Sad faces

Two months and two years aren't so different after all; the crying just follows you around when its coming from a two year old.

She made her point

A few nights ago, Darby really didn't want to go to bed. She fought and fought Jason. She screamed, "NO!" at every question he asked her (book to read, song to sing, prayer, etc.). So he left without doing the usual routine and turned off the light. She cried for almost an hour. We went in to check on her and found parts of a pop up book torn out and thrown on her bed and the floor. This was the book she chose to tear apart.

Guess she was really mad at Daddy.

Cuddling Cousins

The kids really miss Hailey now that she is back in California. Brendan wrote about her in his daily writing in school. Eva went looking for her the morning after they left. Darby calls for her, "Hey Hailey!" Good thing there is FaceTime on the computer. I look forward to our visit sometime this summer.

Fayetteville's Own

One of the only things you can see here in Fayetteville that you cannot anywhere else is the Special Operations Museum. Inside are exhibits of the many historical missions and battles that Special Forces and other specially trained soldiers (Rangers, Pathfinders, etc.) took part in. We took Hailey and Amber to visit the day before they left. We met Jason for lunch on post so they could have a small experience of a military post. No one else in my family is military so I thought they might be curious. Hailey kept pointing out all the "Army guys" to her mom. Even after repeated explanations that this is where Army guys work, she was still amazed when she saw one. It was cute.

Then we went to the museum. Hailey was a bit scared with all the war sounds they played in certain exhibits and the kids didn't really "get" most of what they were about. I'll admit, its not really a young kid kind of museum unless you have a child into soldiers and such. But for an adult, it is very interesting. Someday I'll go when I have time to read all the placards and not chase after kids.

Brendan in front of the JumpMaster exhibit. Jason is JumpMaster trained.

The older girls in front of a paratrooper. Jason had a jump the week they were here but we couldn't go. It would have been kinda neat to see Daddy jump from a plane (though I try not to think about it too much).

Paige and I got our pictures taken in front of the Pathfinder exhibit. Jason went to Pathfinder School when he was enlisted.

And this last one is just kinda funny.

Pigtails

Aunt Amber brought with her a multitude of hairstyle ideas to try on my girls. I am really lazy when it comes to their hair but I love how it looks when its actually styled. Check out these piggies! I definitely will have to try to replicate Amber's handiwork.

This is SO Darby!

Bouncing around

We took Amber and Hailey to Monkey Joe's this past week. It was fun! I wore Paige and she fell asleep. Eva made friends with another little boy and girl with glasses and ran around with them. Darby was convinced she was a big kid and tried to go on all the big bouncies. Aunt Amber took pity on her and went down the giant slide with her. The two biggest kids tried it all out until Brendan decided he was too hungry and wanted to go home. Party pooper.

Some little people didn't want to go home when it was over.

At the Park

Hailey asked if we could go to the park while she was here. One afternoon we made a short trip to the playground by Brendan's school. He was kind of proud to show her where he goes to kindergarten.

Aunt Amber has three girls with curly hair so she did different hairstyles with Darby while they were staying with us. The braid didn't stay in as well as some of the others but it sure was cute.

Four little monkeys.

Paige and the Waltons

Paige got a lot of love this vacation.

Aunt Amber has the magic touch.

Spring Break at the Beach

Jason had Monday off so we took everyone to the aquarium at Fort Fisher and then went to Kure Beach. Paige does not enjoy her car seat and so the driving portion was not fun but once I put her in the baby carrier at the aquarium, she fell asleep. So Darby was in the double stroller all alone, which did not last long. She totally believes she is a big kid too.

The kids LOVED the aquarium. In the first exhibit, there was a family of quails that must have snuck into the building (quails are hardly the usual aquarium inhabitants). Brendan tried to pet one and got pecked.

The shark exhibit, touch tank, crocodile (who came quite close to the glass where the kids were) and main coral reef tank were the highlights.

Then outside the aquarium was a little wilderness trail. The kids loved watching the turtles on a log and climbing the frog statue. Out if nowhere Darby kissed it. It was so funny!

Then we drove down the street to the beach. The instructions were to not get in the water as it was too cold, but that proved to be a bridge too far for the kids. They got soaked and loved it.

A sandcastle was build and subsequently destroyed by a certain two year old.

Amber scooped up some sand and shells to take home to her other kids from the Atlantic Ocean. I sat on the sand and fed the baby. It was pleasant.

The drive home was not so fun with screaming Paige (the girl has stamina) and so we were grateful to be home. All in all, a fun day trip.

Our Easter

Happy Easter!

My sister and niece came into town for a week over our Spring Break and they arrived right before Easter Sunday. We were excited to have them share the holiday with us. When the kids woke up they found their baskets. The Easter baskets were a big hit but candy had to wait until after church. The Easter Bunny seemed to make good choices regarding the presents in the baskets. Go "Easter Bunny"! Then we all dressed for church. The girls had new dresses and Brendan got a matching tie.

I always appreciate that Easter is on a Sunday. It is a good reminder of the Savior and the real reason we celebrate Easter. However, this Easter was a little more poignant than the rest, having recently lost my grandfather. The meaning of eternal families was more tangible this year.

Its a good thing we got these pictures before church because Eva had a potty accident during sacrament meeting and had to change into a dress I keep in the car for just such an occasion.

The cousins had lots of fun playing when we got home. My niece, Hailey, wanted to play with Brendan (a bigger kid) and Eva wanted to play with Hailey (a bigger kid to her). It was quite the juggling family dynamics.

I found a fabulous recipe I wanted to try for Easter. Its not the traditional ham and au gratin potatoes or whatever most people have for Easter. I made Stuffed French Toast, with some help from Eva.

It was SO GOOD and I am quite proud of myself. I might have to make it a tradition.

We made up our minds to take Amber (my sister) and Hailey to the beach the next day since Jason had it off. They flew in from CA so neither one had been in the Atlantic Ocean. The kids went to bed excited for the next day.

2 Months

Paige turned two months old on the 3rd but her pediatrician appointment was today. She weighs 12.4 lbs and is 23.5 inches tall (gaining almost 1.5 inches in height). She is in the 83rd percentile for both. Paige is starting to be so much fun because her social side is coming out. I love her smiles and our "conversations". She sleeps from around 9:30pm to 6:00 am. Yes, I know I'm lucky. I cannot claim any brownie points for it; it's all her doing and not any magic parenting I have done. Her daytime naps are coming along. I need to be better about recognizing her tired cues because she's overtired quite often and then super cranky. She still eats every 2 hours that she's awake and won't take a pacifier.
She also has a nickname at our house - she's known as Poopy Paige as she has a dirty diaper so very often.
Her eyes are going to stay dark, I am positive about that, and she has one lock of hair on her forehead that curls. She is adored by everyone and I love her!

Our Little Contrarian

Jason here.

Darby is so funny in her own way. All the kids have their moments, and Darbs has hers.

She will, without fail, vote to object during all sustaining votes at church. Callings, the bishop, even the prophet, they all get denied.



Sorry President Monson, it looks like the voting was not unanimous.