Makenna's Blessing Day

I have recently realized that I never blogged about Makenna's blessing day.  So this post is definitely out of order date wise, but nevertheless extremely important!  I would rather not include the following family picture because I still look like a huge whale, but at least I know I've lost lots of weight since this picture was taken! ha ha  I truly wish that I could just gain the sparing 15 pounds during pregnancy and have nothing, but a super cute belly, but unfortunately that has not been the case now for two pregnancies of mine...I am sure my next ones will be the same too.  Erika pregnant = Erika super huge and fat.

But anyways back to the blessing!  It was a wonderful day.  We had church at 8:00 in the morning and since Tommy is the Executive Secretary at church right now he has bishopric meetings before church.  So I had to usually have to get the kids and myself ready for church super early in the morning.  Especially when church was at 8:00 I think I was more late than on time...but since January we now go at 10:00 and my track record for being on time is much better.  Well because my baby had to have her super adorable, white blessing dress with matching bow, and we all had to look extra good I was running late.  Tommy was freaking out, pacing and perspiring by the door.  He was sure that I would be late to Makenna's blessing, but I made it to Sacrament meeting in the nick of time.  Tommy gave her a beautiful blessing, in which I was able to catch most of.  Kind of hard to wrestle a two year old in church and hear every word that's being spoken, but from what I caught it was very nice.  I even went up and bore my testimony, nevermind I looked like Shamoo the whale, I was able to express my gratitude for the precious new blessing we received in Makenna among some other things.  I ended up cutting my testimony short as Makenna started crying, loudly, making it hard to concentrate. :)  Afterwards everybody came to my house and since it was still morning time we served our guests breakfast.  I made a yummy bacon and potato breakfast casserole and french toast.  I think everyone enjoyed themselves.  I know that Noah did, or at least he definitely found interesting ways of entertaining himself!

Here is Daddy and Makenna.  We sure love her and are so happy to have her in our family and that we could share this special day with her!

Zoo Trip

Not too long ago we were able to go to the Zoo with Grandma Starits and cousin Morgan while visiting them in Tucson.  It was a blast!  It was the first time Noah had gone and he loved it and has asked to go back multiple times since then!

We started off with a very nutritious meal at McDonalds! ha ha :)

Then it was off to the zoo!  Look how cute the kids are holding hands!

Trying to stand like the pink flamingos!

Noah loved the giraffes!

Jaguar and Tiger! 

We had a blast and hope to go back soon! :)

Kid update!

My baby girl is six months old! At six months she started eating fruits and veggies to go along with her rice cereal and oatmeal.  I am pleased to report that I have made all of her baby food.  I worked with Noah and did not even want to entertain the idea of homemade baby food.  But now that I stay home, I've made lots of baby food and have realized it's not so hard and saves money!  Whew hew!
At six months Makenna began to sit up for long periods of time... without someone constantly ready to catch her and she's getting big!

Noah is as cute as ever.  Here he is ready to go to Grandma Timmons house.  He puts all of his cars in a bag and takes them to her house every time.  He likes to then go play in her back yard with his cars.  It's one of his favorite things to do!

Here is just a super cute picture of my kids!

 I love them soo much and truly feel so blessed that I am able to stay home with them.  I have to admit I struggled with staying home at first.  I knew I wanted to....I had such a hard time leaving Noah with a babysitter all day while I went to work.  Although he was in amazing hands with his babysitter...I wanted to be the one to care for my baby all day! lol  I started staying home when Noah was one years old.  At first I felt like I was not accomplishing much compared to my days as an overworked, professionally busy elementary school teacher.  However, I have come to absolutely LOVE staying home with my babies and feel like I am right where I am supposed to be, and accomplishing PLENTY every day.  I am able to keep my house in order and be the one to play with, take care of, and teach my children every day.  I feel so thankful that we have just enough money that I am able to do this now, especially because I know time goes by quickly and soon my kids will be grown up and way too fast!
So I went from lesson planning to meal planning and family activity planning.
I went from 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM days...to 6:15 AM - 8:30 PM days (and sometimes every few hours during the middle of night!)
I went from being tired, but well slept.  To being tired and sleep deprived! LOL
Instead of educating and creating wholesome learning and social experiences for 25 + of other people's kids for 7 hours day, every week day.  I get to do the same thing for my own two, sweet babies every day, weekend included!
I went from professional meetings to Barney, library story times, parks, and play dates.
Adult conversation to finger plays and nursery rhymes.
Teaching all day to cleaning all day! :)
Getting paid in money to getting paid with kisses, hugs, and dirty diapers.
And although there are times when both kids are crying and I feel like I'm going slightly insane...I have also been given a feeling of comfort, peace, and knowledge that I am RIGHT where I am suppose to be, day in and day out.  I love just being "mommy" to my babies and "wife" to my husband.  And of course I will return to the career driven girl I was before.  I will eventually return to the professional working field.  But for now, I get to be right there for teaching moments whether educational or having to do with building my children's character, every single day because I am there day in and day out to do it.  I am still teaching...just at home!! The career driven girl I was 4 years ago would have never imagined! ha ha  But little did I know, I would soon have the absolute best job in the world very soon!
And I might add that if you have a true desire to stay home and do everything in your power and sacrifice and save here and there, Heavenly Father will help make it possible.  We may not be rich (by no means!) but we have just what we need for me to be home with the kids and we are very thankful! :)

Potty Trained!

We are happy to announce that we finally have one less kid in diapers around the Starits' house!  Noah officially started wearing underwear in February and is officially a potty trained big boy now. :)  Look how happy he is to be a big boy.  Of course he had to have "Cars" underwear!

 Front shot!

Back shot...with excited tongue! :)

Baby Girl Update :) 5 months!

The little misses of the house is getting bigger and cuter everyday.  Some cool things that she's done as of late... She rolled over for the first time at four months old.  She has done it maybe a total of three times this past month.  So it hasn't taken off, but she's done it.  She can also sit up on her own for quite awhile.   She's not to where I can just leave her in a room sitting up, but she can sit up pretty good with me close by to catch her after she's tired.  She has been introduced to oatmeal and rice cereal, but still does not do too well with the spoon.  Hopefully soon she will get a better hang of it, especially because she gets to start veggies and fruits in less than a month. :)
Makenna is such a nice, calm, pleasant baby.  She is soo easy.  She is content and hardly ever cries.  As long as she is not tired or hungry she is as happy as they come.  She has the biggest, brightest smile and when she gets excited she does what we have termed the "chicken dance."  She moves her head and body back and forth with excitement and smiles.  She has laughed a couple times, but mostly just smiles.  She has also started to baby talk a lot more.  Mostly to herself, like if she wakes up in the middle of the night or she is being left alone during the day (which does not happen often with her hands-on big brother!) but if she is alone she will talk away.  She doesn't talk much to any of us yet though!  She is such a good girl and we all love her so much.
Four month shot:

Her doctor was on vacation for the holidays so we were not able to get her in for her four month check up until she was just a few days away from 5 months.  At her appointment she weighed 14 pounds 4 ounces and was 23 1/2 inches long.  This put her in the 50th percentile for both height and weight.  So she is a nice average baby!
Here is her five month shot:

The poor baby caught her first cold.  Noah was never sick until he was like 19 months old, but she's already been sick.  It was sad to hear her all congested especially at night.  She is starting to get better though.  We had our first taste of "family" sickness.  All four of us had some kind of cold and felt yucky.  Luckily we are on the mend.  I love my baby girl so much...and her brother too, of course! :)

Noah Update

Just a quick update on the little man of the house.  First, I can't believe he will be three years old in less than three months.  WOW!  That just blows my mind that he is growing up so fast.  He is still super smart and talking more and learning more everyday.  He is now starting to learn his letter sounds and can count to 20.  He has a weird fascination with watching youtube videos of people and kids showing their "Cars" toys collections.  He is seriously obsessed with the movie Cars.  Disneyland's California Adventure is opening a "Car's Land" May of this year and I think we will have to save and take him soon!
Here are my three loves...watching a previously mentioned youtube video before bedtime! ha ha

Here is a picture of him yesterday, super sick...can't hardly tell huh? :)  He had to have his blanket and Bear Bear with him pretty much all day.

He had many fevers, which caused him to deliriously fall asleep in my arms three days in a row and in the DAY time nonetheless...which is VERY weird for Noah because he doesn't require much sleep ever...and he never falls asleep in my arms anymore.  He's way too busy for that!  So it was a sure sign he is not well right now.   He has been congested, runny nose, watery eyes, AND after taking him to the doctor discovered he has his very first ear infection.  Poor guy.  At the doctor we found out he weighed a whopping 26 pounds.  He is such a skinny little guy! And he was 33 1/2 inches long.   At least that is what I think the nurse said, because he was crying very loudly the entire time they were trying to get his measurements.  He was in pain and didn't feel good and was making sure everyone at the doctor's office knew it. :)
This past Sunday night, He FINALLY went potty in the toilet for the first time.  After many, many, MANY failed attempts which consisted of him sitting on or standing next to the toilet for minutes and then as soon as we gave up trying, he'd run and go pee on the floor in the living room... he finally had his first success.  The little stinker.  He had been "randomly" asking for a few days if he could please go to "Cabellas."  Yes, he is all boy.  I kept telling him, "no not today, not today, not today" for a few days straight.  Well he asked again one night before bed and I said, "Noah if you go potty in the potty I will take you to Cabellas."  So then after being totally against the potty and stubborn with potty training he said, "Okay, I want to go in the potty."  It still took a couple of minutes, but finally SUCCESS!! The sound of pee hitting the toilet water, never sounded so sweet! :)  So hopefully we can get him potty trained soon.  Of course he has been super sick and has not made it to his victorious Cabella's trip, but I will take him as soon as he is better.
Also a couple weeks ago...Noah was able to meet up with his friend's Charli and Ella (the daughters of a couple of my friends from college) at the park and to feed the ducks for the very first time! He loved it and has asked to go back many times since!

It is so different hanging out with little girls than little boys.  Noah is mostly around boys his age and they are always so rough and tough with each other.  It was nice to hang with calm, soft, little girls for a change!
I sure love this kid!

Some Favorite Noah moments:

• After saying it a few times to Noah (and in proper English because I am a teacher and can't help myself because the movie says "you is", instead of "you are").  Noah constantly repeats the following lines from the movie The Help: "You are kind" "You are smart" "You are important"  He tells Tommy and I this almost everyday!
• He is constantly telling Tommy and I that he, "sure loves us."  He says, "I love you," all the time.  In fact Tommy had taken him to Lowes one Saturday and in the check out line he said very loudly for everyone to hear, "Daddy, I sure love you." Then of course everyone around doted on him. :)
• He recently told my brother Jeffrey, "Jeff, Grandma Timmons is mommy's mom."
• My mom was talking to Tommy and called him by his name.  Noah corrected her by saying, "No, grandma don't call daddy, Tommy."   She responded, "Well what should I call him then?"  He said, "Daddy." :)

Thanksgiving and Christmas!

This past Thanksgiving we were able to spend in Tucson with Tommy's family.  Tommy's mom made a delicious dinner and we had a great time visiting with family.  Noah was able to play with his cousin Morgan and we had a great time.  I am sad to say I didn't get any pictures! Especially since it was Makenna's first Thanksgiving.  She looked super cute that day too! Darn it!
For Christmas we stayed home.  My mom and step dad always go to Colorado for Christmas.  Both sets of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even my Dad live there.  So it's definitely fun to be there for the holidays, but with two small children it is much easier to stay home.  We had a Christmas get together with my mom the week before Christmas and exchanged gifts with our draw name person, we ordered pizza, watched some Christmas shows, and ate Christmas goodies.  It was a good time and we had some good laughs.  The Starits' family drew my little brother Jeffrey.  We gave him a Perry the Platypus t-shirt and an i-tunes gift card. He loved the shirt.  He happened to draw our family too.  He gave Noah a tin of popcorn decorated with the movie Car's.  Noah was soo excited.  It also came with a little puzzle that turned into a little track for a wind up Lightning McQueen car.  He could not stop playing with it the rest of the night.  He wouldn't even stop long enough to open other presents! Which is pretty much how his Christmas was.  He loved every Cars related toy he got and just wanted to play with them and not finish the rest of his presents. Tom and I received movie tickets and we are excited to use them.
This is what Makenna looked like that night:

I take the kid's to our town's Library Storytime at least once a week.  Before Christmas they planned to have Santa come, crafts, and cookies.  It was fun.  Noah would not sit on his lap with Makenna...but then warmed up enough to go on his own.  He was still pretty weary of him the whole time.  Have to love the nice Buckeye Library's Santa! ha ha

We hosted Christmas Eve dinner at our house for Tom's family.  It was a fun time! We ate lunch, exchanged many awesome gifts, and ate some more Christmas goodies.  It was a very nice visit.
We usually open a gift Christmas Eve, but Noah was having so much fun with his gifts from Tommy's family we decided it wasn't necessary!  I would like to set up opening a traditional gift on Christmas Eve, but have not decided quite yet what I want that to be.  Noah and I set out cookies and milk for Santa and then went to bed.  I was hoping Noah would be more excited for Santa this year that he was a bit older, but I don't think he still really grasped the concept. lol  Hopefully next year.  In fact on Christmas morning when he woke up to see all the new presents under the tree and the cookies and milk gone....he was completely unbelieving.  He is two years old and was not fooled.  We are in trouble.  This is how his Christmas morning conversation went down with Daddy.
Daddy: "Noah! Look, look under the tree, Santa brought you presents!"
Noah: "Nooo, that was mommy."
Daddy:  "No, no it wasn't it was Santa!"
Noah:  "Noo, it was mommy, daddy.
Daddy: "No it was Santa.  Look he drank the milk you left and ate the cookies!"
Noah:  "No, mommy ate them."
LOL!  He was SOUND asleep when Santa put the presents under the tree, so I am not sure what to think about it.  He is too young to not believe!  We really reiterated all day that certain gifts were from Santa and I think he finally started to believe us.  I am telling you, this kid is way to smart for his age!
Christmas was on a Sunday so we attended church for a wonderful one hour program of the choir putting on a beautiful Christmas program with beautiful music.  It was very nice...even the part where I had to take Noah out in the hall because he was being loud and not listening to his mommy. ha ha  You have to love two year olds!
Here is the only picture I could snag of Noah that morning.  He was just too excited with his new toys!

Makenna's First Christmas Morning!

It was a wonderful Christmas.  Money was extra tight this Christmas so Tommy and I opted to not get each other gifts and just the kids.  However, we received awesome gifts from his parents and grandparents, and my Dad!  Then, my mom surprised us with many awesome gifts to put under the tree and even ones from Santa so that Tom and I could have a "Christmas morning" as well.  Which is why you should never tell your mom you are struggling around Christmas!  They can't help, but step in and make it better, even when you are grown up and married! :)  It was a wonderful surprise and helped make our Christmas more special.
Also, my mom's mom, "Grandma Morgan" has always given us a handmade Christmas gift every year from when we were a new born baby and still today.  Never a store bought gift from her, just one homemade gift, and I have always loved it.  She never went out and spent tons of money, but instead gave a gift made with her hands and crafted with love.  I have received things from homemade play-dough, quillows, pot holder car emergency kits, embroidered pillow cases, Christmas ornaments, flannel board stories, and the list goes on.  I am 26 years old and have received a special homemade gift every year.  And this is no simple feat.  My grandma has 25 grandkids, 2 great grandkids, 12 kids including spouses, and then 2 grandkid  in laws, and she makes EVERY one a homemade gift.  What a special lady.  Even now that she has lupus, recovering from breast cancer, and getting older she still does this.  I would take her homemade gifts over tons of expensive gifts anytime.  This year she made me a binder full of  "Grandma's Favorite Recipes"  I LOVED it!!!  I will cherish that and her many other gifts forever and I am happy to have them to always remember her by.  Needless to say we had an amazing Christmas 2011.
Family Christmas Picture