Oh How Lovely Was the Weekend

I didn't take our camera, therefore didn't take any pictures of our fabulous weekend away.

So here are some of the hilights:

We stayed

Our room looked like

B-Town surprised me with


And inside was
(To be a temporary friend for my left ring finger until we can get a new wedding ring)

I discovered that I really DO like perfume after smelling
And promptly paid too much at Saks for the big bottle

And most importantly, Bryan and I remembered why we love eachother so much. We had so much fun just being together and just being "us" for 3 days. No schedule, no work, no stress, no worries. We have such busy lives - it makes it so hard to spend time together. We know that we are making the right sacrifices, and that we are so blessed to have work schedules that make it so our kids don't have to be in daycare. We have found ourselves feeling so run down and stretched so thin, but this weekend really helped us reconnect and just be Bryan & Kiersti for a few days. And we actually found ourselves missing Lo and B - imagine that!

So thank you, Bryan - for letting me listen to my music in the car & singing along with me, for laughing at all of the scantily clad women & oddly dressed Europeans in Vegas, for giving me back ticklins every day whenever I wanted them, for 2 entire days of shopping and actually liking it (I think), for toughing out the trek to the M&M store to get the kidlings presents (forgot how far away it was!!!!), for stopping my speed walking to watch the Bellagio fountains on our second night, for getting us a cab so we didn't have to walk back to the hotel when my feet were so sad. And thanks for reminding me how much you love me, and how much I love you.
And thanks so much Shara & Sherrie for watching our adorable little monsters while we were gone - we appreciate you so much!!!

Finally.......

Vegas
4 hours and 42 minutes
We are leaving from Shara's house
By ourselves
No children
Not returning until Sunday evening

Need I say more?

Maiden Voyage

Just a quick update on the stroller for those very few of you who actually care.
Saturday I decided that Lo needed some ice cream & I needed some Scoopology chocolate chip cookies, so we went to South Towne after dinner. Really, I just was DYING to try out the stroller. I took it out of the box and added all of the little things that came with it and was just so excited! This is when you know you're a lame old mom - when you're excited, no, ELATED to try out a stroller.
Anyway, Lo loved it! She thinks it is the greatest thing ever! I was worried that she wouldn't like facing me, but she doesn't seem to care. She actually likes being strapped in and LOVES that she can get in & out herself.
And if I ever want B to just be happy, I will be putting her in the stroller. She just sat there with her huge open-mouthed smile the entire time. So cute!
Oh, and it folds up quite small, surprisingly, so another added bonus.
And now maybe I can move on to writing about more exciting & intriguing things now that the "newness" of my lame stroller has subsided.

Double Stroller Heaven

So - being the mom of 2 kids really close in age, I knew I would someday, as painful as that day would be, need a double stroller. I was going to get a double stroller soon after Mya was born, but I bought a baby sling - which meant that walks with both of my kids when Bryan was at work were still do-able. When Bryan is home, Lauren rides in her little pink car and B gets the stroller. Well, my fat baby girl is just too big for the sling now, and I have felt entirely trapped in my house the past few weeks (even though we've only been blessed with the occasional nice day). I will not hold Mya while pushing Lauren in her car - I refuse! I decided it was time. Time to do all the research, go to the stores, read the online reviews, etc. When you're looking for double strollers, you have 3 options:

Tandem

I quickly ruled this one out - this was the model we really liked, and it actually handles pretty well for a tandem, but I could foresee problems: in the mall, how in the world could I ever go into a store? Even though it handled well, it's still like driving a bus. And the bigger child sits in the back, which means that Lo would have the ability to kick her little sister at will. Not a fan - just too risky.

Side by Side

I really liked this one, and was sure that it would be the one I was choosing. The girls loved sitting right next to eachother, but looking at it, I don't think Lauren could sit in it longer than this summer - she's already almost too tall for most of them because of the canopy. I know she always won't be in a stroller, but what about trips to places like the zoo where she wants to sit for a bit but still get out and walk around? Too much work and lifting for me. I'd probably end up having her just walk next to us, and then what's the point of even having a double? I'd still be in the same boat I'm in now.

Sit & Stand

Da da da daaaaa! This is our winner! Mya can sit in front while Lo either sits OR stands in the back, facing me. It's not really any bigger than a travel system (wahoo). Trips to the zoo will be fabulous for me - Lolo can be strapped in if I want her to be, but I won't have to get her in & out every time she wants to run & look at something. And when she's too big and doesn't want to sit in it anymore, since it's not huge, I'd be fine taking it places like the mall with just one kid in it. By the time we have another baby, Mya will be at least Lauren's age, so it will be perfect. It's extremely lightweight, and got great reviews. I'm so excited to use it!! And now that the weather is nice, I can!!! The freedom to roam my neighborhood with both of my children while Bryan is working is back! I see many sunshiney walks to the park in my near future, aaahhhh. And check out the sassy orange - I had to seriously hold back from hot pink, but I've got to assume I'll be having a boy at some point in time ...hopefully :)

There's Easter Eggs in My Room!

We were so excited for Easter this year! Lo was kind of getting it (kind of) - she knew that the Easter Bunny was going to bring her something, she just didn't know when.

The Easter Bunny snuck in her room and put a little trail of eggs from her bed to her door so she would see them when she very first woke up. When I heard her stirring, I hurried and ran to her room to hear her say "(gasp) There's Easter eggs in my room!!"

We ran around the house finding all the other "hidden" eggs. She would say "Oh, I remembered this egg is here" and "Oops, forgot this egg over here". She was hilarious, it was so much fun!

The girlies wearing their little bunny ears they got - Mya is chewing on an unopened package of Peeps. And by the way, we think Peeps are nasty, and I'm glad to find that Lolo does, too. We will be telling the Easter Bunny next year that we are a Peep free house.

A little outdoor set the girls got - which until the weather FINALLY decides to cooperate will be in the playroom downstairs. We hung out in our jammies (well, at least Lo did - but they were her new jammies that she insisted on putting on immediately, so she was kind of dressed) all morning long and stuffed ourselves with candy.

Lo in her dress Sunday morning. She HATED this dress from the time I bought it, and when I would try to get her to try it on she would freak out. But she put it on, reluctantly, and then when she looked in the mirror she said "Oh, this dress is beautiful!"

Here's little B in hers - she rocked it, of course.

This is a "bonus" picture that I found on the camera - apparently I did the "On Daddy's Watch" post a few days too early. Poor Mya and the things she gets put in.....

And if you look closely, she's going cross eyed looking at the basket handle. Totally creepy.


We had a fabulous, fun Easter and we hope y'all did, too!

Spring

So I think spring is finally here! And that means rain and puppies! Here's a little picture I snapped outside Shara's house as we were leaving from dying eggs last week - it was raining when we left our house, so Lauren insisted on bringing her "rumbrella" with her. It had stopped when we went to go home, and she was just playing so cute with it while I was loading up the car, so I snapped a few pictures. She LOVES playing in the rain!

Funny little quick story - we were leaving Sam's Club last night in a torrential downpour, and halfway home she started crying. She wanted to get out and play in the rain. I told her we could for a minute when we got home, but by the time we got there she had changed her mind. She's so funny :)

My sister brought over her new puppy, Mr. Freckles, last week to introduce them to our family. I think Bryan was more excited for the visit than Lauren. He's a Border Collie and look at that face - so cute!

I'm not sure if he likes Lolo - she tries to play with him like she plays with Daisy, forgetting the fact that she can shove Daisy as hard as she can and nothing happens because she's huge. The poor puppy left our home slightly tossed around and mildly abused, sadly. But he survived.

Easter Eggs!

For one of our little Enrichment activities this month we did a little Easter egg hunt on Friday. Everyone brought 10 filled eggs per child and our own lunches to the neighborhood park, we ate our lunch, scattered the eggs, and turned them loose. Each kid got to pick up 10 eggs, and since they were all Kindergarten age or under, it worked out quite nicely. Lauren had so much fun - of course, since she is so social, she was more concerned with playing with all the kids than finding egss. But once I showed her what to do, she took off and loved it. She had a blast! I think the activity turned out well, and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. Maybe this will become a Redwood Ward tradition....who knows?

Here she is with her little basket o'eggs - she kept trying to just pick up the pink and purple ones - I had no idea she had a color preference!

Thursday we dyed eggs with the cousins - Annie, Shawna, and Brock. Lauren really enjoyed it for about 3 eggs and decided it wasn't fun enough, so I got to do the rest. But at least we can say we did it - I try every year and Bryan gets annoyed with the whole process, saying she's not old enough, but next year for sure she will be diggin' it!

On Daddy's Watch

Bryan has become quite proud of the things that happen when I'm not around. So proud, in fact, that he's started taking pictures. Sometimes he tells me about them, and sometimes I find out when I'm going through the pictures on our camera. These are 2 of my recent faves.

This one I just found. Yes, that is a 2 liter bottle of Dr. Pepper that my 2 year old is drinking.

This one I actually came home and saw for myself. When I walked in the door, Bryan turned around and looked at me like "am I in trouble, am I in trouble?". No, honey, you're not in trouble, but this is hilarious. I don't think I would ever have the thought "You know.......I think I'll put my baby in a Rubbermaid container and see if she likes it". But she did, and it kept her happy for a little while, so bravo, Bryan! Way to think outside the box (or inside ha ha ha).

Thanks for taking pictures for evidence, honey!!

Driving to the Park

We took a little "drive" to the park the other day - Lauren calls it driving when she's in her car. She would go everywhere in this pink car if we let her - she thinks it's the greatest thing ever!

And this is all she does at the park........walk around up and down the stairs. No slides, no jumping off of anything. She's playing it safe, here, people. Very safe. Bryan got her to go down the slide by herself for the first time and I'm still not sure she liked it. I think she likes the walking up and down the stairs more. Who wouldn't? It's sooo exciting.

Here's B all bundled up to go - is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen???? Look at those eyes!

And if you just said no to my question, then that's why I put this picture on. Seriously, people, adorable!!

BFF's

When I was pregnant with Mya and thought about the 2 girls, I used to get stressed out. Lo is so stubborn and obstinate - wanting everything this minute, I was scared to think of how she was going to handle this baby. Never in my life did I think she would be so incredibly loving and protective of her little sister. They are already the best of friends - Mya lights up instead of cringes when she sees Lauren come into the room. Lauren can't get enough of her, always wanting to play with her, show her things, read her books, tickle her, talk to her, kiss her. I'm just so surprised because Mya is still so little, but I think she's Lo's favorite person.

Lo just laughs through the hair pulls, eye gouges, and numerous scratches she gets when B tries to love on her.

When I look at these pictures I can't help but hope that they always enjoy eachother like this (I do live in reality, though, and know that they will surely have their bad sister moments), and I remember that I am so blessed to have such beautiful little girls.