Mommy-buddy Date

Brandt had to go to the dentist for his first fillings yesterday, so I decided to get a little one-on-one time in and make a date of it. He's been really struggling with his behavior in the past week or so and we thought maybe he just needed some extra attention. He was so excited for our date and called my mom and dad the night before to see if we could "borrow papa's tractor to drive to our date." :) Date day dawned early as we had to be there at 8 am for his appointment, but he was up bright and early and ready to roll. Once we got there he decided that he didn't need to see Dr. Weston because he "already swallowed the sugar bugs and they went down to mine tummy and down mine leg." After finally talking him into going in, Dr. Weston numbed him up. He did so great for the shot and I was so proud of him! And then.... he refused to let them fix his cavity. I was so bummed that he made it through the hard part and then wouldn't let Dr. Weston do anything after that. Then we went to get his hair cut so he could look handsome for our date. Bombed out on that one as well! Only got a half a cut in before he was ready to be done and was even throwing hair at the girl trying to cut it. That doesn't make for a very happy mommy! I almost called it quits at that point and took him home, but thankfully I stuck it out because the remainder of the day was wonderful! After a good talk about how to behave, he had almost perfect behavior in the grocery store with only one reminder. Then we hit the library. They have the funnest computers for little ones with touch screens so he could play the games without having to work the mouse. We saved the best for last and went to Studebaker's for cheesy sticks- a favorite for both of us. It was so much fun! As we were pulling out he said, "that was a fun date mom, let's do it again!" I agree buddy, minus the dentist and haircut. And the rest of the day was wonderful as well. He napped, was nice to baby, kept his underwear dry, and mostly minded me, which were some of the things we'd been having problems with, so I'm so thankful we continued with our date despite the mishaps in the beginning. I think we'll definitely be making mommy-buddy dates a regular habit!

Family Pictures

Bryce's grandma Leah Thompson passed away on Mother's Day this year and her funeral was on May 15th. She was always so sweet to us and Brandt especially loved going to visit her. She often didn't know his name and I'm not so sure she knew who we were, but always seemed happy to see us and loved Brandt's hugs. When we got to her viewing, Brandt was asking questions about her of course, but it made me feel like I must be teaching something right when he said she's in Heaven with Heavenly Father and Jesus now. He was so, so good during the funeral, which isn't typical of him, so we were pretty proud of him. At the cemetary he stood right by Rylie and never ran around once like he usually would. Afterwards all of the great-grandkids let go of balloons. Brandt was fine with that until late the next night when he cried and wanted his balloon back. Um, oops, too late buddy! :) Since we were all dressed up, we asked Maleri to do a couple pictures of the kids and our family.
I love the ones of Brandt and Kylie. They're both way more photogenic than I am, that's for sure.

It was windy and freezing cold, but neither one of them complained about it. Thank goodness Mal's a quick picture taker. :)

I think this is my favorite family pic.

Poor Kylie's dress was coming up in front of her face more and more and we never realized it until we were done.

I love all of Brandt's different smiles and faces he pulls. He loves Maleri and would probably cheese it for her all day. Thanks Mal!

Happy Birthday Buddy

Brandt turned 3 on May 4th. Just like every other mother out there I'm sure, I just keep wondering where the time has gone. It seems like he has grown up so fast (and not just because he's so huge for his age.)
For months and months Brandt said that he wanted to have a Curious George cake like last year. He couldn't be persuaded so I just planned on doing that and figured that would be easy since I already had everything to do it with. Then...about 4 days before his birthday he decided he wanted a Buzz and Woody (or Moody as Brandt says) cake. After a couple days of panic, Bryce ended up in Logan with a friend and found these toy story figures that I could use. It then took me 2 tries to get a cake made that would work (yes, I struggle) and then it still didn't end up perfect like I wanted it, but it was worth all the stress cause buddy loved it.

Brandt also wanted a pizza party at the park, so we braved the cold winds in order to grant his birthday wish.

My grandparents even insisted on coming instead of us going to visit them afterward. I think they froze but they didn't complain too much.

Kylie peeking out at Amanda Jean, who had lots of fun even though her little nose and hands were bright red and ice cold.

Patiently waiting for pizza. Adrie, Kaylen, Riley, Brandt, and Emmalea peeking over her car seat in the back.

Brandt's favorite food; cheesy sticks from Studebaker's. He can down 1/2 an order of them by himself!

The Thompson family (at least some of them.)

And the Pugmire side.

Brandt insisted on putting his own candles on his cake.

What a cutie!

Make a wish!

Then on to all the presents. It took a lot longer this year 'cause he wanted to stop and play with everything he opened instead of moving on to the next one.

Yay for new boots!

Another favorite, Buzz Lightyear from Gma and Gpa Thompson.

It's so much fun to watch his facial expressions and excitement when he's opening stuff.

He is obsessed with taking pictures so we found him his own camera. ($3 at Family Dollar, gotta love that!)

After he opened it, I had a hard time getting any pictures of him without it.

He had so much fun playing at the park and didn't care about how cold it was one bit.

Entertaining himself with his new birthday toys while I fed sister and we waited with Jana to get her car broken into by the cops (accidentally locked keys in car with Amanda Jean; oops:)

And one more shot with his camera...

Brandt was a typical 3 yr old all day and naughty, naughty clear until his party and then he was so good. He ended up having a great time playing with his cousins and eating pizza. What an amazing, funny, busy, and cute boy he is and we're so blessed to have him in our family. Happy birthday Brandt buddy! I love you this much!!

Princess Kylie

The first time I got Kylie all dressed up in a dress, Brandt said "Aw mom, she looks like a princess!" He now calls her Princess Kylie whenever she's in a dress.

Kylie at 1 mo old.

The beautiful blankie that she's on was made for her by a friend who cleaned the Dr office.

This cream dress is beautiful and fancy enough to be a blessing dress; Bryce's sister Tara and her family gave it to her. It's going to be a sad day when she outgrows it, and I'm afraid that day is coming soon.

BIG yawns. That's how I feel after church and pictures, too!

Almost 6 wks old. This was taken at Mckenzie's baby blessing. Wish you could see all her curls behind the huge flower. :)

She's always right at home in grandma's arms, thank goodness since that's where she spends most of her days while I'm working.

Grandma and grandpa with Kylie.

Brandt picked the perfect name for her when he calls her Princess Kylie. She is such a good baby!

Brandt at almost 3 yrs old and Kylie at almost 1 mo old and after her first church experience. Both kids were hungry and ready to be done

She rarely cries unless she's starving and being bugged by her brother; most of the time only when both happen at the same time. She's so patient and will wait for a long time to eat if I can't get to her right away. She already puts up with a lot from Brandt and only screams at him sometimes. She's finally getting her sleep schedule adjusted so that she sleeps more at night and less during the day and will sometimes even sleep 8-9 hours. I could spend all day holding her, looking at her beautiful little face, and watching her different facial expressions, especially now that she's starting to coo and smile a lot more.

Baby Kenzie's Blessing

Kevin and Kelli had their baby blessed and given the name Mckenzie Payne on May 2nd at their home in Cokeville. It was a gathering of immediate family and was a special day.
Kelli and baby Kenzie. She wore Kelli's baby blessing dress and used the blankie that my Grandma Bodily made for Kelli.

Amanda Jean with one of her many "looks." So dang cute!

The boys (Brandt and Rylie) had fun playing with Rylie's toys.