Summer where art thou?

So I am patiently waiting for summer to really be here. It will be nice one day and storming the next 3. Life has been crazy. Cory has been traveling SO much for work and his other ventures he has going on. I am so grateful for his hard work -- but man I have always hated life as a single mom and here I am again doing it. I HATE IT. In the past 2 weeks he has been home maybe 2 nights. Its crazy. I signed Araleigh up for a gymnastics camp this week and she has had it everyday . . it has been good to keep her busy. Although not so fun for me trying to keep Canden entertained the whole time while holding Livee. This is the first summer that we haven't spent a ton of time in Idaho. We are going to Idaho on the 20th for a week and let me just say I CANNOT WAIT. Today was finally a pretty nice day so we went and spent like 3.5 hours at the park and I AM FRIED. I forgot how bad sunburns blow. Its been so long since I have had one. But the kids has SO much fun. Canden played in the sand the entire time and had sand and mud plastered to his head . . . I had to strip him naked to bring him home and get him right into the tub. We had a pretty good day today if only the kids didn't wake up at 5:30 am. ITS KILLING ME. At least I have had time to get ready for 9 am gymnastics. What a joke. I hope to catch up on rest and energy next week. This will be the first 4th of July that we will not be with family. :( Kinda bittersweet that it's starting to happen . . . us relying on family so much. I used to swear I would ALWAYS no matter what go back to Idaho for the 4th cuz I just think its a blast . . . but we chose to save the money this year and Cory is SOOOOO busy at work it would've just been me. NOT WORTH THE DRIVE ALONE!
Araleigh is doing really great at gymnastics. She is such a great listener. She does whatever they say and tries so hard to get it right. She is truly an amazing girl and I just love her and sweet spirit. She is SO MUCH help to me. This past week Cory put together a chore chart for her. It's her "Chart to Disneyland" apparently its how she is going to earn her trip that we are taking in Oct for her birthday.  Well, its been a huge hit. Every morning she comes in to let me know she needs to do 3 chores today. Usually its cleaning her room, making her bed, helping with dishes. But mostly she helps "babysit" Livee. She takes such good care of her. I now love that we got Miss Araleigh first because without her . . . I'd go nuts. She helps me SOOOO MUCH. She is always watching Canden and Livee and making sure they are safe. This morning I asked her to watch Liv while I got in the shower. Well, she made a big point that she got a STAR on the board for babysitting. She is eager for Disneyland! She also helped Canden clean his room . . . without complaining because he is such a lazy buggar for some reason right now. Speaking of Canden . . . man, he thinks he is the KING of the Castle right now. He just lays around most days and shoots off demands til he gets what he wants and throws a fit if someone says no. Ya, this is something we are trying to work on. NOT COOL. The "Canden Funny" of the day was him coming up to me with a sippy cup (which we don't give him anymore since he is in underwear. We make him have a "BIG BOY CUP" while in underwear to help reduce accidents.) So he came in the kitchen with his sippy and he had the hiccups. He says " MOM, I got to have Orange Jush in my ippy cup to help my pickups." ahahaha I said "Canden, you don't need juice in your sippy." and he said "MOM, my PICKUPS need orange JUSH to go away." I thought it was so funny and clever how he tried so hard to have an excuse to get some juice in his sippy.  I love the kids and he constantly makes me laugh even though most the time I want to shake the stink out of him . . . . but he keeps me cracking up. As for Livee . . . she has now at a mere 5 months old . . . graduated to size THREE diapers. Yes, that's right. My baby has the thighs of an elephant. Seriously she has more rolls than not. It kills me. She is the most content, happy little thing. We went to the park for over 3 hours today and I got her out 2 times once to feed and another just to hold her for a min. Otherwise she just chilled looking around for the rest of the time. We all absolutely adore her. Her smile gives me butterflies. Though she is a tough one to get to laugh . . . we are working on that one! Well, hopefully pictures to come . . . soon.

Canden's check up

I took Canden in for his 3 year check up and was SO glad to find out that he didn't need shots. WOOSH. I was nervous about having to hold him down. Everything looked good until the doctor spent quite a bit of time listening to his heart. She kept having him lay down then sit up. I got really nervous cuz this is unusual . . . she then told me he has a heart murmur. Of course I got all freaked out but then she let me know that where there isn't a history from infancy that it is probably innocent and they will just keep an eye on him. So that was scary . . innocent or not no mom wants to hear something is wrong. Other than that he was perfection. His eyes were great and he is steady on the 40th % of his growth as he has always been. Here are his stats:

Weight: 33.5 lbs 

Height: 37.1" (3 ft 1.1 in) 

Head: 49.25 cm

Happy Daddy Day!

Well, today is Father's Day. This year Cory got a couple of Dutch Oven's because he is dying to start cooking with those. We love Dutch Oven cooking --- we just never had any to do it ourselves. Then the kids and I made him a Candy Bar Poster--- last night Canden spilled the beans telling dad to come see his candy bar card and kept trying to get him to come see it. Mostly because Canden wanted "HIS" candy off the board. Little turd. Note to self--- though you really want to involve the kids don't tell the 3 year old what the present is or he will tell right away. lol We also got him some new dress socks and tie for his new job. We also made this:

 

I saw this idea on Pinterest and loved it so here is our version of it. I think he loved it.

I just want to write that I am so grateful for my husband. Though he isn't perfect . . . he is the best dad. His kids beam every time he walks in the door . . they adore him. He is the big kid that gives them a candy bar right before dinner, takes them for ice cream just because, and lets the kids maul him all night after he gets home. He is a magnet to them . . as soon as he is home they are clinging to him. I know that Cory loves his kids so much and it shows. I hope that this Father's Day will be a good one because he deserves it. Thanks Cory for being a wonderful Father, working hard to be a provider, and loving us unconditionally. We all love and adore you and your efforts.

I am also so grateful for my father. He has a good heart and truly wants the best for his children and grandchildren. I know I am grateful for his efforts and have always felt a deep love for my dad. He truly knows how to get to me in sensitive situations and has always understood and tried to help me when things went wrong. I love him so much. 

I am so blessed to have these amazing men in my life providing for us, loving us, and guiding us in the Gospel. How blessed I am to have 3 amazing Priesthood Holders at the head of our families.

 

Livee is 5 months old! WHAT?

Today is Canden's birthday but Miss Livee Lou decided to wait until mom went to get her hair done to roll over for the first time. I MISSED IT :(  . . . I was so mad when Cory told me. Seems like Dads get all the fun when Moms do all the work.

Miss Livee Lou is 5 months old. I cannot believe how fast time has gone. At a mere 5 months old she is already the size of an 8 month old. lol Her hair is now starting to lay down so instead of looking like Hooks' character of Rufio she now looks like Donald Trump. Her hair looks like a Toupee. She still sleeps a lot during the day and eats all the time. Little Skunk will not  take a bottle but  I have given her cereal a few times and she seems to like it. Probably cuz she finally feels full. Her hair is really starting to light up. She will most likely be a blonde. She has this cheeser face that melts me everytime. I wish I could catch in on camera--- but she does it mostly after she unlatches eating . . . like a "I AM SO SATISFIED" face. Her whole face scrunches up and she squints her eyes and her chubby cheeks just poke straight out. I LOVE IT! She has the TINIEST feet ever. She has these MONGOLOID thighs which retain at least 4 rolls each and then these tiny little doll feet. I am a little worried her ankles won't support her legs when its time to get walking. lol We love her. She already has an infatuation with her dad . . . just as all the other kids do. When she spots him in a room its like a light comes on and she is beaming. My favorite time with her is right when she wakes up. I always wake up to her bed moving around, her legs flopping a 100 mph and her squealing at the top of her lungs. It's her happiest time and I love it! She still loves her swing and is trying really hard to roll over. As stated before . . . Cory claims she did it twice while I was gone. I have yet to see this miracle. :) She is kind starting to support herself sitting up but gets a little top heavy and falls on her face. So we aren't pushing that.  

Canden in 3!

 Today my little man is a whopping three years old. Where did it go? Canden is so special to me. At a time where my world was falling apart and I didn't have a lot of hope in my life . . . he came into my life. I was consumed with love by this little guy and he made it so I could get through a really tough time in my life. I am so amazed at how incredible he is. He is so athletic . . and its a bit weird! lol Everytime anyone ever watches him they come up to me and tell me how impressed they are at how well he does at everything. His nursery teacher has come up to me a few times in awe at how athletic he is. He tells me how when they play ball he hits the target 8 out of ten times, he dribbles perfectly with a soccer ball, and when we was like 18 months old -- he was banking basketball shots like it was nothing. Its freakish! We love him so much and have spoiled him a bit more than the other kids. He never wants to sleep so Cory ends up sleeping with him . . . then in the morning I always wake up to his head nestled by my arm . . never knowing he even came in. Since Cory has gone back to work Canden has become my little cuddle bug-- which is something he has NEVER been. He always wants to lay by me and snuggle and because for the first 2.5 years he never did this --- I am letting him get away with it. He absolutely adores Cory ---- they are so much alike. It's fun seeing them together. He has a sensitive spirit and is easily hurt emotionally. I am so grateful that I was blessed with this little boy . . . his face I can stare at forever because I just love his little skinny guts! Here's a little tid bit about my new 3 year old~
 
- Canden LOVES soccer. He isn't old enough to play on a real team yet-- but he is just as good as his sister.
-He absolutely LOVES Thomas the train. Anything train he loves. 
-He also loves his cars and tractors to play with. 
-Everytime I take his picture he does this cheeser face that he is now famous for. Winking one eye and showing his pearly whites!
-He drives Araleigh crazy ---- always tormenting her and wrestling her .  . . she loves him despite of it though.
-He can sing I am a child of God and the ABC's all by himself.
-He is mostly Potty trained . . its a long process with him but we are getting there. Motivation . . . PRESCHOOL. Everytime he goes potty he screams "I GET TO GO TO PRESCHOOL!!!!"
-He is a daddy's boy. He is attached to Cory every time he gets home . .. he is Cory's little shadow.
-He HATES church. For some reason he throws a tantrum and screams how he doesn't want to go to church every Sunday. Really weird cuz as soon as we are there he is fine and goes in to nursery fine.
-He always wants his toes painted--- I know weird but Araleigh has taken him under her wing and is constantly painting his toenails and hers. We have put a rule that not fingers can be painted on him . . . so we keep him a little manly. lol 
-He LOVES the color Blue. He has to have blue EVERYTHING.
-He LOVES his little Livee Lou . . . he is constantly mauling her and kissing her. Makes mom frustrated a lot but I know he is just showing her he loves her. 
-He LOVES being outside. He loves to ride his bike and razor scooter. Soon we will try to take off the training wheels  . . .  I am sure he can do it.
-He absolutely REFUSES to go to bed at night. IT is SUCH a battle . .  its takes us 2-2.5 hours to get him to go to bed AFTER we originally put him to bed. 
-He ends up in our bed EVERY night. It's gotten a little annoying but we were loving it for a while. Him coming in to cuddle--- well now its more like we need to be looking for a ginormous king bed to sleep the family cuz our little Queen isn't cutting it anymore. I am all about kids not sleeping with parents but for some reason Cory caved a long time ago and he's gotten away with it. Little skunk.
-He is obsessed with playing games on my phone. The kids knows how to call dad and get to whatever game he wants. It's almost scary how technology smart our tiny kids are.


Happy 3rd Birthday my little Canden Boy. We love you so so much.

Catch Up

 I have been so bad at blogging or in my mind journaling in general. I wish I could say I have been so busy I haven't had time to do anything but the truth is I have been in a bit of a rut lately. I haven't wanted to do anything for a while and am truly trying to find the motivation in myself again. It doesn't help that its been raining all the time and the kids are out of school so we are stuck in the house driving each other crazy and being bored. The past few weeks have given us a bit of relief though. Last weekend Cory's parents came up to spend Memorial Weekend. We ate out quite a bit and ended up in Clarkston for Sunday night. We came home Monday because Cory had to work on Tuesday. It was a good weekend. Then Thursday my sister, Sue and her kids and my parents drove up. Didn't get to my house til 1:30 am but they made it! Then we got up the next morning and headed to Silverwood. So Much Fun! We laughed a ton, played hard, and the kids absolutely had a blast. I am so grateful for my parents who came with us and helped with the kids. Canden once he found the airplanes he spent the next 5 hours there. SERIOUSLY. He would just get off, run around and get back in line . . . which there wasn't a line so he'd hop back on. Araleigh went on her first big roller coaster-- with grandma Chrys. She absolutely hated it. It was really rough even I felt like it was too much. But she loved all the other rides. And I just have to say my little Livee Lou -- was an angel the entire day. She ate like 3 times, had a few blow outs and slept the entire time in between. It was a good day. We ended the long day hoping to go eat dinner but it was way too late so got some Panda Express and took it home. Cory, Trev, and my dad ended up going to Clarkston that night to go fishing. They were up all night long. The next day we just slowly got ready and then ended up going down to Northtown Mall to check out Todd's store. We went to a few stores and Araleigh had a blast. She'd pick out cute shirts and bring them to me and just had so much fun. We then took them to Justice . . . and she loved looking for stuff for herself. I wish I could have bought her everything she wanted but we settled on a shirt and a skirt that was on clearance . . . and she was so happy. She is such an amazing girl. She didn't put up a fuss about getting all the things she wanted she was so excited to be getting what she did. I just love her. It was a sad day when they all left . . . which it always is. But hopefully we will see them again soon!