Party Time

We had our Birthday/Anniversary week and had a grand ol' time.

Tanner and I have been married for five whole years. Maybe the three children have something to do with it, but I feel like it's been so much longer than that...in a good way. I didn't know if Tanner would be off work early enough for us to do something but the doctor he was with let him go earlier than usual. I called our sweet neighbor last minute and she came over to watch Mariah and Chet so Tanner and I could go out for dinner. Austin was our chaperone.

The older I get and the longer we have been together the more grateful I am for the wonderful man I married. He gets me like no one else and no one can bring peace to my life like he can. With each new child I fall a little more in love with him. He loves others in such a pure way that inspires me and makes me want to be a better person. So basically he is pretty darn close to perfect and I love him.

And because I love him so much I wanted to do something extra special for him on his birthday. I got him tickets to a Real Soccer game for a couple weeks later. His birthday was on the Saturday of General Conference and because he went to Priesthood session with his dad we ended up eating his Strawberry Shortcake for lunch. Mariah and Chet were totally ok with that.

Two good lookin' guys right there. 

We had Tanner's sisters Natalie and Heidi watch the kiddos so we could go to the game. It was fun to get away just the two of us for a little while. And surprisingly I actually enjoyed myself. Live soccer is so much better than televised.

I'm gonna miss this state...

Go Team Go! Yeah, the ladies in the background were slightly obnoxious; but the family sitting next to us shared their peach rings and chocolate covered cinnamon bears with us so that made up for any negative vibes. 

Mariah had been so excited about her birthday. She came up with a list of who to invite all on her own and picked her own dessert too (chocolate cupcakes with white frosting and sprinkles) She was set on having an Easter egg hunt at her party. I told her that she would have several different hunts before her birthday so it probably wouldn't be that exciting. After a lot of convincing, she decided to paint rocks instead. She came up with it all on her own and it was a hit.

Painting the rocks...

Mariah and Maylie have such a sweet friendship. They love to hold hands and were so bummed when they didn't end up in the same sunbeam class together. 

Casey is another good friend from church who was in Mariah's dance class too. 

Max insisted on making a cake for Mariah's birthday so they brought it along for the party. He was so bummed when he realized he had forgotten her flower. So when we saw them this weekend he gave her another flower. These two are "going on a mission together" and are just the best of friends. 

After Tanner got home Mariah got her gifts from us. She got a play doctor set and bike.

I think she likes it. Chet is rifling through the Doctor kit in the background. 

Chet was pretty good about all the attention Mariah was getting until she got her gifts from us. Then he was pretty sad. But he started feeling better once he started planning his birthday...which is six months away. But he already knows he will be painting rocks and it will be at Max's house. I don't have the heart to tell him that max with be 22 hours away from us by that time. So we talk about his birthday every day.

Happy Birthday to some of my favorite people.

My Four Year Old

Guys, we have a four year old...that sweet little miss with the wispy curls and chubby cheeks is four! I really don't know how it happened. We did another interview just to see how Mariah has changed in the past year.

Mom: What is your favorite color?
Mariah: Blue (Tanner and I's favorite color as well. She didn't really have a choice.)

Mom: What is your favorite food?
Mariah: Lunch Meat and Cheese Sandwich (She requests this quite often but always follows up with, "but no cheese, and don't forget the mayonnaise and mustard" and she usually just eats the lunch meat and a few bites of the bread. So yeah, her "favorite food".)

Mom: What is your favorite animal?
Mariah: Horse (Obviously I was pretty happy about that one)

Mom: What is your favorite book?
Mariah: Peter Rabbit (All about the classics)

Mom: What is your favorite movie?
Mariah: Watching The Fox and the Hound (As long as mom or dad are around to reassure her that the bear isn't going to eat anyone)

Mom: What is your favorite song?
Mariah: Mm Mm Went the Little Green Frog (Aunt Heather recorded herself singing it, per Mariah's request, and Mariah and Chet could listen to it over and over)

Mom: What is your favorite dessert?
Mariah: Ice Cream

Mom: What do you like to do for fun?
Mariah: Play outside

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?
Mariah: For you to paint those things that I painted. (sun catchers, thanks Max for that Birthday present)

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?
Mariah: Well he sleeps and I play. (Tanner: "that stinks" Ha! Tanner does a lot of fun stuff with her so I'm guessing she is talking about when he pretends like he is asleep and she climbs all over him and he randomly will grab her.)

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Chet?
Mariah: While he rides on his tricycle and I ride my bicycle. (Not my most favorite thing, pretty sure I could get where we are going faster if I were crawling.)

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Austin?
Mariah: When daddy's holding him and when he smiles at me.

Mom: Who is your best friend?
Mariah: Chet (This made me so happy!)

Cutting Chet's hair with a block.

Look at the boy, who wouldn't want to be best friends with him?

Mom: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Mariah: A Teenager (She filled out a little questionnaire for her primary and that is what she said then too. I actually think she has that one mostly covered. But the other day she told me: "Mom I don't want to be a teenager when I grow up, I want to be a doctor like Grandma." My mom is an EMT and apparently that left a greater impression on her than the four years her father has been training to become a doctor. Children...)

A couple days ago Mariah fell off the kitchen counter and split her head open. We went to an Instacare to get it stapled back together. Mariah was so brave. At the beginning the nurses were cleaning the cut out and I could tell it was hurting her. After they left she said, "I thought I was going to cry but then I didn't." I was pretty nervous about them numbing it because I have had stitches twice and that always hurts pretty bad. And Mariah usually won't even let me clean her scraped knees because she thinks it hurts too bad, she's just a tad dramatic. Mariah just wanted me standing by her and she didn't make a sound even though I could tell it was hurting her. Five staples later she is acting like nothing ever happened. Moral of the story...always let strangers handle the injuries. 

This girl is such a good mixture of tom boy and princess. She loves to dance around the house and pretend to be a fairy and doesn't ever want her hair cut because "it's so pretty" but she also can hold her own with the boys. Last night she was playing football with Chet and also playing the role of sportscaster: "And Gaston (her football alter ego) has the ball!" Probably not the best activity the day after getting staples in your head. 

Now that I'm a mother I feel bad for the oldest in the family. They are the Guinea Pig and have to deal with all the foibles of a first time parent. But in spite of our mess ups, Mariah is so wonderful. I love her bigger than life personality and the love that just oozes out of her. Happy Birthday Baby Love!

Now I might just go cry a little...

Spring! Spring! Spring!

If you read this title and immediately began singing it, you may be as big of a fan of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers as I am. And you are probably as excited for spring as we are. We have had a busy busy last couple weeks.

We went to the jump park and these kiddos had a blast. I'm kicking myself for not going more often during the long winter months. Also, this was the first accident Mariah has had and I conveniently happened to be nursing Austin. The look on Tanner's face when he came to tell me what had happened...priceless.

We got to have an Easter Egg hunt with some Med School buddies. It was wonderful to get to see friends that we haven't seen for almost two years. And Mariah and Chet loved their first hunt of the season.

 He sticks out his tongue to concentrate just like me. 

 Later that day Brittany and I went down to Provo for our cousin Allie's baby shower. It was wonderful spending time with family for a little while. We then met up with Tanner, Mariah, Chet and some friends to visit some farm animals.

 Seth wasn't digging the close proximity to the goose, can't say that I blame him. 

Mariah had her first ever dance recital and loved it. I was wondering how she would handle the pressure of being on the stage in front of a big crowd but she did great. I don't think stage fright kicks in until they get a little older.

 She did this pose all on her own. 

 A dance class of 3 and 4 year olds...their teacher is a saint. 

At the end of the recital, each student got to pick a member of their family to come up on the stage and dance with them. I think Chet was a little overwhelmed but after sitting through an hour and half of dances he was just happy to get up and moving. 

Our community had an Easter Egg hunt the Saturday before Easter. They divided the kids up into age groups so Tanner stayed with Chet and I was with Mariah. After Chet was done I thought I might have time to bring Austin to Tanner so I could help Mariah but as I was walking away they started the 3 and 4 year olds. When I finally found Mariah I saw her picking up an egg and shaking it by her ear. Since she didn't hear anything she threw it down on the ground and kept going. Little did she know that some eggs had papers with numbers on them coordinating with prize tables. She just figured they were duds. She didn't get nearly as many eggs as Chet because of it. As Tanner said, "The one time where her intelligence got the best of her." 

And look! An Easter bunny that doesn't look like it is going to eat the children. Chet even got close for a picture. And he wore his superman cape all day long. 

Here he is at Yalmart (walmart). You never know when a life may need to be saved. 

We got to bless Sweet Austin the next day. Tanner gave a beautiful blessing. We were able to have a lot of family here as well.

Seriously...this boy slays me. 

Love these two. 

The best family photo we could get. I'm going to miss the view out our front door. 

I can't think of a better way to spend Easter than with family. Tanner's brother Ty took the kids on an Easter scavenger hunt where he talked a lot about the different events and symbolism around Easter. I am so grateful that because of my Savior I can be with my family forever. What a blessing it is to know that my Redeemer lives!