March 2019

This march we experienced extreme seasons starting with a huge blizzard where our new car got stuck 3 times in the snow and then beautiful sunny weather in Florida, and then coming home to hopefully the last snow storm this year. But thanks to the snow we were finally able to build a snowman. Jefferson had been asking all winter and the snow just wasn't quite right. We made a mountain of snow in the park and Carter did his first sledding. The next couple days all of the snow had melted and we had a park day and Carter experienced the swing for the first time. He liked it but not with the same enthusiasm as Jefferson the first time he went in the swing. We celebrated St. Patrick's day with Mom and Dad Dennis with yummy corn beef and cabbage and then Carter and I went off to Florida for spring break. We loved every bit of our trip in Florida. Carter met his Florida family including his second cousin Caleb who is just 3 weeks younger than him. We ate delicious seafood and spent an afternoon at the beach. Carter was hesitant with the waves at first but then started lifting his legs in expectation to jump the wave. He loved the sand and got it all over. This beach is so special to me because it's the beach I would go to with my grandma, and it is where I was when we found out we were going to be able to adopt Jefferson. It's where Jefferson first met the ocean and now where Carter first met the ocean. We had such a beautiful time and Carter did great on the plane. So grateful to my Aunt Ann and cousin Angela for carting us around and hosting us! Carter was so excited to see his dada and Jefferson when we came home. Jefferson is pretending and building and creating and being such a great big brother. We started a kindness warm fuzzy jar this month and he is being such a great little helper around our home filling up his jar with warm fuzzies.

February 2019

This February things were going smoothly in our home with creating a ball pen for Carter, preschool soccer, Valentines cookie decorating with grandparents, and a trip to visit pop pop at work, until February 15th. The night of February 15th I was in a huge car accident and our sweet little 2007 Mazda 3 is no more. Everyday we are grateful that given the severity of the accident (hit by 5 different cars on a highway in the snow) that that is the only thing permanently damaged. We now have a 2017 Mazda 3 and are moving up with the times with a smart car. After starting to recover from the car accident our home was hit with the stomach flu which wiped us all out at one point or another for the next couple weeks. We had a short reprieve for my birthday week and celebrated with birthday shopping,breakfast and icecream. We ended the month with some fun Utah gymnastics games with cousins. Our little 8 month old discovered a new favorite toy- a deflated helium balloon. He played with his valentines balloon for hours. His other favorite thing is shoving straps, cords, sweatshirt draw strings and especially socky socks into his mouth. He loves to play with Jefferson and especially chase him around (with the help of his dada). We are counting our blessings he is such a good sleeper- even with 6 teeth and counting. His older brother is a good little helper and is in the magic world of pretend. He has created by now 5 different HQ's (headquarters) in the house with elaborate boats and ramps and towers to take his cars on missions to "save the day." He is getting more and more fun to play with. Carter loves to just watch him and is happy to participate as a side kick/bad guy when needed. In our kitchen we have a sign that was in the house when we bought it- Every day holds a possibility of a Miracle. How true that has been for our lives, and this month we are so grateful for the everyday miracle of health and safety.

January 2019

January...lots of playing inside this month, because...winter. A few bouts of getting sick (thankfully only Jefferson), so lots of cuddles and movies and a few firsts. Carter had his first baby food and LOVES it. Jefferson celebrated his graduation from pull ups at night with his first adventure at a trampoline park. Carter tried out his jumper and LOVES it- he is our jumping little bug. Jefferson put all of his puzzles together- he has quite a few and on one snowy day built a castle cave with a lot of cups. We went to a Chinese New Year party and Dixie and Jefferson had a blast. We discovered some new Asian restaurants by us- yum. We have gotten back in the swing of going to the gym but Brad does his own home workout on snow days with all that shoveling. Carter is 7 months and loves to eat, jump, and watch Jefferson play. He still isn't showing lots of interest in being mobile, just content to snuggle. Jefferson is 4 years old and discovered Paw Patrol this month. All of his play now centers around "paw patrol to the rescue." He has given all of us paw patrol names. He keeps us laughing and smiling.