Ben's 27th Birthday!

Ben is 27 years old! That seems so old to me considering we started dating when he was 21. He has been such a blessing to me. I am so glad I can be his wife. He works so hard for our family and not just at his job. He is helpful around the house and takes very good care of me and Lucy. He is kind, hardworking, funny, dedicated to the Gospel, and pretty much awesome!

We started out his birthday celebrations last week by going and picking up his gun. He has already gone shooting with it a couple of times. Here he is putting it together.

We also went to Red Robin for our birthday dinner tradition! We love the food, the service, and the price!

On the day of his birthday we went to go see the Hunger Games. I'm glad it followed the book but overall it didn't have enough depth for me. You need to read the book to feel the emotion of it all. My favorite scene, BY FAR, was when Katniss and Peeta debuted themselves as "on fire" and rode into the opening ceremonies on a chariot. The special effects were so bad that Ben and I busted up laughing at how awful it was. I leaned over and asked him if the film was made in the ninties.

I spoiled him with a golf themed day. I left him these little gifts around the house.

Lucy was SO EXCITED to eat dinner!

Here he is with his presents.

His big gift was a pass for 10 rounds of golf. I love this picture because it shows just how surprised he was to recieve it.

He also got a cute little note all about golf. Here he is reading it.

(All credit for the creativeness of this note goes to thedatingdivas.com . Thanks for the ideas!)

He also got a pull cart for golf!



My friend suggested I make a golf-themed cake also. So I did my best and am so glad she thought of the idea (Thanks Tati!).

I went all out this year but let's just say he deserved every bit of it, and more! Thank you for all that you do and Happy Birthday sweetheart!

On a side note, Lucy is out of her rear facing infant carseat now! We got her a big girl seat last week!

Lucy at 22 months

(Candids are the only way I can catch this kid's smile)

Lucy has learned so much lately. I was reflecting on it today thinking how I should record these things down. She talks a lot. I counted a couple months ago and at the time she said over 70 words. I haven't counted how many words she says currently but I'm sure it's well over a hundred. She's brilliant. She learns a new word every day just by listening to us talk. The other day in sacrament meeting there was a baby blessing. As the father and baby were going back to their seat Lucy shouted, in the very quiet room, "Baby! Baby!" As they sat down she threw her arms up and shouted "Where'd it go? Where'd it go!?" It was hilarious. She does things like this all the time. She can combine words together to make choppy, but understandable, sentences.

Another huge accomplishment is potty training. I tried potty training about a month ago and it was a disaster. I gave up and soon learned that it wasn't that she couldn't do it. Instead, she didn't want to do it when mommy was asking her to do it. Typical two year old, right? We're in the process of potty training again and she's doing great. She has very few accidents. She has started to tell me when she needs to go and takes the initiative to head towards the bathroom. She fully understands the process and I'm sure with a matter of time her practice will make perfect. I am so proud of her.

Lucy loves babies. She loves taking care of her dolls and stroking the hair of any nearby baby. Lucy also is definitely a feminine girl. She loves getting her nails painted and showing them off to other girls. She loves her bracelets, necklaces, and bows. She also loves to dance. Recently, she has made the connection between dresses and dancing. When pretty music comes on she runs to her closet and asks to put on a dress. Hence, in this video, she is wearing a dress on a random Tuesday morning.

Even though she's a girly girl she's also tough. She loves to climb. She likes to be thrown around and teased. According to the nursery leaders, she's the only kid in nursery that has never cried. But that's surprising. Especially when this is what happens whenever I try to get a smiling picture of her....

She really wanted to hold the camera.

Lucy also loves movies. She watches lots of Disney movies and Elmo's World. She loves books, food, and naps. She pretends to talk on the phone a lot. She is learning her animal sounds. She loves to repeat the alphabet and numbers back to Daddy. She loves bubbles and baths and would be ecstatic if I ever combined the two. She loves kisses. She loves to help me in the kitchen. She jumps around the house a lot.  Lucy's a really good kid. She brilliant and a happy ball of energy.

"YAY!"