Easter

Well, it's been some weeks since I've updated the blog. Oops. So much for keeping up on it! Life just gets so busy at times.

Anyway, we had a great Easter! We started the weekend off by going to Baby Animal days with Liz and Aiden. Jordan was working, so it was just me and the two kidos. Abby was with her daddy Cam, so it was just the three kidos. It was great fun. We were there for nearly 4 hours and enjoyed our time in the sun.

Sarah enjoyed petting and feeding the animals. The donkey, which was much smaller than I thought a normal donkey should be, was very gentle with the kids and love being fed. Sarah enjoyed it as well. Daniel just looked on and that was good enough for him. Perhaps next year he'll be a little more interactive with the animals--but maybe then they'll be running away from him, hehe.

We were there so long, we stopped and enjoyed some lunch. The kids enjoyed their corn dog and fries while I enjoyed water and diet soda.

We also went and saw the baby bear cubs there. We waited in a long line for 45 minutes to walk past the bear cubs, but it was worth the wait. They were so cute! Daniel enjoyed them and Sarah wanted to pet them. But they weren't meant to be touched and handled too much by strangers. After all, they are bears.

Then we had Easter. Jordan had to go into work, so he missed the kids finding their baskets. But I enjoyed it! They were so adorable. Sarah was so excited she woke up at 6:30am and began searching without me! I got out of bed and told her to count to 90 and I'd be ready to help her search. The Easter Bunny was sneaky and hid her basket in the coat closet. She was so excited to see her basket. Her face tells it all :o)

Daniel woke up later than Sarah did. But he enjoyed searching for his basket. Daisy kept trying to eat his treats, but Daniel was protective of his goods and held his own against the dog. Poor Daisy, nobody feeds her....hehe....at least human food and the good stuff. Daniel loved his Peeps and Nilla Waffers. He liked his movie, Winnie the Pooh, too, but is a little young still. He'll grow into it.

After church we went to Nana and Bompa's for Easter Dinner. After dinner we went on an Easter Egg hunt with the kids. It was great fun. Daniel took position on daddy's shoulders and Sarah was bouncing around everywhere searching for the clues which would lead them to their baskets. So cute!

All in all, Easter weekend was great. The weather was awesome too. I couldn't believe how warm it was. Now I've gotten spring fever and so do the kids. Daniel only wants to play outside and he never wants to be strapped into his car seat knowing how much fun he can have outside.

It's kind of nice, though. I pulled out a stroller for him the other day and he pushed it up and down the driveway for an hour while I worked in the yard. It was so adorable and cute! He's a little stinker though, and likes to run for the road. He's getting better. Good thing we don't live in a high traffic area.

Oh, before I forget to mention it, the other day Sarah was so excited for daddy to come because she wanted to "slow dance" with him. She dolled herself up and put bows all over in her hair. When daddy got home Sarah was all ready to dance with him. But of course there were rules. Sarah said they could only dance on the blanket, not the carpet. So they stayed on the blanket and danced. Daniel had to join in too, so soon instead of dancing they were playing ring-around-the-rosies. It was so adorable. Sarah loves her daddy and so does Daniel.

Going into March

Well, more time has past and now my family is getting older!!! Daniel isn't a little boy anymore, he's a toddler. He's so cute! I can't believe how quickly my little boy has grown!

Daniel LOVES books. He wants me to read him books all the time. And it is the only time the kid sits still for me unless he's sleeping. Daniel is going, going, and going all the time. He never stops. His mind is racing a hundred miles an hour thinking about what to destroy, what fits together, and what can he break next....okay, he's not that bad. But he's very curious and he's always on the move.

Sarah's turning into a very sweet, very tall, and very beautiful little girl. She loves preschool. She's very good with her letters and numbers and she's working hard to learn how to write better. She's also doing well with reading. I'm taking the phonics approach now and she's doing good. She starts school in August and is very excited. She even wants to ride the bus like the big kids do. Too cute!

Sarah is still very independent. The last snow storm she wanted to go sledding, so off she went into the backyard and went down our little hill. She played outside a good hour all by herself in the snow. I couldn't convince her to come in. She was having too much fun.

Jordan is working on the basement in our new home. We realize this is a work in progress and will take some time to achieve. I wish we'd blink and it'd be done, but no such luck. All in due time, right?

Jordan's also working on putting up the kids' swing set we gave them for their birthdays last year. Sarah is so excited. And Jordan is realizing it will take longer than he initially thought to put it together. Thankfully Jon is helping. I helped, but it gets hard trying to help and watch Daniel at the same time. Sarah's pretty good and can entertain herself for hours, but Daniel's curiosity gets him very close to the road and window wells around the house. So, it makes it hard.

Happy Valentines Day!

Well, it's a great day! And it has been a good month so far as well. Sarah is just as bright and beautiful as ever. She's learning so much. Jordan and I have been really good lately about having family night every Monday night. Now that he's home during the nights, it's so much easier. I'm so happy to see her learning about the gospel and enjoy learning about it! Sarah has such a precious, tender soul and we love her very much.

We went sledding a couple weeks ago and enjoyed all of 2 runs down the hill before the tube popped. All well, the time in the car was enjoyable and the time we spent together is memorable.

Daniel is Daniel and is learning as much as any 17 month old can. He's very focused on fitting things together. He enjoys destroying, and now, putting back. I can't complain now...at least he's putting things back together. He's been a very good little boy and now he knows how to fold his arms for prayer. He also knows where his head, belly button, and nose is. Pretty impressive, no? He also can say, "Please," and "more." Of course he knows plenty of other words. He wants to speak to us so badly. He has the most baby garble of words I've ever heard from a baby before. I'm not the only one to say that either. Daniel is a vocal child. Perhaps a future motivational speaker? Maybe.

In the video, Daniel is mimicking something I do a lot of...cleaning. He loves the vacuum for some odd reason

Update

Well, it is been FOREVER since I've posted anything. We've done a lot since I've last written in August. I guess time got the better of me and I slacked off as well. Sorry.

Christmas was a blast. Sarah was totally into Santa Clause this year. She's also in preschool and loves her teachers at Melody Lane. She's the tallest and youngest in her class. She's very bright and is looking forward to starting kindergarten in August this coming year. Sarah is writing and loves to draw, cut, tape, and glue things. Santa was so smart this year and gave Sarah a roll of her very own tape to use since she was using all of Mom's. She liked this idea a lot and mentioned to me Santa should bring her some tape every year.

Daniel got tubes put into his ears Feb. 1st last week. He's sleeping much better now :o). It's about time, too. Poor little boy had ear infection after ear infection. After a really sick bout on our cruise, I said that was enough and took him to an ENT and the following week surgery was scheduled. Daniel did very well and is on the up and up. Thank goodness for tubes!!

Daniel is also learning how to do many things. His favorite thing as of late is throwing. He's very good at throwing balls, socks, shoes, sippy cups, sister's toys, and anything he can get his little hands on, down the stairs. He has pretty good aim too. Future quarterback? Perhaps. He has also learned where his nose is and how to make plenty of animal noises. His favorite noises to make are a bear (grr!) and an elephant (presses his lips together and blows really hard, usually just making his hair fly up). His very curious and very smart.

On the cruise Daniel managed to change the combo on the safe in our hotel room. We had to call security to come and unlock the safe. Then he managed to change the combo on Nana and Bumpa's suitcase while on the boat, which resulted in Bumpa breaking the lock off the suitcase in order to get back into it. Well, things couldn't been worse.

The cruise was a blast!! We went to Disney World for 2 days before we left Tampa for Belize, Grand Cayman, Roatan, and Cozumel. It was wonderful seeing so many places and getting out of the cold Utah weather for warmer climates. It was a blast having all my siblings, their spouses and kids, and my parents there as well. It was a big family reunion. We look forward to the next one...perhaps a few more years away so we can save enough to afford another fantastic trip.

I auditioned for the Stake Musical (The Music Man) here in Hyde Park. I am casted in the role of Mrs. Squires. A pick-chick again! Yeah!! I think this will be a lot of fun. I'm excited to meet new people and become more intergrated into the stake/ward since I'm new to Hyde Park.

Now Valentines Day is approaching. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by. I wish it didn't, yet it does. Now, onto other news. I'm starting a new diet. It's called the Dukan Diet. The science behind it is pretty solid and makes complete sense to be as well. So, I've started a new blog about it. I'll weigh in tomorrow and off I'll go on living a new way of life (diet wise). I'm pretty pumped up about this and think this will be a good change not only for me, but my family as well. No more preservatives, no more refined sugar, no more carbs (ok, carbs are a yes, but are limited). Wish me luck! (www.nataliedunkandiet.blogspot.com). My goal is to update the blog once a week to inform everyone of my progress. And since I'll be updating that blog, chances are I'll be twice as better at updating this blog as well.

Time has flown by!!!!

Well, time has just slipped right past me. I can't believe it! Daniel is a full blown crawler. I can't believe how fast he moves and how quickly his little hands get into things! I have to hide things and lock things up. I really didn't have to do that with Sarah--she was more content. But not Daniel, is a little mover!!

Sarah had a wonderful 'Tangled' birthday party. It was what she asked for. It was great. I made sourdough and ciabata bread (long and tedious process) and made her cake. I labeled all the foods with characters from the show. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work! She got a ton of presents too! She's a spoiled little 4 year old, but she's worth it. Pictures will be posted when Becca gives them to me. My camera pooped out, so I have to depend on others for pictures.

Daniel got his first haircut! He looks so much older!! I can't believe what a haircut can do to a little baby.

BEFORE

AFTER

The house is coming along great. Jordan and I have been busy, busy, busy! The Parade of Homes is September 9th-17th, but we must have everything completed by the 6th. And we need to close on our house as well. Whew, it's a lot to do. Jordan and Jon (bless his heart) did our sprinkling system. Uncle Dave back-filled it with top soil and we're ready for curbing. We're getting that on Monday. Wednesday we're laying sod. Monday we get carpet and a kitchen backsplash. The painter is coming tomorrow to stain the banister and the front door as well as work on touch ups. Jordan and I need to seal the tile. The wood floor is done (hallelujah!). And I'm working on sewing curtains. Like I said, we've been busy. And with two kids, it makes things extra hard. But, there is a light at the end of this house building tunnel. We'll be moving in after the Parade of Homes and we can return to our lives before we decided to build. It's been a great experience, but a very time consuming and hardworking one. In the end I know it will be worth it. Pictures of the house will come soon, too.

Daniel is Crawling!

Daniel is crawling now!!! It took him 10 1/2 months, but he's doing it!!! Yeah!!! I bet he'll be walking here pretty soon.

Sarah is into face painting. So I've been putting my artisitic abilities to work (not that they're too good anyway) and have painted her face as a butterfly more than four or five times now. She enjoys it, so that's all that matters.

Daniel is shooting up like a weed. And he's a comedian! He loves making faces and then he'll continue to pull the face until someone laughs or pays him some attention. He's not shy, just like his sister. *Sigh* I have my work cut out for me yet.

I must say, however, that I have the two cutest kids there are on earth! Sarah with her off the wall sayings and Daniel with his faces. Surely he too will say off the wall comments and we'll just laugh and laugh and laugh.

Sarahism of the week:

Sarah: Nana, I love you.

Nana: I love you, too.

Sarah: So I peed in your toliet.

House Update

Well, the house is coming along! Yeah!!! It is so great to see things moving right along. We should have paint on by the end of this week and then we start on flooring!! So excited. Jordan is smiling (his usual cheesy grin) as he's carrying a mirror into the house for us to see if it's big enough.

Anyway, back to the house. We're also prepping the yard for sprinklers and landscaping. Jordan and I are going to do all the work (yikes!) but we're looking forward to it. The Parade of Homes is coming up in the next two months and we have plenty to do to keep us busy.

The house is black in the picture because tomorrow they plan on stuccoing the house. Then they do the rock. I can't wait!!

On the other side of things, we're still remembering to have fun. We've been to Bear Lake more times this year than we have any other year--thanks to the 50 minute drive vrs. 3 hour drive. Kids and Mommy can handle the 50 minutes much better than the dreaded 3 hours. Sarah loves riding the horses at Bear Lake. She's always asking to go and stay the night, but she handles things well when we just take a day trip.

And...drum roll...Sarah has learned to go on the tube behind the boat! She's such a fish! I wonder who she gets that from....? Well, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, does it? She's very much like her Mom in that sense and opposite of her waterphobiatic father.

Daniel is growing right up! He's such a weed! He's not crawling yet, even at 10 months, but he's sure trying. I give it another week or two. Then, I'm certain of it, he'll start walking in just a short amount of time. He has such good sense of his feet, it'd surprise me if he wasn't walking soon after crawling.

Well, that's about it in a nutshell. The summer has been great! I'm so glad I can stay home with the kids and be a more active part of their lives. This is all I've ever wanted and I'm so blessed!