Plum Tuckered Out!

So I put Tanner down for his nap this morning and of course he started crying the minute I put him in his crib. Thankfully today it only lasted for a couple of minutes (we had a day last week where the screaming and crying went on for almost an hour). About 20 minutes later I felt like I needed to go check on him (I kept having these visions of him having fallen out of his crib and laying on the floor). So I snuck in as quietly as I could, and this is what I found. (I'm not sure the picture really does this justice, but I'm standing so that the camera is right above his head.) When I'd put him in his crib he sat right up (not unusual for him!) and he fell asleep siting up with his forehead resting on the bars of his crib/the bumper pad. After taking a couple of pictures I laid him down and helped him to get more comfortable so that he could take a decent nap! Poor guy, to be so tired you can't even lay down!

Happy Easter!

We had such a fun Easter! I was determined to not let Easter slide by un-noticed, since it came just a couple of days after Kiersten's birthday and the day after her party. So we started the festivities the week before . . .Nate gave a good FHE lesson on Easter and the Resurrection Monday night, then Tuesday we had our Easter party in preschool (which I was in charge of), then Easter parties in dance on Wednesday(Kiersten's birthday), Easter treats for our playgroup friends on Thursday, dying eggs Friday night, the ward Easter egg hunt Saturday morning (and her party that afternoon), and of course Easter baskets Sunday morning! Hmmm, as I read this I'm beginning to wonder if I went a little overboard! We didn't need to do something Easter every day of the week! Oh well, maybe next year I'll remember to tone it down some.

Kiersten's main excitement for Easter was getting to wear her new church shoes. A couple of months ago she started complaining that her shoes hurt her feet and she would cry when I would make her wear socks to church (I didn't think much of the tears - there's always lots of drama in our life!), so I checked and realized that her shoes really were tight. So we went out looking and she found a pair that she really liked. Unfortunately they were more than I wanted to spend on shoes, so I told her we had to wait until they went on sale. She was ok with waiting, which surprised me since patience is not one of her strong points. They finally went on sale, so we rushed out to get them, and then didn't have church the next week (General Conference). So, Easter Sunday was her first chance to wear them and she was so excited. She was sure that everyone would tell her what pretty shoes she had on.

Tanner, on the other hand, is not in his Easter suit. For Christmas Grandma and Grandpa Berrett had given him the cutest suit that is just now starting to fit him. I was so excited for him to wear it - it has a cute little bow tie and everything! I got him dressed 10 minutes before we needed to leave for church (which is our typical routine on Sundays, and even then he usually manages to spit up on his outfit before we get to church!). I walked out of the room for just a couple of minutes and when I came back to get him to take a quick picture I realized that he had messed his diaper (which I had just changed!) and it had managed to leak onto his shorts. I know he didn't do it on purpose, but I was so mad at him for ruining my picture, and for making us late to church (but more for ruining the picture!) that I was in such a bad mood by the time I got to church! Oh well, there's always next week for his picture in his Easter suit!

Happy Birthday to our Little Princess!

It's hard to believe that on April 8th our little Kiersten turned 4 years old! Really, it's more like she's been 3 going on 16 than just 4, or at least that's what she thinks! She was sure that when she woke up on the morning of her 4th birthday she would be all grown up. We have tried and tried to explain to her that she grows a little each day and that she won't ever see a big change over night. I don't think she gets it, because on the morning of her birthday she told me that she could tell that she was taller than when she went to bed!

Kiersten trying out her new bike from Mom and Dad on her birthday.

A girl can never have too many shoes! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Larsen. Notice the princess locket she's wearing, compliments of Grandma and Grandpa Berrett.

For her birthday she wanted a princess party. In fact she has been very specific for the last 6 months - she wanted a princess party with a princess pinata! So we had just that - a princess party with a princess pinata! Everyone came dressed up in their favorite princess dress (Kiersten had a hard time deciding which dress to wear, but in the end Sleeping Beauty won out over Cinderella. I was pleased for one reason - the long sleeves of this dress hid her red, long-sleeved Christmas shirt she insisted on wearing that day!). We played some princess games (our Sleeping Beauty game ended early when one of the girls started eating the apple they were supposed to be hiding and finding!),

had a princess pinata,

a princess cake
(although Kiersten told me later that I should have decorated it to look like Sleeping Beauty instead of Cinderella because, even though Cinderella is her favorite, this doll looked more like Sleeping Beauty because her hair was not in a bun like Cinderella's),

and lots of princess fun!

Standing Up

Tanner has a new "trick" - stand up in his high chair! The little stinker is so skinny that he can wiggle around in the high chair even when the try pushed in as far as it can go and he has the seat-belt on (something we never even used with Kiersten!). I think we're going to be trading in our current high chair for one with a 5-point harness (the kind with shoulder straps!). Nate thinks that if we just wait a little longer, until he gets a little bigger, that he won't be able to wiggle out and stand up. I think he's a wiggly little monkey who will always be pulling stunts like this.

Unfortunately, it's hard to be stern with him when he's standing up. I can't help but melt at that cute smile!

Oh, and tooth number 2 finally poked through today, and I still have yet to get a good shot of his teeth. He'll show off his teeth until the second he thinks someone actually wants to see them and then he covers them with his tongue! Someday . . . !

Silly Boy!

Tanner was so cute playing with Nate the other day. Tanner's laugh made the rest of us laugh, and before long we were all laughing so hard over nothing more than a bowl falling off of Nate's head!

My little diva!

So the other day I asked Kiersten to go get her shoes on because we needed to get ready to go somewhere. She was gone quite a few minutes, and this is how she returned, all decked out and ready to go! I'm not sure why she put the gloves on, or the boa (which she calls her scarf, something she was introduced to in Utah when we were there over Christmas and it was FREEZING!) because it was in the mid-80's that day! After we took a couple of pictures I sent her back to her room to get ready for real . . . as in put shoes on that she's allowed to wear outside!

I don't know where she gets it! :)

Grandma and Grandpa Berrett's Visit

Two weeks ago my parents came out to visit. They were so sweet and had suggested that while they were here Nate and I make plans for some time away. (If it were just my dad making that offer, I would think it was because he didn't want to see me, just the grandkids. Since it was coming from my mom, I think she was worried about my sanity!) Sadly, Nate and I had 24 kid-free hours, and all we did was: drive, shop for Kiersten and Tanner, drive some more, eat (a really good lunch at Maggiano's; well, at least my lunch was really good), drive, go to the temple, eat (we decided Cafe Rio isn't all that if you're still full when you begin eating, but since it was in the plan . . .!), shop for Kiersten (her birthday is coming up and it was the only chance we'd have to shop together without her!), read/watch TV, sleep (well, Nate did, but I never sleep well somewhere other than my own bed!), eat, and drive home. We really know how to paint the town red, don't we? :)

When we got home we discovered that my parents must be our church good luck charm. First of all, we have church from 2-5 , so I'm not exaggerating when I say that I dread church. I do not think a mother with young kids would ever inflict that on anyone. We had a nice surprise though - our bishop decided that you can't have church with no working bathrooms and so ended church an hour early! (One set of restrooms were closed for remodeling, and the other was having major sewer problems.)

Kiersten and Tanner with Grandma and Grandpa after Church. Notice the big smiles. Although, I don't think their smiles compare with Mom's!


Later that evening we had Family Home Evening with Grandma and Grandpa. Kiersten insisted on playing the opening song, but instructed us not to sing until she finished playing the "instructions." Thankfully she told us what song we were singing so we didn't have to figure it out from her playing!

The next morning we headed out to the Desert Museum. Before my parents arrived, Nate and I had been talking about fun things we could do with them. One of the things we talked about was the Desert Museum. I think the word "museum" caught Kiersten's attention since she loves the Children's Museum so much, and so she figured that this one would be just as fun. So she was very insistent that we go to the Desert Museum. Unfortunately for her, I don't think it turned out to be quite what she had in mind, but we all managed to enjoy ourselves at some point!

I should be sure to point out that Kiersten dressed and accessorized herself for our outing! I can't take any credit for what she's got on, other than not wanting a fight as we went out the door. My personal favorite is the ring on her finger with the HUGE hot pink stone!

Kiersten didn't want to wear sunscreen that day. So Nate gave her 2 options: she could let me put some on her, or he'd hold her upside down while I put some on her. You can tell what she choose. And, while she still didn't want any on, she was laughing too hard to put up much of a fight.

Tanner had a rough morning (this was the day his first tooth finally made its appearance), and was really happiest when he was asleep!

The whole gang. (Tanner is asleep in the green stroller - if you look close, you might see him!)