Lucy's 2nd Birthday!

Lucy turns two this Tuesday. We celebrated this past weekend and it was a blast. On Friday we went to the Kennecott Copper Mine's Visitor's Center. It is the largest man-made open pit or something like that. I took pictures but it doesn't do it justice. It was huge. I was terrified even being far from the edge. Lucy absolutely LOVED it because the visitor's center was all about rocks. She loves rocks. She cried when we left.

 This tire above goes to this truck below. The truck looked so tiny from where we were.

The next day we went to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. It was so much fun. Lucy was so excited to play with everything there. It kept her occupied for almost three hours before we got so bored we had to pull her away. My brother's family and my mom and dad also came. They made the experience even more enjoyable. My dad made me laugh so hard. He played more with those toys than the other children did.

We came home and napped for several hours. It was an exhausting day. That evening we all got together again for dinner, presents, and dessert. Once again, it was so much fun.

Lucy is continuing to learn so much. We have been working hard at teaching her to sit quietly when it's appropriate. We got her a little table and chair that we can practice at and I've been taking her to storytime at the library. Storytime has been a huge struggle but I'm sure if I keep taking her she'll get a hang of it. Today in church she sat quietly entertaining herself throughout all of our 3 PM sacrament meeting without any struggles.

Another huge step for her was giving up her bottle last week. I've been trying to do it for almost a year now. We had no choice last week when she got so sick that giving her a bottle to help her fall asleep just made her more nauseated. We survived that sleepless night and the next morning she discovered her bottle was "broken." She tried drinking out of it but it didn't work. So she said goodbye to her loved companion and threw it away. Anytime she asked for it I reminded her that they were "broken," "all gone," and they were in the garbage. She now falls asleep reading to herself and talking to herself about her day.

It is amazing how much she understands now. We can give her instructions she comprehends (although not always following them). We can explain consequences of actions and she'll understand and make her choices knowing what will and won't happen. She can reflect on her day and tell daddy all about it when he gets home. She tells him everything from what she ate, what "no-no"s she committed, who she played with, and where she went. She is a chatter box. When asked what her name/age is she responds correctly.

She keeps me on my toes. I'm constantly finding her getting into trouble. She loves Curious George and I think I know why. They are exactly the same! I think I need to have a one-on-one with the man in the yellow hat to exchange survival tips to help me get through the day.

I love my little girl who's not so little anymore. Happy birthday Lucy Love!

Easter

This year Lucy was old enough to participate in the Easter activities. It was fun to watch her. We dyed eggs using Kool-Aid packets and I thought it worked better than the kits you buy at the store. Plus, I didn't have to worry about Lucy eating it.

We made homemade Cadbury Creme Eggs. They are my favorite Easter candy but they are so expensive to buy at the store. I used this recipe and they turned out DELICIOUS!!! They aren't exactly egg-shaped but I didn't have a chocolate mold for them. I think it will be a yearly tradition.

Ben had Friday off of work. We spent the morning cleaning our lot from all of the tumbleweeds and construction debri. Then we went to McDonald's for dinner. Lucy had her first Happy Meal. She barely touched any of it because she found this structure instead.

Afterwards we went swimming. It was a fun evening.

On Easter Eve we had Lucy set out her Easter basket and we read her part of the Easter story. She loved finding a basket full of candy and going Easter egg hunting around the living room. After a morning full of candy we went to church. Lucy, once again, stayed dry the full three hours of church. I'm so glad I don't have to change anymore diapers!

It was a good Easter sunday. I feel like we are starting to be successful at creating good holiday traditions. Of course the important part of the holiday is that we remember our Savior. I am grateful for His love and that through Him I can return to my Heavenly Father and be with my family forever. We are truly blessed. Happy Easter!

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!