March Madness

Spring is coming!!! I can feel it in the air... and the sunburn on my face is testament to the fact that the sunshine is coming back.  :)  Here is a little of what we have been up to...

To pass the time while Daddy has to work late we try all sorts of Pinterest ideas.  Here is a bathtub paint recipe that Logan absolutely loved. :)

 Mia and Daddy reading stories.  She loves her Daddy so much!  

Loves her daddy.  His scruff? Not so much. :)

 Ryley and Logan have discovered Fat Cats.  Glow in the Dark Pirate Miniature Golf, Bowling, an arcade and pizza.  What more could two boys ask for? :)

 Mia liked the lights. :)

The utmost concentration was required for this racing game...

 In other news, Mia loves to eat her toes...

And sunny skies have finally allowed us to return to one of our favorite places... the zoo!

Just look at how big this little man is getting.  Ignore the shiner (a result of a run in with a carseat).  Ry told him that he needed to be the man of the house while he was away, and boy did this little boy step up to the plate!  He took me on dates, helped with Mia, and even helped me shop.  He was so cute pushing his little cart around the store and loading groceries into it.  (I could never tell him that though... the tough guy would be offended!)  At the check out line the bagger put the groceries into a different cart than Logan's... so ensued the wrath of Logan.  He defiantly instructed the man where the groceries should go, and why.  Then he pushed his little cart full of groceries out to the parking lot and helped me load them into the car.  I am so lucky to have this little man watching out for me!  

 Ry asked what he had in his pocket... rocks of course... why would we even need to ask?

While the snow was melting, the ground was super muddy.  Just perfect for a little boy to sink his hands into... and then to chase his little friends around with those muddy hands.

 Beautiful, happy girl.

Logan is quite the bike rider... he has finally conquered his fear of hills. (I'm not sure I'm so thrilled about this.)

8 months old!!!

I can't believe my little princess is 8 months old already!  The time is flying by, and she has grown up in so many ways this month.  Some new developments:

Emelia is now the proud owner of a brand new tooth!  (bottom, center right)

She now says "Mamamama!"  

Scoots wherever she needs to go... and can slide backwards.

Can pull herself to her knees when sitting.

Hates solid food, except puffs and strawberries

The past week we spent in Logan, UT with Ry, who was on an away rotation there.  Ry's Aunt and Uncle were sweet enough to put us up, and Logan and Mia loved being there.  It was fun to get away for a while.  

 When we got back into town, the Johnson's came to visit.  Logan had his very first sleepover...his cousin Zoa is in the bed next to him.  They stayed up forever giggling, and I felt even more like a parent when I had to tell them to quiet down and go to sleep. :)  

 After his late night, Logan did NOT want to wake up the next morning. :)

Saint Patrick's Day

Ry and I both have Irish blood running through our veins, so of course we celebrate St. Patrick's Day!  Here is Logan showing off the leprechaun trap him and his dad so cleverly crafted.  

 Mia helped too... 

 She wanted to eat it!!

 The trap is set... 

 The next morning we woke to find these footprints.  At first it looked like we might have finally caught that naughty leprechaun...

but alas, upon closer inspection we saw that he used his magic to bust out of our trap... dropped his pot of gold....

and escaped out the window!  At first Logan was very disappointed that he didn't catch the leprechaun.

However, he was quickly placated by the sight of his "candy treasure."  

 My sweet, little Irish sprite

 And my funny little leprechaun... making our yummy St. Patrick's day juice for our dinner!

And no blog post would be complete without a messy faced baby picture...

and this one's just cute. :)

February

Sometimes Logan gets a hold of the camera, and I don't realize it until I upload all the pictures and find shots like these:

Gotta love those self portraits. ;)

Mia is seriously the happiest baby ever.  The poor girl has had a bad cold for over a week, and just keeps on smiling.  She thinks sniffing is hilarious.

We were painting one afternoon, and I asked Logan to go wash the paint off his hands.  I went to check on Mia and when I came back into the bathroom I saw this.  He told me that it was his, "bath of the year."  Now I keep catching him trying to climb back into the sink.

Mia loves her sweet potatoes.  Here she is at 2 in the morning eating more of them.  :)

And another self portrait...

I have been blessed with kids who love to read.  Once again, luckiest mom in the world. 

One afternoon Logan and I pinterested together and picked out his Valentines.  He loved the bug ones, so these are what all the little girls in his preschool class received.  Logan is the only boy in his class, so he got lots of princess valentines.  And he was very disgruntled with me, but I made him write his name on every single one.  I can't believe my sweet boy can already write his name!  He can't be that old yet!!

Here are some shots of my cutie patooties on Valentine's day...

This year for Vday Ry and I decided to start a new tradition.  We decided that on the actual day of Valentine's Day we would focus on the kids, and that the following weekend would be ours.  

Here is Logan at his special Valentine's dinner.  The table was set up fancy with lots of candles, and Ry and I were his waiters.  I made his favorite dinner (heart pizza) and he ordered from his menu.  It was so much fun!  The little lady was invited, of course, but declined because she had already scheduled a nap for that time.

Then we had a treasure hunt where Logan tracked down his (and Mia's) valentine gifts.  Here he is with his dinosaur robe and new teddy (thanks Grandma and Grandpa! :))

 Ry had a big test the day after Valentine's Day, so we decided to delay our festivities.  This lady isn't complaining  though... Ry spoiled me with Godiva, Olive Garden, and love notes that he wrote me every day of the year so far.  Best. Husband. Ever. And, as soon as that test got over, we let loose. ;)  Here we are at Kangaroo Zoo, Logan's favorite place in the world.  Mia likes it too. :)

 I love how Logan goes into this absolute state of euphoria every single time he goes down these slides.  I took a million pictures of him...but this is the only one where he wasn't a complete blur. :)

We had a scheduled power outage all day Saturday at our apartment complex, and we needed a change of scenery, so we decided to rent a hotel room.  It was so much fun to get away from the world for a bit!

Logan decided to scare us to death and jump in the water after Ry when he wasn't looking (and holding Mia)....without any floating devices on.  The crazy kid totally swam to Ry and climbed up his back before we could even react.  Guess he doesn't need swimming lessons.  Just kidding...that is the first thing this daredevil child will be doing this summer.

Mia loved the water!  Crazy lady... I was freezing!

Tired out from all the fun....she fell asleep playing with her toes. :)