready, right now our room will not even fit the crib in it! I haven't packed a bag for the hospital, or got Levi and Ruby a little present for while I am at the hospital. So physically we are not "ready" for him to come.

With so many people asking me about it I have been thinking at how grateful I am for the ways that we are ready. Or I guess the things that have happened over the last few months that will make my life a lot easier when he get here. I was so worried that the baby would be to much for me to handle, and instead I feel that Levi and Ruby will be so excited that he has come to our family and be anxious to help take care of him.

In the last month Ruby has become a lot more independent. She is still a mommy's girl of course, but has learned to play on her own or with Levi. She also has this obsession for reading books. She would let me read books to her all day long. So this is something that I can do with her while I nurse the baby.
She has also transitioned out of her crib very easily and is actually sleeping much better in her big girl bed. She has also decided that she does not want to sit in a hghchair anymore. This has actually been a blessing because she is eating better, I suppose because she feels like a big girl. Last week we also went cold turkey and got rid of her bottle (baba) which was essential for nap time and bed time. She is so big!!

Levi is so excited for his baby brother. His new bed has done wonders in helping him to grow up. He has learned how to make his bed all by himself, which is a dream. He has also night potty trained himself in one night. We forgot to put a diaper on him the first night in his new bed, and ever since then we have had no accidents at all Hooray!!

So we are ready to love this baby. We hope that he will come to our family really soon (or at least mommy does, 20 more days seems a little long to me).

Children's Museum

A few weeks ago my friend Jessica and I took the kids on an outing to free day at the Denver Children's Museum. It was a crazy mad house of parents and kids. It was so fun for them though, I would pay money to take them back on a less crowded day so they could really do everything.There are 5 or 6 different sections. here is Ruby pushing a grocery cart in the shopping section. They can shop for groceries and then put them through a check out line. And cook food at a restaurant. Levi and Ruby both loved pushing around the carts. Jessica took Ruby to dance so that I could help Levi paint a picture. I don't know if he has ever painted before, but he loved it. He painted with a brush, and with his fingers and made a few hand prints. And he only got a little spot on his new shirt!There was a section that was especially for toddlers. Ruby kept going to different places and saying cheese!
"Cheese!!"They had this adorable boat and fishing pole with magnetic fish that you could catch. Levi waited in line forever for hi turn. When he got in the boat Ruby joined him. They look so big in that little boat!

The Candy Thief

My little Ruby is a candy thief! Daddy gets special candy for Easter. He loved Reeces Peanut Butter Eggs and Cadbury Creme Eggs. So the Easter bunny brings him his own. Well we had them in a basket in our room. Noah had gone to a meeting for church and Levi was playing on the computer. I laid down on the bed to rest while Ruby was playing on the floor. I turned over to check on her, and this is what I saw. OOOOOOH!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! "Oh, mommy isn't mad. She thinks this is funny!"

"I think that I will share some with brother too. Daddy will think it is funny. Sorry Daddy, but it was really good!!"

Easter a week later

We had a wonderful Easter. Levi had fun learning about the Easter story both in church and in family home evening for the past few weeks. Although his understanding is very basic he knows that Jesus said a prayer to Heavenly Father and then he died on the cross for 3 days and then was alive again. I think that is pretty good for a 4 year old.

He also knows all about the Easter Bunny! He was excited for the Easter Bunny to come. And the Easter Bunny had fun picking toys for Levi and Ruby. He was amazed at how many of the same things that they liked. The Easter bunny left his usual trail from the bedrooms to the giant Easter Bunny in the middle of the floor. There was so much candy we could not believe it! the Easter bunny filled the baskets with kites, and coloring books, and crayons, and glow sticks. It was such a fun morning. We also had dinner with most of Noah's family and Ashley. This is Noah and Levi making the giant Easter Bunny on the floor in the living room (wearing matching clothes...so cute!)The night before Easter dyed Easter Eggs for the Easter Bunny to hide. This may have been Ruby's favorite part of Easter. Josh, Debby, and Presten came over and the cousins had a blast playing together. Ruby and her eggs, which of course turned her whole hand blue! Leaving baskets out for the Easter Bunny. This is what it looked like before the kids saw what the Easter Bunny did! Levi has never been a morning person. Some of my favorite pictures are of us trying to wake him up for a morning holiday like Easter. He is not usually a happy bunny! Ruby followed the candy down the stairs and sat at the bottom. She started gathering her own little pile of candy. Then Levi walked over and ate a piece. Then she knew it was all right to eat it and started chowing down. Levi ate to much candy and threw up for the second of his four Easters.

Levi finding all the eggs. He was a good egg hunter!

This year, even with all the baby preparations going on, I decided that my little princess Ruby needed an Easter dress. So I sewed her one, finishing it on Saturday night about 11. The little stinker really wouldn't let me take her picture. So hopefully you get an idea of how absolutely adorable she looked. Easter should have also been Ruby's first Sunday in the nursery. But due to an ear infection that was diagnosed on Saturday we kept her with us for an extra week.Our family Easter picture had to be inside because of the weather.

Princess in her dress with her Easter basket.

Our beautiful princes and handsome prince!

American Idol

I love American Idol. Okay I never miss American Idol. On the rare chance I do I will watch it online. This season has a lot of talent. I have been voting for a bunch of people. Now that it is getting down to the end, I decided that I should narrow down my voting so that my favorites do not get the big boot.

I have decided that all my votes will go to....

Allison and Kris. If I had to pick one favorite I would absolutely hands down pick Kris. I have even liked two of his songs enough that I have got them on itunes and listen to them all the time. I don't think that Allison had gotten enough credit. They are usually pretty critical of her. I think that she is awesome. The only things that I don't like is that she is young, and I wouldn't want the industry to ruin how sweet she seems.

I was disappointed that they kept Matt around with the judges veto this week. I don't think that Simon really wanted to save him. Now people will vote for him this week, because he would have been kicked off and he will be safe and two other contestants who are just as talented will get the boot.

Levi's Birthday Party!

The Saturday after Levi's birthday we had an awesome soccer party! It was a blast, thank you to all Levi's friends who came. We invited 10 friend sand we had a really good turn out. Here is the guest list: Aunts and Uncles, Grams, Jonah, Isabella, and Presten Beals (cousins), Piper Matthews, Nora, Katie Zirker, Jack Peterson, and Kyle Fergusen.

The night before the party grams and I made the best soccer cake I have ever seen. I was so glad that it turned out so well. Levi loved it!On party day we spent the morning cleaning and decorating. Levi and Ruby had their own idea of decorating and put streamers all over the floor...what cuties!

And then daddy had a little tickle fight with them. I just love this picture!
Before party time Levi went to get a handsome haircut! Doesn't he look so handsome! He definitely looks like a big 4 year old!

Then all the friends and some parents came. We had a really fun party. When everyone was coming we played duck duck goose. We also played hot potato with a foam soccer ball.Grams sent all the kids on a crazy treasure hunt for a little treat. This is the kids all climbing up the bunk bed. They also went in the back yard, to the mail box, and we found out that you can fit a lot of kids and 2 adults in a bathroom. The kids had so much fun.

Then Levi blew out his candles and we are the awesome soccer cake!For the end of the part we had Levi's parachute out in the living room. It was a huge hit with the kids. There was so much screaming we had ringing in our ears. First we bounced some balloons on it, then...they took turns sitting on it and we spun them in circles, then....

It was mass chaos with all the kids running underneath and getting trapped.

Levi's Birthday!!!

I can hardly believe that my little boy turned 4 last week. We really isn't so little, I think that he has grown 3 inches in the last few months. I bought him some pants back in November that were a little large on him, and now they are barely long enough. He is still FULL of life and laughs, and growing all the time. He has learned how to spell and write his name, and whenever he sees a letter from his name on TV or on a store he points it out. He is so smart and always wants to learn.

Right now I play the piano in the primary at church. It is so fun to watch Levi with his class and how good he is. He learns the song, which we sing at home. One of the songs is about building an eternal family. Last Sunday we got home from church and he went to use the potty and we could here him singing it through the door. We love him so much and are so glad that he is part of our family. Happy Birthday Sweet Levi!!!!

For Levi's birthday we got him a bunk bed. He loves it and sleeps better than he slept in his toddler bed (YEAH!!). He picked out his own bedding which is Mickey Mouse sheets and a soccer comforter. Both things that he loves. Here are a few pictures of his present.Ruby loves the bunk bed to. She loves when we let her on the top!
I think that one of Levi and Ruby's favorite things is every night Noah reads them books before bed on the top bunk! It actually makes Ruby excited for night nights!I went in to take a picture of Levi the first night he was sleeping in his bed. He was not asleep yet, so I tried to get him to pose for a sleeping picture. He was just so happy that he couldn't wipe the smile off of his face!At first we were going to move Ruby from the crib to the toddler bed and just leave one of the bunk beds empty until Ruby got a little bigger. When we got the bed up, we changed our minds and decided to just stick her in it right away, which will give them more room to play once we move the crib in our room for the baby. She looks so tiny in the bed, but is sleeping well. Last night she even got out of bed and walked in our room on her own to get hugs. It was so nice not to roll out of bed in the middle of the night to go get her. I love this picture because he baby doll looks like a really, kind of creepy baby. Hooray for the bunk bed!When Noah got home from work we headed out for Levi to spend his birthday money from Great Grandma Lyon at the big red store. When he got the money in the morning he knew that he wanted to buy a new Choo Choo train. He had so much fun that day, he didn't have the energy to stay awake in the car. As you can see he held onto his money tightly. Of course he popped right up when we told him we were there.For Levi's birthday he got to pick where to go for dinner. We were expecting another fun filled night at Chuck E. Cheese, but instead we enjoyed a yummy dinner and Chilis. I don't know where Levi got his affection for Chili's. One day we were driving down the road, and he said,

"Look mom, its Chilis!" And ever since then he get excited when he gets to eat his corn dog and play the games on his menu. Thanks Levi for a yummy dinner. This is a rare family picture of us after we ate.After dinner we were going to go to Cold Stone to get some birthday ice cream. I didn't make a cake on his actual birthday because he had one at our family birthday party on Sunday and would have one at his party on Saturday. After dinner all Levi wanted to do was go home and play with his trains. So we just went home, and thanks to Levi's favorite baker Little Debbie we put some candles in a double stacked brownie and sang happy birthday! What a great day!