Amelia turned 8 and was Baptized

8 years old is a big milestone in our home, Amelia hit that milestone on December 3rd.  Then on Saturday, December 16th was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Mia is something special and has the sweetest personality. She is a light, and a peacemaker. We are so proud of her and the things shes accomplished so far, and how much she has grown in just a short amount of time. 

We are so blessed to have her in our family. 

Cool Kids

They were willing to take a picture together to send to their Great Grandma Crandell to wish her a happy birthday, so of course I'm going to plaster this all over internet land!


Gosh these kids are cool.  I really should be filming my life, cause some of the things that come out of their mouths, the ideas they have, quirks they have can not be fully captured by words and pictures alone. Maybe I should start doing video clip videos, probably not vlog that could be a little ambitious too for me right now, but we'll see. What I do know is these kids are special and I love that they are mine.

💗💗💗

My daughters are growing up

I realized I hadn't posted about the kids back to school. Most importantly I hadn't documented on here the back to school pictures here. My oh my, how much kids grow each year.

The first day of school this year it was raining cats and dogs out side, we attempted good first day of school pic but humidity and rain plus foggy glasses isn't the best combo, but we got them, and made it to school only half soaking. LOL.

I love seeing how much they spring up each year!

Don't worry about the terrible collage pics, it is what it is, and it gets the job done. :)

Sweet Amelia girl. Such a big 2nd grader. It's hilarious to compare her 2nd grade pic with Evelyn's 2nd grade pic. 😂😂😂 These girls are polar opposites in every way possible.

Oh Evelyn. She hates smiling for pictures and I'm so confused by it, but its who she is. 😄 At least she learned what to do with her hands while getting her picture taken. She is growing into a fun smart young lady.

Their individuality is really blossoming especially how different their styles are. They have a love for pattern mixing that makes my heart swell.

Evelyn outfit

Shirt: Target

Leggings: Target

Amelia outfit

Shirt: Walmart clearence

Leggings: Walmart Clearance

Summer Break Is Over

Well we made it through summer break.

The girls started school this past Monday.

They woke up around 5 am and got ready right away and were walking around with their heavy school supply filled backpacks for 2 hours.  They tried to be super quiet for my sake, and not bother me cause they know I don't get much sleep at night yet. I guess they played with Leo in the crib next to me for awhile so he would be quiet for me too.  They are such sweet girls and I will admit I do miss them during the day.  They are so willing to help with Camden and Leonard.

Whoops kinda got carried away there for a bit.
 
They are loving school, sure its only been a week, but I'm hoping that they continue to love it as the year goes on.

Camden had to get in on all the picture taking action before the first day too.  

I love the first day of school pictures cause its the perfect time to compare at how much my girls have grown and this past year they have grown a LOT! 

It literally blows my mind!! I know kids grow fast but just seeing this jump is unreal! My grown up girls!

bring it around town

so we've been actually normalizing around these parts.

 

it feels normal. haha.

 

camden is growing like crazy!

love this little brother.

little brother 1 day old

 

 

 little brother 3 weeks old

his little belly has grown and he is out of most of the NB clothes.

my little cutie.

 

the girls have been having a good time being big sisters, playing in the back yard and going to grandma and papas house.

 

 

amelia's mugshot. with pudding mustache

 

this past tuesday the 19th my brother and sister in law welcomed their little boy!!!

Rhett Nathan!

he is the cutest guy and a little chunk.

i love him already!

i got to go see him on wednesday, he is so sweet!

 i mean seriously look at this guy.

he was 8lb 14oz!

bigger than Camden!

go baby RHETT!

 

after i went to see him i went and got the kids and we went to my parents to keep rhetts brother and sister company.

my girls love their cousins.

 

i was swinging these two in the back yard and they both feel asleep.

my cutie pie niece rylee and little camden.

 

little people are so much fun.

even when they are pains in the rear end. :)

 

hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

catching up

chris was able to put the camera program on my computer! yay! so i have pictures today!

 

first off amelias birthday.

 

 amelia had a great birthday!

she loved all the presents that she got!

she got candy from her cousins hanna, tillman, easton & brinlee.

unicorn ponies from rylee & rigden

new clothes from papa & grandma crandell

a mini turtle pillow pet from uncle taylor

& a magna doodle from us.

she loves everything that she got!

thank you for the fun gifts!

for your enjoyment a little video of her blowing out the candles.

keep an eye on evelyns face.

we haven't figured out why yet, but she just doesn't seem to like the happy birthday song or candles i guess.

 

adventures in training

its a christmas miracle!


im not sure what really brought it on, or when she decided to grow up overnight but Amelia has decided that it is time for her to use the big girl potty.

yeah i guess training her i really need the hands off approach cause she just does it on her own.

its kinda nice, but I wasn't the one ready yet. i feel bad but i just don't have the energy to keep up with her and help her like i should. it will probably take as much time as evelyn took (a whole year of training evelyn, nightmare!) so i shouldn't worry too much.


this is pretty much what's been going down at our house as of monday when she decided to start. so i guess we are on day 3.

amelia has requested if she can take her pillow with her so she can lay down on the potty. yeah sorry that is not gonna fly sweetie.

it wouldn't be a potty post with out a potty picture. hahaha.

golden day

Well today is a special day.

My little Amelia Brooke is THREE!

Her golden birthday. YAY!!

its crazy to think that it has been 3 years since this little nugget came to our family and added a whole new spice to it. she is a total nut case and we love her for it. seriously sometimes i worry about her level of crazy. but really she just has so much love for life! it is so much fun being able to live life with her and her excitement about everything!

awwwwwww my little nugget!

this was the day after she was born.

 

if you are interested to read her being born story you can HERE.

it is told through the eyes of my husband. its pretty funny. :)

 

 

 

Being a mother to Amelia is a new adventure everyday! I love it!

 



they grow up so fast....tear.


HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR AMELIA. MOMMA & DADDY SURE LOVE YOU!

oh hi there

yeah hi. remember me. the girl that disappeared for a week with no trace of her what so ever.

sorry about that. the week just flew by it was crazy, but crazy fun. :)

so here is a little update for ya.
highlights from our thanksgiving

• yummy food
• laughing
• kick ball (ps. i would not recommend playing while 26weeks pregnant, but i never take my own advice. i was tired and sore but it was so fun!)
• competitive family members
• great deserts
• having fun with family.

i love my family! 

 i was in charge of making potatoes for the feast.

note to self: my range is too tiny for three pots

and 20lbs is too many.

 put of the tree the day after thanksgiving

we have the grown up tree and the kid tree.

they've been having a great time decorating it everyday, over and over and over again.

oh Christmas tree.

 yesterday was my nephew rigden's 3rd birthday!

he invited us to celebrate his big day at bounce u.

the girls had so much fun and they were wiped out when we got home.

they could barely stay awake to eat their dinner.

 

 

see i haven't gone missing. this weeks is going to be another doozy. evelyn is recovering from a mad cold, making ornaments, and getting everything ready for my sisters baby shower this saturday. woot.

 

oh and my little amelia will be THREE next monday! so many fun things happening!

 

I really hope y'all had an amazing thankgiving and make it the best day and week ever!

 



 

 

playing dress up

asked my children what they would like to be for halloween.

there answers didn't really surpirse me at all.

amelia- she didn't really answer, but she said she wants to be pretty. so i'm thinking some sort of princess. really as long as she is wearing a poofy skirt and her pretty sparkly shoes she will be as happy as a clam. :)


evelyn- this girl is funny. i asked do you want to match your sister and be a princess or ballerina. She laughs and says "no mom, i'm gonna be spongebob!"

yeah. hahahaha this girls just cracks me up!! she is so not girly and i love it!!

reminds me of myself when i was her age. :)

 

yep i was an army dude sportin a sweet mustache and a quasi-mullet. :)
thank you momma for letting me be me.

experiments

to sum up this last week i can use two words...really children?!? 

yeah it has been a week of seeing how far they can push me. When they push they go all out 100%, they sure don't hold anything back.

i can't even remember what days exactly these all happened, i tried to block it all out.

day one: chocolate nesquik powder all over the family room (couches included), bathroom, and children. ugh. both busted.

day two: baking powder all over family room (couches included). at least they chose a deodorizer to spread around. :) both busted.

day three: 10 koolaid packets dumped, seasoning salt, meat rub, and pepper dumped out in the family room. ugh. oh and it smelt terrible by the way. i can still smell it sometimes. ewww.  evelyn busted.

day four: crushed red pepper packet and parmesan cheese packet on family room floor. both busted. they only opened a few thank goodness. found the rest stashed away in one evelyns bags.

day five: vanilla frosting on couch and faces. both busted. amelia immediately blamed evelyn and i believed her. :)

day six: confetti cake mix in family room (couches included) they were eating it up with a laddle and spoon. both busted.  i was going to make cake cookies for chris's birthday and that morning we found this mess. yeah no very fun.


these all happened while we were sleeping.  it's not like we sleep in till like 10 or something we actually get up around 7 or 8. they just get up way before that and have time to experiment.

oh and the koolaid incident happened while amelia was napping and i had fallen asleep too. i can't help it sometimes i'm just so flippin tired. ugh. i haven't napped since then and i'm trying not to at all so these things do not happen.

i hope everyone had a great week and have an amazing weekend!!

fixed

well this past week i took amelia to my sisters and got her hair fixed. oh and it is so stinking adorable!!

she was so good sitting still, letting kim work her magic. well it probably helped that that i kept shoveling smarties her way to keep her still and happy. you gotta do whatcha ya gotta do!


a little picture reminder of what it was.

and now what it is!!!

my sister is amazing at working her magic hair skills. she ended up cutting an aline cut with lots of little layers to hide some of the really short pieces.  it turned out amazing and amelia was very excited with her new look.

she is growing up and this cut make her look so much older. well she doesn't acted like she's older but looks wise...yes. much, much older.

my baby isn't much of a baby anymore.

baby center

i've been a member of baby center since i was pregnant with evelyn, so awhile i guess.  they send me weekly things about milestones, behavior issues, safety, etc. and all that jazz. 

i love the title of the emails they send. my personal favorite was for i think it was amelia. "is your child normal?" haha thanks baby center for making me think my child is a freak!

anywho, i occasionally read through them, and yes i get some great tips and keeps myself educated on how to help my children.

since my baby is now 26th months i looked though what milestones she should have reached by now.

 

Point to an object that you name. [check]

Recognize the names of familiar people, objects, and body parts. [check]

Use short phrases and two- to four-word sentences. [check]

Follow simple instructions. [check]

Repeat words he overhears. [check]

Find an object even if you hide it under two or three blankets. [check]

Sort objects by shape or color. [half check]

Play make-believe. [check]

the only thing she is kind of lacking is the shapes and colors things. she does organize things but not by that.  it's hard to teach her those things when your 4 year old pipes in every time and trys to show off her skills.

"yes evelyn, i know you know these things but i am trying to teach sister them."

yeah that gets said alot around here.

anywho, i hadn't said anything about my kids really in a while so i thought i would talk about the small one today.  :)

my favorite picture of this one.

happy friday ya'll.

i'm so flippin glad it's here cause i'm not babysitting any kids today!

it has been a very VERY long week.

what stage?

i went to a baby shower this past weekend.  it was super fun. i love getting together with the girls i grew up with. good times. i did not take any pictures. slacker, right here folks. oops.
well anyway. the first time baby momma (woot!) asked me what stage i like the best.  i said i like the baby stage, from like 3 months on.  The more i think about it i'm not sure what stage i really like.

there are good and bad to each stage.  i'm just not sure which one i've enjoyed most. 

i love babies, they are so cute, smiley, happy, just simple, and they stay put.
but i do like when they learn to get around, watching their face as they discover new and interesting things, and seeing how many times they can get away with something.

the talking stage is a fun one to reach.  finally able to communicate. evelyn took her time to start talking, and mia started talking a little bit sooner (still working on it a bit, but i can understand her for the most part). its fun to watch them put two and two together, follow directions because they understand. pretend to tell jokes the laugh their faces off when they are done, and you laugh with them, just because, then you both are laughing uncontrollably.  good times

i can't wait to find out what happens in the 4 and beyond. i'm a little nervous. :)

i'm just feeling sentimental with evelyn growing up and amelia not being a baby anymore. i've been spending more time just watching.  just been observing them and it amazes me every time how freakin lucky i am to have such cute little ones. They are smart, funny, kind, generous, friendly, and so many other things that i was hoping to see in my own children.  I just hope that i'll be a good enough mom to help them keep those qualities as they grow up.

Museum

We celebrated Amelia's birthday on Friday because Saturday i hosted a baby shower for my SIL at my house, (pictures forthcoming) so it was too crazy for many birthday celebrations that day.

About a month ago i got a great deal from Groupon.  2 for the price of 1 admission($7) to the Children's Museum in down town Mesa. groupon had sent me 15 dollars to use toward a groupon so i bought two.  So we used those FREE passes that i "bought" and celebrated with an afternoon at the museum!

It was so much fun!  Amelia had the time of her life, and Evelyn did as well.

They just played and played and ran around and got super tired. Mia took a great nap that afternoon, she was so tired she put herself down for a nap in her bed.

I could write more but reading alone is sometimes boring, you need pictures to capture all the excitement.

we were first timers at the Museum

and we will be making more trips back.

TWO

My baby is two today!

 

In the last couple of weeks her two switch was turned on full swing, but she is just as cute as ever.

 

I am so happy that i have my Amelia in my life.

She has her crazy attitude,

 but she is one happy, easy going little nugget.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMELIA!!

you sassy little thing.

who? what? where?

where oh where has my little dog gone?

wait uhhh, yeah sorry, i don't even have a dog, and if my cat went missing ..... uhhhh never mind.


but really, i've been off in another world it seems.

yeah no big deal, i'm just jumpin into the unknown, unexplained, and plain weird. it's cool, i pretty much belong there anyway.



now that you are all officially weirded out i give you this.....

you can oooo and awwww now its okay. hahaha.

this is where i have been,
-just chillin with my ladies. 
-babysitting for family
-planning my ATTACK for black friday.
-watching way too many episodes of awesomeness on Netflix (aka. desperate housewives(which i finished) 30 Rock, toddlers and tiaras, and the list goes on.)
-trying to keep the house clean, which has been pretty easy, but i just jinx myself.
-trying to make sick kids be well again.

and saving the best for last.....

-trying to keep up with my little attitude pants Amelia. Yeah she is two(deceber 3rd) and is full of sass and serious RAGE. i thought miss Evelyn was bad, but i'm in for an all new challenge with this little munchkin. Yes she is adorable, but she has looks that could kill, that is no joke, but it is still hilarious. :)

i wish you all a merry week, i'll see y'all just around the river bend.

bed time

I'm sitting here in a quiet house. Husband is off at his friends house, and i'm so bored.  I'm  not tired enough to go to bed just yet.  i've already done my workout and holy moly!! I am feeling it.  I hope anyone else that is doing the 100 workout is feeling it too. (if your not and its a breeze, please lie to me.)

anyway, my children are tucked away all snug in their beds.  That's right, i said beds, plural.  Amelia is officially a toddler!  today is the second night she has been in her 'big girl' bed.  oh but this is not all!!  My girls are in the SAME room!

::applause::

Thank you, thank you! i know, amazing things are happening at our house. Sure the first night of them sharing a room Evelyn woke up at around 2am crying and screaming cause she wet the bed and woke up Amelia, then they just played till about 4ish when then finally fell back asleep. (they were so cranky today)

I'd say its been a huge success!

I did take everything out of their room though.  I'm a mean mom.  the only thing in their room is (of course) their beds, a rug, and a couple of stuffed animal.  stuffed animals are much quieter than blocks and cars. quiet sleep = happy momma.

I'm hoping that with less distractions they will sleep better. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed that all thing will go well tonight!

goodnight y'all

its a party

okay so my little girls have been invited to their FIRST friend birthday party!
uhhhh HUGE!! 

I mean they have been to some cousin parties but this is so different.

I'm more excited then they are. Amelia just smiles at anything i say, and I was telling evelyn about it and she was like "yeah, okay" the.end.

now i must figure out what to get their little friend. hmmmm....

what a great gift for little girls ages 2-4??

anything out right now that is popular with this age?
-your probably thinking aren't my kids this age too?!
-shouldn't you know?!
yes they are this age and no i don't. 
i know what my kids like and it's usually a used piece of paper or something broken.

help a momma out?!

thanks so much!

hair fail

so i consider myself an okay hair trimmer. i trim my kids hair. i have never attempted to actually cut some length off. a minimal amount is my kind of cut.

well i was trimming evelyns hair it grows really weird and uneven. so i told her to hold still.
fail #1. Don't tell your child to hold still they will do the exact opposite.
fail #2. continue to cut even though she moved. GAH!

that's right i ended up cutting about a 4-5inch chunk of hair off the back of my daughter beautiful long hair. i had no choice but to cut the rest. it was sad. PLUS i have no idea what i'm doing. so its a bit uneven but i did the best i could.

her hair was getting so long!!

welp here is the after.....

she does look a lot more grown up. i didn't want that yet!! but she did tell me the other day to stop calling her my baby and that she was a big girl. ::sigh::

oh and big girls get to dress themselves. 

"fancy" sunday shirt with fruit shorts. cute! :)

i love my girlies.