Too Cool

Utah: Part 2

Our stay with my mom was low key and really relaxing. The weather was glorious, it rained and we soaked it up! The kids loved playing with new to them toys and my mom spoiled them with a few new toys to keep too.

Kate got a doll stroller and my mom has been waiting for years and years to give the first granddaughter a doll  similar to one she had growing up. She brought it out and we showed it to Kate, who promptly freaked out and threw it down. So her bear was the designated passenger in her new stroller. Kate also hated the Tickle-Me Elmo doll my mom has, when it vibrated she would cry and throw it down as well. Phil loved to tease her with it.

Max loved to drive around on his cousin's plasma car.

We went to the Mormon Miracle Pageant and met up with the Rapier crew as they were having their reunion in town, my mom and Link were in charge this year.

(Our family is absent as the kids were in bed and I was the photographer.)

We took advantage of being outside.

I love this shot of my boys; Max mimicking Phil leaning against the steps and for some reason sticking his tongue out, probably in concentration.

Played with cousin Kash and I took family pictures.

We had a wonderful time with family!

Utah Trip 2011

Middle of June we drove up to Manti to spend time with my family. We loaded up the car and hit the road at 3:30am thinking that Max and Kate would fall back asleep and we could get AZ behind us by breakfast time. NOT! They stayed awake, it got light at 5am and they finally crashed for a little nap just outside of Flagstaff and awoke when my bladder demanded a pit stop. Thankfully we were fully prepared with milk, snacks and of course the life saving DVD player. Best purchase ever!

We stopped in Page for a good hour to stretch our legs and found a city park. Then we hit the road again, stopping in Panguitch at an LDS church building for lunch. We picnicked on the grass and enjoyed the already cooler weather.

We finally rolled into town in the late afternoon and were greeted by two excited grandparents. We were very happy to be there as well!

During our stay we helped clear weeds for their garden. Max and Kate were thrilled to be involved!

We played at the city's gorgeous new park and Vanessa taught us how to long board.

Our kids love to slide and this one was really tall and steep, a bit narrow for my pregnant hips so Phil took them down, it was way too scary for them to go at it alone.

Kate is only crying because I made them stop up top for a picture, she wanted to GO!

And then go again and again.

Father's Day & My Birthday

Father's Day fell on my birthday this year and we were in Utah to celebrate.

I made a yummy breakfast for everyone as my gift for Father's Day; ham, cheese and spinach quiche cups, cream scones, fruit, and my mom made peach smoothies. I also made german chocolate cake. It was all delicious.

We attended my mom's ward, the men were treated to assorted pies and we in Relief Society were able to sample the leftovers.

Small gifts were exchanged and everything was low-key and relaxed.

Gunnell Reunion

July 7th-10th we met up with the entire Grant Gunnell family at the Arizona Grand Resort in Phoenix. We had family fly or drive into town from Japan, California, Washington, Texas and various parts of Arizona. 47 posterity all together. It was a lot of fun and we really appreciated Grandma and Gramps Gunnell organizing the whole shebang. Unfortunately since Grandma passed away last summer she did not get to see the fruits of their hard work but we certainly felt her special spirit with us.

Our time was mostly spent at the resort hanging out with family and trying to stay cool in the water. There was a wave pool, two 60-foot water slides and  a lazy river. We spent most of our time with Max and Kate floating down the "river". No pictures from the resort since water was usually involved and I couldn't tote around my camera nor leave it unattended while I was supervising a babe.

Saturday we all drove out to the Mesa Cemetary to visit family graves. We stopped by Camden's, Grandpa Standage and then Grandma Gunnell.

Near Grandma's graveside we all shared special memories we have of her. I shared about Grandma's talents and the heirlooms we have received from her; she made Phil a quiet book as a child, which inspired me to make one for my kids, we use Phil's in the interim as I have yet to finish their books. She also gave the kids blankets that have her hand crocheted edges and we have some toys that Phil played with as a kid. Everything she did was with love and great attention to detail.

I love this sweet shot of Sydney and Gramps that Phil captured. He is such a loving, generous man and we are grateful to have him and Grandma as righteous examples.

Max & Kate: 22 Months

We recently bought a few new toys thrifting and off craigslist.org in hopes of entertaining our children and encouraging individual playtime (ie: without parental involvement 24-7). Yet it is the box from our recent Costco trip that gets more play time.

We are so busy around here! Cupboards are still being emptied, naughty children getting into places they shouldn't, curious minds constantly at work.

I was pushing them into the library yesterday and looked down at them as they were laughing together, mimicking one another and my heart just swelled with love. As hard as this stage is I am so glad there are two of them, that they have each other. I love to hear them laughing together, especially when Max entertains Kate and she has the most amazing and adorable laugh.

Sweet boy had a smack down with the kitchen chair and he lost. We were all a bit shaken and have since recovered nicely.

Max:

Probably around 25 pounds

Size 4 diapers

Size 5 shoe

Size 12 months shorts, 12-18 months pants for length, 18 month shirts

Thinks he is Mr. Big Stuff

Communication is starting to really take off. It is wonderful to witness comprehension skills and I know as language continues to develop that things will get easier. He picks up sign language more readily and is very good about using "help" and "more". He will sign "please" and "thank you" when prompted.

He says a few simple phrases; I get it, all done, etc. Daddy, mama, Jesus, "Momo" (Elmo), bye, Lili, bear, apple, hi, play, outside, and more words that I can't remember right now and lots of intentional babbling that I have yet to decipher. It is really fun to have a "conversation" with him. The kids know their body parts and love to find everyone's belly button.

Playing at the library with friend Lili.

Max is tender and kind, devious and stubborn, frustrating and endearing. He still loves to share with Kate but when given food to pass along he always gives Kate the one he has already taken a bite of. Stinker. Changing a diaper is a battle most of the time since he is too busy to lay down. He loves to wrestle, tickle and play cars, trucks, blocks, read. Loves his blankie and bear.

He says "no" to everything when asked a question. It is cute most of the time. When he or Kate get into trouble or unkind to one another they apologize by giving each other kisses. I love it. They both give good kisses to everyone.

Kate:

Just over 20 pounds

Size 5 shoe

Size 4 diaper

Size 12 months shorts, 12-18 months pants but they will be very baggy, 12mo-2T shirts, brand dependent

Resident Drama Queen

Kate is also talking more and surprises us with how easily she will repeat words if she takes her darn thumb out of her mouth. She says most of the same words as Max, is good at saying "share" and telling her brother repeatedly as he always takes things from her. She requests her favorite songs/rhymes that we learned at the library and does some actions from "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Wheels on the Bus", "Head Shoulders".

She is very sensitive, gets overwhelmed and scared when in busy places with loud older children (ie: the mall play area) or when other kids yell/scream near her. She still whines when she wants something instead of signing unless we repeatedly prompt/ask her and usually she is impatient and refuses to comply. We praise her heavily when she does! She loves to drink out of a cup and does fairly well.

Kate is beautiful and tender. She still loves to snuggle and is most content in your lap. She plops her little bum in your lap at every opportunity when we are on the floor playing together. They do not like to share the lap and will push each other away.

She has soft natural curls in the back and I hope she keeps them. She is starting to keep hair bows in as we tell her she is pretty and she will wear a few bracelets during playtime. I put the bracelet she was blessed in on her a few Sundays back and she treated that arm very carefully during church and felt very special wearing it.

She is a very sweaty sleeper since she pulls her blanket up over her head and will wake with awesome bed head.

We watch Sesame Street now instead of incessant Barney (hallelujah!). They are exercising their climbing skills; onto the couch, kitchen chairs, etc. Nothing too scary but our kitchen chairs are top heavy and I feel dangerous, see exhibit A with Max above. They are starting to play a bit more imaginatively and with friends and each other instead of just parallel play.

Some randoms: I will say "da, da, da, da" to Beethoven's 5th and they repeat me. So cute, they will initiate it now. I pucker my lips and make kissy noises and they repeat me and Kate is especially good at making kissy noises. They grunt and growl when they are territorial over space or personal items and have conversations with each other. Both are good at trilling their tongue and making silly noises and pow-wow noises with their hands and mouth. Lots of noise around here.

Baby #4 Update

I still find it hard to believe that in 10 weeks we will have another little body to love and care for. The time is going so fast.

Here are the recent belly pictures of the little guy.

Almost 26 weeks in Utah, mid-June.

My top doesn't show off the belly very well.

Today, 29 weeks.

Clearly we have grown!

I shudder to think of the next weigh-in at the doctor's office as I have been noshing on lots of carbs and sweets. I need to stop, either way I am sure we are at the 20-pound mark. And I mentioned there are still 10 weeks to go? Right, veggies from here on out. I am looking forward to meeting the little man who is making it difficult to bend over. I love feeling him kick and move and seeing my belly contort, it truly is amazing.

I am feeling well but by the end of the day my pelvis feels like someone kicked me, my feet cry and I am pretty sure I have a waddle. No heartburn to speak of yet, fingers crossed this continues, usually that is my main complaint. And baby still doesn't have a name, we're working on that.

Let's get this blog updated!

It has been over a month since I last posted, what the?! Our summer is quickly escaping and I have taken a lazy back seat to staying current with the family blog. So, here we go, be prepared for a plethora of posts. My goal is one a day after the kids have gone to bed.

Way back in May the kids and I drove up to Pinetop to give Phil a quiet house during finals week. It was my first long road trip alone with two toddlers, no car dvd player, a pregnant bladder and lots of apprehension. Pray for the best and prepare for the worst. I packed our Nissan Sentra as much as it could hold with the required baby gear that having twin toddlers requires; 2 pack n' plays, 2 booster chairs, 2 suitcases (theirs and mine), a smallish bin of toys and books from home, bears and blankies, a box fan for white noise, double stroller, etc. Crazy. My mother-in-law remarked that it was like a clown car when I just kept pulling out gear. I like to think she was amazed at my packing abilities and use of space.

The road trip was successful, we stopped in Payson for a potty break and to stretch and pick up a few snacks, just in case I didn't pack enough the first time. (I did.) And maybe because I needed some Oreos to get me through the next 2.5 hours or pavement.

As we were approaching the 4 hour mark I got pulled over 30 minutes from our destination for driving 67mph in a 55mph zone. Blast! The officer was kind and I was in return naturally. He asked why I was speeding and I told him that we had been on the road for almost 4 hours and my kids were getting antsy; just trying to get there already! I also had the car on cruise control and didn't notice the speed change. Regardless, I got my ticket and we were on our way. As I described my encounter to my in-laws I find out that the officer is in their ward. Ha!

The kids enjoyed the change of scenery, playing outside in the cooler weather and the extra attention from their grandparents. We stayed 5 days and came home at the tail end of finals week, though I am sure Phil would've appreciated us being gone through the end. I wanted to come home and have a few rest days before we headed out to California.

Kate was being such a ham during church. She wanted to wear grandma Susan's glasses and they would slip down her little nose. She wore them a good 20 minutes and would go between Susan and I giving kisses and definitely giving the people behind us a show.

Max asserted his big boy status and refused to eat in his booster chair since there was a kid-sized table. Turkey.

Living out in the west valley adds an extra annoying hour (through the thick of town and stop lights) to the trip up north but we always enjoy our stay there.

The day after we returned from San Diego Phil wanted to leave town again. So we went up to Pinetop again for Memorial Day weekend and enjoyed this time having our daddy around as well as his brother Reed's family.

Kate had her first pony tail thanks to Aunt Melissa.

We hit up a local park and explored.

I will never tire of seeing my kids walk hand-in-hand with their daddy.

Proof that I was there and I also wanted a walking picture. Phil's is cuter.