Teage's big 33!

Catching up....

Teage's birthday was last month, the big 33 years old, and since I have still been sick (and mainly in the evenings), I asked some of his old buddies to come and kidnap him for the night. And they all were so generous and took the day to have fun with Teagers for his birthday. We even had a buddy come all the way up from Oregon. What great friends we have! They came and kidnapped him for the night, went to dinner, and just hung out and did "guy" stuff. Teage had a great time. Then some of his family came over on his actual birthday date for dinner and we had a little party here. We feel so blessed to have so much family around who love us!

Happy Birthday my love!!! I love you!

PS- You will always be two years older then me! :)

Silly boys....

The boys have been so animated lately, it is a ton of fun. They surprise me everyday with something they have learned, or heard and are repeating. :) Dylan's favorite thing to do right now is to put his head right next to my belly and sing Skittles a song, then when he is done he will pop his little head up and ask "Is she kicking Mom?"

Lucas loves to sing at the moment and will make up songs whenever he gets a chance. Most of them don't make much sense, because he will use made up words and every once in a while stick in an "Ichiro" or "Mariners" within the song somewhere. He is SO serious about it though! He will just go on and on with "blah blah blah lalala.....Mariners!" for quite a while. I love to listen to him! If he is really concentrating on something, he won't even realize that he is singing! So adorable!

Dylan always amazes us with his phrases and little quips that come out of his mouth. Teage was asking him the other day about what Skittles will like to do when she is older, and of course Dylan said that she will like to play baseball (just like her big brothers!). Then Teage said "Well, when she plays baseball, what position will she play?" Dylan thought about it for a while and finally said "THE BASE!" We were laughing so hard!

Both boys are really into board games right now as well. There is one in particular that they got for Christmas called the LadyBug Game. In it, there is a Preying Mantis that you have to pass or you go back to the start. So the other day, Lucas was giving us one of his "shows" and I told him to finish it up because it was time for bed. So, instead of saying "goodbye everyone!" or something to that effect, he comes out with "Bug Off Mantis!!!" I was seriously dying laughing!

The other day I was trying to finish up some photos and put them on DVD when Dylan woke up from his nap. I asked him if he could just hang out with me for a minute while I finished up, so he sat patiently and waited for about 5 minutes. Then after I was done he turned to me and said "Good job Mom, you are such a hard worker!"

Boy do I love these little men!!! So thankful that they keep me smiling all the time!!! :)

Sunbeams!

I feel like my little boys are growing up so quickly! Every day they are doing something new, hilarious, and unexpected. Just last night they started performing "shows" right before bedtime, where they pretend to be a talk show host and interview baseball players. It is so hysterical!

This year they 'graduated' from nursery at church into what is called Sunbeams. Basically a class of 3 turning 4 year olds where they have their very own teacher, learn new songs, and have their own Sunday school lesson together. Being in Sunbeams is a big deal to these little guys because it means that they are now a part of Primary in our ward, the group of "big kids"! The boys were a bit apprehensive about the whole thing the first week, but once they saw that their teacher was someone they knew, they have been just fine every week when I drop them off. And they can't wait to show me their new art project or sing their new song when I come pick them up. I love it. I love hearing their stories and seeing the joy on their faces.

Congratulations on 'graduating' D and L! Mommy is so proud of you for being such big boys!!

News

Just in case anyone hasn't seen my facebook, or talked to my husband in the last little while (he is pretty excited, it is cute)......we are having a:

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!

Lights Everywhere!

My Dad's family loves Christmas lights! Every year they get more and more elaborate, have more and more sight-seers come by, and donate more and more food to the local food bank. They were beautiful this year, including a lake with a stream coming down the yard, new stand-up flowers, and candy cane lane with accompanied by motion and music.

And the grand total for food donation this year? 811 POUNDS!!! Amazing!

Christmas Celebrations 2010

The boys were so excited about Christmas this year, it made it even that much more fun for me and Teage. And we are very thankful to have so many family members around, that we had many fun celebrations to attend. I hope that all of you had a fabulous Christmas as well!
On Christmas Eve morning we had Teage's side of the family over for brunch. Teage's dad ended up driving down to see his mother in Utah earlier that week, so his brother and his family came over to celebrate and open presents. We ate a ton, and opened a ton, and just had a great time watching all of the boys get excited about gifts.

Christmas Eve night, after we went to visit Santa Claus and get pictures (which turned out adorable this year!), we went over to my Mom's house to celebrate with our immediate family. My two brothers and our sister-in-law were there as well, and my Mom and Dan surprised us all with a huge crab dinner! Teage was in heaven! :) Everyone watched as the boys devoured their presents, we all ate and laughed and had a wonderful time together.

Christmas morning was fun for the four of us. We stayed home and for the first time, really had a discussion about the true meaning of Christmas, why we give gifts, etc. And the boys of course were excited about Santa Claus and his special stockings as well. We had so much fun with our little family in our PJ's, eating Swedish pancake breakfast, and playing with our new toys. I felt so special to have such a wonderful family to celebrate with.

That afternoon we went over to my Dad's house to celebrate with my immediate family over there. All of my siblings actually waited for us to arrive before opening presents (wow! :) ), so we made a huge mess as the two grandparents, five children including Teage, and two grandchildren all went wild with gifts. It was such fun chaos! The boys loved every minute of it. We stayed that day and had a wonderful lunch and watched movies, just relaxing and enjoying the family. It really was a fabulous day!

The next day was Sunday, so the boys dressed up in their best outfits and we went to church for a neat Christmas celebration. Then after church we were able to go meet the members of our extended Bailey family for a party at the community center near our home. I loved being there with all of these family members, some of which I only get to see once a year. I honestly feel so blessed to have so many family members close by, and so many that love our family and whom I love so very much. I know that I am an extremely lucky girl.

Lovely Potty Training

For some reason I have had this fear ever since I became a mother....a fear of potty training. I guess the idea of potty training two boys at the same time scared me to death! :) So, I waited. I think the boys would have been ready earlier, but honestly, I was the one who stalled. And procrastinated. And stalled some more. At first it was because we were going on our big trip to Hawaii, didn't want to do it then. Then it was that I was sick with this crazy pregnancy, didn't want to do it then. Then the holidays were coming up, didn't want to do it then! Oh goodness....

Anyway, I finally realized that I couldn't wait any longer. These poor boys....what am I doing to them? :) However, in the end, I was extremely grateful that I waited. These boys were more then ready, and the transition was actually very smooth. It helped a ton that they had their special Lightening McQueen and Buzz Lightyear underwear too. They always have such a great time getting to pick out their own underwear every morning! I love it.

They are doing such a good job, and honestly after a few days, there were no more accidents and both boys got the hang of it. I love that they do everything themselves now, and are so proud of themselves when they are done. I sure have big boys!!!! I love them so much!

So proud of you D and L!!!!!

Ahhhh the joys....

Just for "sentimental value", documentation of my own personal pharmacy:

No, I am not just letting myself go. Yes, according to many out there, Teage and I must be a bit "crazy". :) We are having another baby! No, we don't know the gender yet. And yes, we are going to find out. I am WAY to organized to do otherwise. :) Yes, we are super excited about adding to our precious family, but sadly no, I have NOT felt well enough to truly be really super excited. I am extremely grateful that we seem to be able to get pregnant fairly easily. And I am also very grateful that all seems well and heathly so far....well, the baby that is. :)

Things for me have been extremely difficult. Which I was honestly not expecting. :) I was definitely sick with the boys, but nothing could have prepared me for this. And YES, there is only ONE baby in there. I have really been trying to focus on my blessings right now and not dwell on the fact that for months straight I could keep anything down. I finally found a wonderful doctor (and nurse!) who trusted me enough to know my own body and prescribe some wonderful medicine so that at least I could function. Things were a bit scary there for a while, though I am so blessed to have wonderful family around to help me. I couldn't do it without them. Zofran has helped me tremendously, and at least I have been able to put a load of laundry in (and even fold it once in a while!), pick up after the boys, and even take the occasional shower (which I am sure everyone around me appreciates). I am thankful.

We should hopefully find out the gender in a few weeks, so stay tuned!!! :)

Celebrations

Over Thanksgiving our family escaped the snow and flew down to sunny California! Honestly, I hadn’t realized how much I missed the sunshine….I must have sat in one spot for a full 10 minutes just soaking it up and wondering how I had done without for so long. There were many reasons for this trip, but mainly because my grandparents are so generous! They flew the whole family down to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary with them, which also just happened to be Thanksgiving Day and my father’s birthday, all rolled into one. We had a big celebration with the whole family at G and G’s place in Palm Desert, which thankfully was catered so none of us even had to do dishes! What a life! Grandma and Grandpa were so giving and generous to us during the entire trip, and we had a fabulous time! We stayed in a beautiful hotel, went swimming, ate at some amazing restaurants, and just relaxed for the first time in quite a while. It was wonderful to be there as a family, not having any other distractions (like those pesky bills) to worry about for a few days. We really soaked it up the whole time we were there. Our amazing view from the hotel room.....jealous aren't you? :)
Lucas in his enormous bed (we put two queens together for the boys, with barriers on all sides)....it was hilarious!Auntie Lindsey and Dylan hanging out at the hotel
All of us on a gondola ride through the waterways at the hotel....we had the most terrific driver who chatted with us the whole time and loved the boys!

One really special event that we were able to go to with G and G as well is to the “Blue Man Group”! We prepped the boys for months, since Grandma got tickets in the very front row, and we knew how they did not like anything in masks. We had been watching YouTube videos, talking about going on our plane to visit the “blue guys” and trying our hardest to get them super excited about it. When we got there, they handed us our ponchos and then Lucas just about lost it. I was so worried we were going to miss the whole thing! But, we came prepared with their ear phones, and once those were on he was much better. Dylan thought the whole thing was pretty cool and wasn’t really scared throughout the entire performance. Lucas still wasn’t so sure, but at least stayed in his seat the whole time. The funny thing though…..after the performance, the group came out to the lobby to take pictures with the fans, and Lucas was the one who was all excited to get a picture with them, while Dylan was completely freaked out. J Overall, we had a fantastic time, and it was an amazing show!

The boys and I all ready for the performance!
Shaka!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Pfeifer!!! We had such a wonderful time and were very thankful to be able to celebrate with you!!

Halloween!

Or in other words, candy fest!
This was the first year that the boys really understood that they got to dress up, choose what their costume was, and go around getting candy from people they didn't even know!!!! :) The boys thought long and hard about what they wanted to be, and finally Lucas decided (beyond a shadow of a doubt) that he was Buzz Lightyear. So adorable, but not so easy to do for Mommy. :) Finally Teage found a cheap costume online that Lucas adored, so it worked out very well. And since Lucas was going to be something from Toy Story, Dylan had to join in as well. And since we already owned a hand-me-down horse costume, I convinced him that it was Bullseye! And honestly, he LOVED it! He wore that horse costume very proudly and didn't want to take it off. The two then decided that since they were Buzz and Bullseye, that Mommy and Daddy needed to be Woody and Jessie. Well, we tried (sort of), but in the end it didn't really matter. They just wanted to wear their costumes all day anyway and didn't really care what anyone else was doing. :)
We were able to go to our church Halloween function where the boys did a cake walk, and got to hang out with some of their other 3 year old dressed up buddies. And then Teage did take them out to a few homes in our neighborhood on the actual date of Halloween. The boys were so funny though! They enjoyed the candy (obviously!), but did NOT like going to strangers homes, so they did about 10 and were done for the night. The world series of baseball was on at home as well, which may have been a big draw for them to come back. :) And it was great for Mommy, who didn't have to go through a million pieces of candy and keep it around the house.
Overall, a fun Halloween for all of us. For the boys, dressing up and being Buzz and Bullseye for a few days (all weekend actually), and for Mommy and Daddy to see them in their adorable outfits having so much fun.

Our fun trip to the farm to pick out "29" pumpkins! Well....not really that many, but that is what the boys kept telling us!

Buzz and Bullseye in the flesh!