Family Reunion

Reunion

Black and White Days (which is only called that because of cows) was on Saturday in Richmond with all of Chris's side of the family. We went up early so Chris could help put up a fence, and Claire could spend time playing with her cousins. There is always a parade down the street that Grandpa Bell's house is on and we sit out in front to collect candy and wave at the people. Claire got the hand of staying off the street and picking up candy about half way through but Shay didn't like the honking and woke up. After the parade we eat the food that has been cooking in dutch ovens and smoker while enjoying the company of the rest of the extended family. There are always so many people to see and with two little girls needing attention I don't get to talk with anyone very long. It was still fun to all be together and we got a big family picture with everyone from Chris's family.

Claire

Our little Claire is just so cute sometimes that I can't explain it in writing or capture it in pictures but I always try and hope I'll remember these fun days. She has a sassy personality that she no doubt gets from her mother and is so smart when she wants something. She will bring me to the kitchen when she is in the mood for a snack and will show me to either the pantry for a number of different snacks, the fridge for milk, or the freezer for a Popsicle. She knows what she wants and I can only try to get her to say please instead of whine at me for not getting things fast enough for her. Her best word she can say is bye and she waves and blows kisses when she is saying bye too so if you ever see her make sure to get to her say good bye to you.

Shay

The happiness that comes out of this little one sometimes is heart warming! She coos and we've heard some giggles a few times when we make faces at her and show how much we love her. It is really fun when babies start interacting with you and getting more aware of their surrounds, hopefully Claire will be able to help make her laugh soon because that would be the icing on the cake. Shay is okay with tummy time when she's already in a content mood and will stay in it trying to lift her head and look around for a while. Once she gets annoyed though it's all over and the world better turn itself right side up again so I roll her back over and love on her. She has a sister that loves her already and can't wait for her to start being able to play with her.

Zoo

There was a chance to spend some time with family on Friday that we couldn't miss since some of them are about to live really far away! Chris's brother's family that lived in Washington is now moving to Missouri abut before they go out there they have been visiting around Idaho and now Utah where we have seen them a few times. We are trying to spend as much time as we can so when they were down here going to the Hogle Zoo we dropped our other plans for the day and joined them. Claire enjoyed all the statues and being able run around which made us grateful for the overcast day because there weren't a lot of people there. We saw a two very active leopards and a peacock that liked to show off, lots of birds in a bird show, and elephants being trained. It was all worth it and we were glad it didn't actually rain but was just slightly chilly

Mother's Day

Mother's Day

I remember when I used to live at home and my dad would get me a gift on Mother's Day because he knew I would be a mother some day. Now that I have two little cute girls I am so glad he showed me that being a mother is important to him and I can't wait for my kids to be big enough to try and make it special like I did for my mom. I think the best part was knowing I have so many loved ones that are around me and was able to have a great day even if I didn't get anything extravagant. I get to enjoy every day with my precious angels and I won't ever complain...out loud.

Claire

She is so funny sometimes with the way she entertains herself and destroys my house, and she is the reason I can't use some of the cabinets and drawers in my kitchen! I knew she was playing in there and walked into her sitting in the bottom drawer this week and then later she does her best to pull things out of the upper drawers and counter top. She is getting too tall to keep anything on the edge because she got a hold of some dirty butter knives and I've just grateful they weren't sharp. I don't know why this week was so bad with bruises and bumps, probably because we had planned to take some family pictures on Monday. Too bad I have a toddler who likes to run and trip over everything! Once she turned 1, I stopped counting months but in 3 months we will have a 2 year old on our hands! I think that is just so crazy.

Shay

She is still as precious as always and is getting better at sleeping a lot during the night and staying up during the day. I got blessed with the best sleepers! She is my little princess and her tiara was made by my mom a while ago so I should have had her wear it more. I'm just not good with doing my girls hair which is why Claire would ever wear stuff in her hair and doesn't like me doing it now! Already Shay was trying to shimmy off the headband by moving her head back and forth, but I just put it back on because it's cute. When I look back at pictures of Claire, I like seeing how they were similar but Shay is so much bigger! Shay is already outgrowing some of the newborn cloths and filling out the 3m size so I know she's going to catch up to her sister.

Outside is Beautiful!

Claire

We love spending time outside and we are trying to find more time and places to go so we have options when we start getting bored. Recently we went outside in the back yard and fed the horses on the other side of the fence with the grass that was growing too long. She loved helping me throw it across the fence line as I picked bunches but didn't want to get too close to the horses so I had to help clean up the rest. Chris and I are trying to find a temporary fence situation that can keep her from going under the broken part and in our backyard area. We also plan on buying a sprinkler and playing with our little pool when the days are warm this summer so she won't want to leave the back yard.

Shay

She has been really good about going to sleep as we walk to parks so I can play with Claire while she is sleeping with the stroller. I constantly go check on her but she loves her naps just like Claire did when I used to go to the indoor track and BYU-I. Sleeping at other times of the day don't go so well but she's good at sleeping at night and going back to sleep once her belly is full. I thought things would get a lot harder with two kids but it's find with me most the times and I constantly feel blessed by my perfect little babies. Shay also loves a swing at the gym because she sleeps the whole time we work out sometimes and it is so hard to wake her up to go home. They need to make a swing that a car seat can attach to so I don't have to unbuckle and re-buckle her when she's sleepy.

Traveling

We went to Blackfoot this weekend to visit with family and some of the friends we have there since Chris had drill this weekend. We were able to have two nights we went out for dinner with friends and played games or watched a movie. It is nice to have those kind of nights with people and it makes us want friends that are closer! I don't know why it is so hard to make good friends when you get out of high school especially ones that both parts of the couples can get along well. The thing we should do is start spending time with the family we have that is close so that we can get to know them and it won't be so bad if we eventually have to move. The thought of moving away makes it harder to want to be close friends with people here, but at least we have each other.