Valentine's Day in (3) parts

We celebrated Valentine's in a few different ways this year:

(1) The weekend before Valentine's Day we went to the Turnbull's annual Valentines couples party. It was 1920's themed so we all dressed up and had yummy food and drinks, danced the charleston then played the infamous way-too-personal nothing-is-off-limits embarrassing version of the newlywed game (a yearly tradition and huge crowd pleaser). We had a lot of fun, danced hard, and laughed harder.

 

(2) On actual Valentine's Day (Thursday) we did fun things with the kids and as a family, including: pink heart pancakes for breakfast, Caitlin's dance class, delivering valentines, lunch with Paul, making ice cream (tried a guilt-free recipe and it was a hit!), heart shaped grilled cheese with tomato soup for dinner and enjoying valentines presents and treats. I love my little family so much and try to show them everyday.

(3) The last Valentine's celebration was for Paul and I. We celebrated the day after by going to Salt Lake. We shopped at city creek, ate at Ruth's Chris steakhouse, went to trolley square, saw the Safe Haven movie then stayed the night at the downtown Marriott. (Can you tell by the amount of shopping and eating and lack of physical activity that it was my year to plan v-day?!) Cassie was so nice to watch the kids for us overnight and it was actually really weird to be so close but not go home at night! Really nice at the same time. In my book, few things in life are more heavenly than Ruth's Chris harvest salad, filet mignon, and sweet potato casserole (not exaggerating... my mouth is now watering) but being with my one and only Valentine definitely takes the cake. We could have been doing anything and had a great night.

our revolving door

We got to have a lot of visitors in a short space of time and places. It seems like sometimes when it rains it pours and all our families come at once, and we just pretty much have a 24/7 party going on at our house. But knowing us we probably wouldn't want it any other way.

So my parents were in town for a few days and stayed at my sister's. We got to see them some during the day, and also went to dinner as a family and all the adults got to do a temple session one morning. It was a really special experience to be at the temple as a whole family, including Cassie and something that we have looked forward to doing for a long time. We also had a fun joint families dinner and game night. I love that my family and Paul's family gets along so well. I love when my parents are in town and my kids love it too.. they love their Grammie and Papa.

Stewart & Lorraine and Christine and Cason and Corinne got to come up, to catch all of the family events going on at the same time. They all stayed at our house and we had kids and/or adults in every possible room, including the freezing cold basement but everyone was really accommodating and it actually worked out pretty well. We also love having Grandma and Grandpa here whenever they come, and it had been awhile since the kids had seen them. And it was especially fun to have Christine and her kids come since we don't see them as often. The kids all played together with squabbles in between (the 2 year olds are still working on sharing) but they were mostly all adorable. We took them to McDonalds for lunch one day and also played hide and seek at home. Cason is just so sweet and mellow and has the cutest smile. He is so obedient and you can just tell he is very good-natured. Corinne has the prettiest doll face and even though she is obviously a mama's girl I tried really hard and she has the cutest smile once you've earned it. It's funny that our boys and girls are so similar in personality, just switched places. We got to spend lots of fun time together as adults too swapping stories and playing games, along with trying to balance time between all of the other family things going on.        

We also got to have Jeff come visit the weekend after they left. He came for some things for med school and we wish he could have brought the rest of him family! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures! But it was fun to have him in and out. He went skiing with Paul and we also had a big family and friends dinner on Sunday. Along with lots of good talks and laughs.

Now we're getting ready for my family to come again next week!

Grandma Shari Dickson

Paul's grandma, Sharilyn Stewart Dickson passed away peacefully the night of February 4th. She had been sick for over 5 years now, even before I even had the chance to meet her for the first time. When I met her she could still vaguely carry on a conversation and still had a welcoming smile and a sweet kiss on the cheek for each of us. Unfortunately over the years she kept declining to the point where we knew it would be soon that we would lose her. Our family and Mike and Rebekah were able to go to their home about four days before she died and got to see her for a last time, and visit with Grandpa. Paul also had the opportunity to give her a priesthood blessing which was a very sacred and special experience for him. The whole family was praying that she would not be in pain and that if she were to pass it would be peacefully. It was.

Her funeral was held Monday, February 11th at Larking Mortuary. It was a very nice day. We met for a family prayer beforehand and then had the funeral. Unfortunately I was out in the hall with naughty kiddos for the whole service but I was able to listen to it on a speaker. There was a strong spirit there and constant reminders of the wonderful and above all sweet woman that Shari was. She was kind to all and was very sharing and jolly and also very intelligent but put her family above all else. I was sad that I never got to know her better but I was glad to be able to hear such wonderful stories and learn more about her. It was also nice to see extended family members that we don't see as often and meet a few new ones.

After the funeral we went to the Graveside at Holladay Memorial Park cemetery where Stewart dedicated her grave and we all said goodbye one last time.

At times like this I am especially thankful for the plan of salvation and the knowledge that I have of where we come from and where we are going after death. Also that families are eternal. We all look forward to seeing Grandma Shari once again.

Nolan: 8 months old

There comes a time in every baby's life, it varies when but it always comes.  It's the teething-but-no-teeth, runny nose, wriggly, squirmy, moving-but-not-mobile, fussy, spits out food, puts everything in his mouth (especially the tiny things), drooling stage of life. And I've decided it's not quite my fave. This past month we've been in that stage. However with all that being said: Nolan is still such a wonderful little boy. He is so good that nothing is really THAT bad. Things are just changing, which of course they always do. This month has actually been a pretty big month for our pretty big boy.

Eats: He is widening his selection of foods, we moved into some meats this month but he isn't a huge fan of those yet. He eats three meals a day of fruits and/or veggies and/or meats. His favorite fruit is applesauce and favorite veggie is carrots. He is pretty icky about texture. Hence him not liking cereals and not some meats. He likes it pretty liquidy. He also drinks 3 8 oz. bottles with each meal. We still add gripe water to almost every bottle to stay ahead of any tummy aches and we still give him sensitive formula. He likes the Target store brand the best. 

Sleeps: He is still a great sleeper at night (12-13 hours) but his naps were more touch-and-go this month. Still blaming the teething, along with a few disturbed nights. Overall still pretty good and hoping to get back to being better.  

Plays: He started army crawling this month! All of a sudden he just took off on his belly. He has gotten faster and faster and he is starting to get more adventurous and cover more ground recently. Ever since he's started moving I've found him in some pretty funny spots. And he gets stuck a lot. He loves going on the hardwood floor and sliding on his belly to gain some speed. He also likes standing but still needs quite a bit of help to support his weight. He likes playing with balls or anything he can chew on (which he thinks is everything). He can't get into a sitting position by himself but he does a very nice side plank and props himself up on his elbow.


Likes: He likes his crib and he gets happy whenever we put him in it. He also REALLY likes his sister. Caitlin makes him smile really fast, even when she's not trying to. His favorite thing still is to just be on his back and rolling around playing with toys. He loves music and having dance parties with Caitlin.

Dislikes: He hates having his face wiped. He also doesn't like sitting.. he totally can and he will for a little bit but in general he just doesn't like it. He prefers to be on his tummy or back. I tried to solve the problem of too-tight-tummy by getting him a pair of overalls. They were still kinda tight on his thighs I think but they look cute. 

Also: He has been very drooley. We tried a sippy cup for the first time but he doesn't really get it yet. And his hair is getting really long! It's much longer than Caitlin's was at this age. He still doesn't really have stranger-danger at all. He is fine with babysitters or being held by different people. We moved to the 1 pm church time and it's been a little rough. He will not really fall asleep in his carseat anymore but he gets tired the last hour but won't sleep, which is also when Paul and I have callings. And he is wiggly and wants to just be on the floor, which is always a little weird because you just don't always trust the floors around. He is also super loud sometimes... nothing like someone trying to share a super spiritual experience to the tune of Nolan's extra loud grunts and groans.

 

 

Bailey Anne Dickson

Bailey Anne Dickson

Feb. 5th 8:10 AM

7 lbs. 12 oz. 21" long

Bailey was born on Tuesday morning which is also the day I guess she would be born! She took her sweet time to get here but she is adorable. It was one of the most exciting deliveries I've been a part of because Jenna's water broke at about 1 PM the night before which made for an exciting and very sleepless night before I went to the hospital at about 5 AM. Things went quickly and I got the opportunity to see Bailey be born that morning. There is absolutely nothing like child birth and the amazing feelings it brings, especially to first time parents. It was really amazing to be there in the room. Bailey is so precious and already has such a sweet spirit and demeanor. We are so excited to have a new little niece and cousin!

joys of motherhood: january

-Caitlin had some new socks on the other day with colorful polka dots on them. I said "Caitlin I like your socks" and she said "thanks they have polka dots" what two year old know what polka dots are?!
-the other morning I slipped getting out of the car in the garage after working out and it my arm on the car door. I came in and was telling Paul about it in front of Caitlin. A little while later while I was feeding her breakfast she said:
Caitlin: mommy did you get an ouchie?
Me: ya on my arm
C: (so concerned looking) oh... Sweetie..... I'm sorry.
-Caitlin got a memory matching game for Christmas so we were trying to teach her how to play it and find pairs of things. So we were picking up animals that were the same and saying "See? these are friends, they are the same one." She started picking up whichever ones she wanted and saying "Oh, yes, these are friends!" Obviously she didn't grasp the concept of matching but there's probably a lesson for me in there about everyone being about to be friends and not just sticking with someone who looks like you. She still calls it her "Friends game" whenever she wants to play.
-I recently had an appointment at the dermatologist.. I needed to get some moles checked and also Nolan has a birthmark on his head that my pediatrician wanted me to check. So I scheduled both of our appointments at the same time and of course Caitlin came along. I figured it might not go completely smoothly but i packed along the ipad and had high hopes that it wouldn't be that bad. cannot even stress what a massive miscalculation this was. Without going into graphic details lets just say there was magazines across the floor, very loud whining, an unzipped fly, wiggling, fussing, a paper top that was very exposing, a baby that wanted to roll off the table, and a very curious and in your face two year old all in front of our brand new dermatologist. I told Paul afterward that I had no more patience or dignity left for the day. I needed the sucker more than Caitlin after that appointment. The Dr. was nice but even he seemed a little daunted by our circus act we had going.
-Nolan is usually the most amazing and well behaved baby. When going into a situation I usually assume that Caitlin will act up before he does. But sometimes for whatever reason he decides to be the difficult one and it always throws me for a loop... Like wait! Who is this? This is not the baby I know! And unfortunately it's usually the times when I go into something assuming and counting on him to be good that he has a moment.
-Caitlin was looking at one of our wedding pictures in our room:
C: mommy and daddy at the temple!
Me: yah there we are, at the temple
C: get married
Me: ya we got married at the temple.
C: I want married
Me: where are you gonna get married?
C: the temple!
-The kids go to the Kid Care class while I work out a couple times a week and whenever I go get Caitlin afterward she says, "Good job on your workouts mom!" She knows I need the encouragement.

neither here nor there

January instagram pics: