Christmas in New York

 On our way to Rhode Island, we stopped for the night in NYC.

 The kids had a lot to look at with all the decorations and people.

 We made sure to go to FOA Swartz, the toy store.

 The kids were so excited to see all the toys and candy.

 The Lego section.

 The kids got to play on the giant piano.

 They loved it.  They were with the perfect group too since most the kids playing with them were about the same age.

 Vaden was so excited she ran on before anyone else:)

 We also went to Rockefeller Center and saw the big Christmas Tree and lights.

 Ryan and Vaden riding in the taxi.

 Saturday morning we went to Macy's Santa Land.

 Ryan waiting in line.

 The kids watching the trains while waiting in line to see Santa.

 Santa Claus.  Asher and Vaden were that sure about him once we actually got to him and wouldn't sit on his lap.

After Santa we went to the Empire State Building.  It was really windy and crowded.  I'm glad we were able to go but it's definitely hard with little kids.  

Update and Family Photos

  We don't have anything out of the ordinary going on.  Most of our days and weeks consist of going to the gym while the kids play at the kid's zone and Asher goes to his class:) We have playdates and go to our ward's playgroup.  We try to do the occasional kid-swap and go on a date or two every month. We go shopping and run errands.  The kids eat, nap, and refuse to be potty trained.  They also throw tantrums too, well Asher mainly does!  I guess the terrible two's have caught up to us full blast.  We used to go on walks and bike rides but since the weather had cooled we now play inside on their bikes and Little Tikes climber and slide or go to the mall to walk around and play at the playplace there.  We go to the library for story book time and I check-out books that I don't have time to read:)  Ryan, of course, works.  And I have an endless cycle of dishes, laundry and toys to clean up.  I slowly work on projects while thinking of a dozen more that I will never get to!  So life is busy and good and ordinary.

We had a family friend take our photos the other week.  It's always good to document what the kids look like since they grow so fast!

Asher (2 3/4 years)

Vaden (16 months)

Asher's action shot!  This is what he really looks like all the time- in motion.

This is what Vaden looks like half the time too.  She is a cuddler and is always hugging on us.  We love it!

The Family

Dad and son

Close-up

This is what so many of our photos look like.  Ryan and me smiling for the camera while juggling kids and just hoping for a shot of us all looking in the same direction.  Taking pictures of little kids is so hard!

Happy boy!  One of my favorite pics.

The best family picture.

Mom and Asher.  Of course we had to add this one.  I am sure he will be embarrassed about this one someday;)

Photo Update and More Halloween!

 I get to spend most of my days with the kids and sometimes we have fun with the camera:)  We took some selfies a few weeks ago.

 Asher and Mommy!

 Vaden and Mommy!

and of course the kids playing

 Asher loves the slide and he loves to let Vaden push him down the slide (though I don't know that she is much help as her arms are not very strong:)

 Vaden loves the slide also, but she is still too little to go down by herself.  She can climb up and sit on the slide (she never falls) but whenever she goes down by herself she goes too fast and crashes at the bottom.

 Of course that doesn't mean she likes us to help her.  She only wants help from mommy or daddy or to do it by herself.  I love that in this picture she is trying so hard to stay away from Asher.  Asher is a good helper to her though when she lets him.

Another Halloween Party!

 We were able to take the kids to a Halloween Party at their daycare at the gym.  They had a lot of activities and a haunted lab and a trick-or-treating route.

 Asher and Vaden made such cute super kids!

 They enjoyed being a part of all the activities and participated in what they could.

One of my favorite things about having kids is that they make the holidays so much more fun and are so fun to watch as they discover new things.

Happy Halloween!

 I love the fall season.  The weather is wonderful, it's harvest time, and the Holidays are abundant!  Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.

 I love dressing up!

 I love the candy and trick-or-treating.

 Vaden loved it too:)  I don't think she knew what was going on but she went from one trunk to the next and added a piece of candy to her stash at each stop.  She was slow but steady and so fun to watch.

 I don't know what Asher thought.  He would go and say 'trick-or-treat' and get candy but he was constantly running in the wrong direction and getting lost.  He had a great time and is excited about all the suckers he now has.

 I love decorating!

 Getting new ideas is so much fun and being able to use them is even better!

 I decorated for the ward party and I think it turned out really awesome.  (there are also orange Halloween lights strung across the gym, but are hard to see because they are not turned on yet).

 We even had ghosts to greet you in he hallways:)

 I love eating holiday food, and so does Vay.  Super-girl!

 Asher was less happy.  I think we was tired since he wouldn't take a nap earlier (his own fault), but such a cute superman!

 I love visitors!

Richard, Emily, Emily's brother Aaron, and their little dog too! came to visit.

I also love all the parties.  This was just the first one, more to come!

Happy Haunting!

15 Months Old

 Vaden is now 15-months-old.  She is growing so fast and learning so many new things.  She is such a sweet girl and we love watching her grow.

 Vaden's stats:

Height: 31 1/4 inches (74%)

Weight: 22 lbs. 7 oz. (68%)

Head Circumference: 18 3/4 inches (92%)

 She still only has 4 teeth, though she is working on 2 more right now.  She is learning to eat more and more and more... really she never stops eating.  Vay is our bottomless pit.  She loves to eat, especially carbs.  When she is sad or upset, if we feed her then she is immediately happy and all is better:)

She still loves shoes too.  She now likes wearing them on her feet, but will still put them on her hands to walk around.  She likes to wear her shoes and then put either Asher's or my shoes on over her shoes.

Yes, she is walking now!!!  A few weeks ago she started to walk and we are so happy to have her walking around.  She is still working on staying balanced and is learning slowly.  She is taking her time, but she is enjoying getting around like the rest of us.

She loves to play with Asher.  Asher is also learning to play with her more.  They are fun to watch and I am excited for when they are older and can truly appreciate each others friendships.  Of course they do still fight sometimes.  Asher plays a bit too rough with her and hugs her to the ground too.  She doesn't like this but does pretty well putting up with it and she is learning ways she can fight back.  She will scream a lot when Asher is wrestling her and she will bite too.  They constantly copy each other.  Vaden learns a lot from Asher as she is very observant and is learning to copy what we do.  She always folds her arms during prayers and at the table.  She waves goodbye, blows kisses, climbs on the couches, and so much more.  She doesn't talk yet, but she has a lot of baby babble going on.

Vaden has learned to be very helpful.  She knows what to do for so many things.  She brings us a diaper and lays down in front of us, she gets her shoes and sits on the steps and picks her feet up, she gets her jacket for us and turns backward so we can put it on her.  She catches on to things pretty quickly.  I love, love, love that I can tell her to do something (a small task she knows) and she does it.  This is the one of the most notable differences between her and Asher.  If I ask her to get something across the room, she will walk over and get it and bring it back.  Asher forgets about halfway across the room and runs off to play, or if he does make it across the room he doesn't remember what to get and starts guessing:)

Vay is still a cuddler.  She will give anyone a hug!  She is also learning to give kisses (though they are mouth wide open kisses).  She loves to be held and cuddled.  When she is upset, she wants to be held close and lay her head on my shoulder.  She is so fun to cuddle.  She likes to sit on my lap and read books, and play games, or eat a snack.  She is a happy girl and a joy to our family!