A little late.....and early

Well, it has been a while! Probably like everyone else, I am busy doing last minute Christmas shopping. I am pretty prepared this year, but there is always a few things I forget about. Like the stocking stuffers. I always seem to wait until the last minute to buy tons of useless things as I check out of the grocery store. Somehow, Ike always does an awesome job and I am left to wonder how he does it. There is so much more that a man can buy for a girl, so this must make it easier.....although I do have to say that Ike is a pretty thoughtful guy. Lucky me!

Anyways....with December being such a crazy month, I failed to do the "happy birthday" post on Ike's birthday- am I a terrible wife or what? And with our 7 year anniversary right around the corner I felt like he deserved a little space on my blog. Seriously, how did I get so lucky......


Christmas gifts keep arriving to my front door that he won't let me look at or open.

He is the bestest of the bestest of dads out there. He is always willing to read Luke and Max book after book.....after book!


He lets Luke play with his I-phone AND watch Yo-Gabba Gabba on the t.v at the same time! If that isn't love, I don't know what is!

He taught Max how to say the word "star" which sounds like "sta". In this picture they are looking at one of the 10 stars spread throughout our family room because of Christmas decorations.


He likes to kiss me and hold my hand.


He doesn't ever complain if the house is dirty.....I guess I should say he usually won't complain. I guess I mean, he won't complain if there are clean bottles and sippy cups in the cupboard, and clean underwear in the drawers. But really, only then!

He gives 100% to everything he does. Between his job, his calling, his second job, being a daddy, and helping others, he is always there for me no matter what.


He builds the coolest snowmans with Luke, with baseballs bats and rakes as the arms and a Frisbee as a hat. Awesomeness.

He loves me even when I cry over nothing....and he apologizes even when he does nothing wrong. I guess he has just learned that there are often times when my emotions are a little screwed up.

He took me to see "4 Christmases" on his birthday instead of the "something bond" movie he had wanted to see.

He has the biggest brownest eyes that I love so much. I love these eyes so much indeed, that his next birthday, Christmas & anniversary gifts for the next few years will be paying off his Lasik to fix those puppies!

And lastly, not because that is all I can think of, but because it is late and I have get to bed....


He is my dream come true. I can't believe how happy I am right now in my life. I am so blessed to be his wife and to spend forever with him.

I love you Ike!

{Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, and Happy Anniversary!}

He is already that old

Yes, my Luke is 3 years old and growing fast before my eyes. I had no clue that he knew how to actually draw something, I mean, other than scribbles. So, a few days ago I gave him a pen and paper to keep him busy, and he showed me a few minutes later a picture that looked kind of like a person. I asked what it was and he said it was a picture of daddy. Pretty cool eh? It looks just like him! JK- but he did draw him tall, so that was right on. Notice the zig-zags for the fingers and toes, and the legs and arms coming out of the heads. Why is it that every kid always starts drawing people this way- I find this very interesting indeed. I can't believe my little man is old enough to draw something- he better be careful when he draws me- I am scared to see what he might come up with!

Oh, and he does take requests at a small cost.

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Here is Max before

Yes, I know he is adorable with that stylin' comb-over do. But, he is becoming a big boy now, so it was time for a big boy hair-cut.

Here is Max during

and finally, here is Max after

Could he have gotten any cuter...I didn't know it was possible. Thanks to Aunt Kim for doing such a great job- I think he loves it, as do I. Bye Bye little baby, and Hello BIG BOY!

me me me me me me me

7 random and amazingly cool facts about ME…thanks for the Tag Jen C., I finally am doing it!

{1} I LOVE to sleep. I won't get Max out of his crib before 8:00 a.m. unless he is crying. If he is happy in his crib, he will have to stay put until 8! And Luke- that is a different story, but he has been sleeping later lately and has adjusted to the time change quite nicely. 3 cheers for SLEEP!

{2} Right now, my favorite song is called "Come on get higher" by Matt Nathanson. Anyone else know this song? When it comes on in the car I turn it way up and sing my heart out. Nothing else matters when this song is on...kind of dangerous I guess....maybe I should just pull over and wait to drive until I am back on the ground. I have even caught Luke singing along and singing it while coloring. So cute!

{3} I have eaten healthy for over two weeks now and exercised 10 of the 14 days! Whoohoo!

{4} I hate to call Doctors for appointments. I make Ike call the Dentist, because if I had my way I would never go- maybe because I always have cavities, and maybe that means I need to floss more. Do I have bad teeth, or just bad dental hygiene? That is a good question....

{5} I absolutely love oats-n-chocolate fiber-one bars. I have worked my way up to 2 bars a day. I started with a half bar and am now proud to say that I am perfectly capable of handling 2 entire bars. It has taken about a year to get to this point, so please don't try this if you are not yet ready- if you know what I mean.....

{6} I am left handed and proud of it! That means I am really smart, right?

{7} I dream all of the time that I am a smoker. The dream feels so real and I wake up feeling totally guilty and full of regret. Now that was random.

Tags to you all!

who are these people?

My parents had their Annual Halloween Party this week and we all had to dress up...here is what we all came up with.

Who is that green faced weirdo? (not Luke)...it is me! Everyone kept staring at me all night because I looked so creepy. I had to stare at myself a few times as well when I passed by a mirror as it didn't look like me at all. It was a pretty awesome make-up job if I do say so myself! Luke was pretty cute as the Hulk and showed off his muscles pretty well and Max made a darling little monkey. And then there is Ike, the Hamburgler. What a crazy looking family!

At the party we played lots of fun games. Here is a picture of Luke bobbing for apples right before he was pulled back fast by Ike because of his big snotty nose about to drip (maybe it did drip, I am not sure) right into the water. Can you say GROSS! I am glad I didn't participate in this one....I think next year they are giving each kid their own little bucket with water and apples to prevent that from happening again!

We don't know what costume to have Luke be for Halloween night. We have many fun ones to choose from thanks to family and friends- a giraffe, the hulk, spiderman, a caterpillar, and a dragon. I guess we will see what he is in the mood for that night!

what do you think?

Should we snip off his awesome mohawk or let it keep growing? I can't decide what to do!

I don't have anything to say about this picture other than it made me laugh!

I woke up this morning....

feeling sick. Very sick. I ate way too much last night and woke up a few times in the night thinking that throwing up would be awesome. I hate that feeling. It makes me feel like a big fat pig to know that I am miserable because I stuffed my belly too full. Why do I do it?

I have decided that this is the last time I will feel this way. I am going to be good again from now on. If I keep this up it will all catch up to me and I will have a long journey back. And I am ohhh so close to my goal. I don't want to be further away than I am. I am not going to deprive myself, but I am going to finally learn how to have one serving of sweets without having 10 more. How do I learn this?

Thus, this post.

I need to put this out there. I am going to have self-discipline and be extra good at being healthy. I need your help. Tell me to put cookie #2 back on the plate. Tell me that I don't want that extra helping of mashed potatoes. Tell me that I am stronger than my temptation and that I CAN do this again!! Seriously!

I have done this before, a few times in fact, but at this time I have lost all of my determination. I don't understand why I had so much before, and can have so little right now. I know what I want but I can't seem to snap out of this slump. I am hoping this post will help!

Today I did good, but I really want to go have a snack. Why do I have to love food so much and why do I have to gain weight so easily. I know that life really could be worse as this is my only great struggle right now, but it is frustrating to know that I am not doing my best. I need to believe in myself and jump over this hurdle!

Here are my goals:

1. Follow Weight Watchers strictly for the next 4 weeks without cheating.
2. Exercise 5 days a week
3. Lose these last 12 pounds and fit into my favorite jeans by Christmas!
4. Last but not least...MAINTAIN- the hardest part I think when losing weight.
   

Wish me luck and please check up on me. I am hoping that telling you all will give me the accountability that I need. Sometimes it helps me to know that people are aware and watching.

I swear I have blogged about this before! Hopefully future posts will be happy regarding the subject :)

I am going to bed now without looking in the fridge! Will-power Baby, give it to me!!!!

5 + 3 equals 8

I haven't spent much time on the computer lately because my vertigo (something with my inner ear being off balance) makes me super dizzy when looking at the computer screen. I was tagged a while ago- sorry Jen for taking so long to do it. Tags are great when you have nothing else interesting to blog about.....maybe I will try and think of something awesome, but until then here goes the tag of 8's.....

8 TV shows I love to watch:
1. The Office
2. Ellen
3. The Biggest Loser
4. Yo Gabba Gabba- this show is CrAzY!
5. American Idol
6. Dawson's Creek
7. Pushing Daisies
8. SNL

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Subway
2. Olive Garden
3. Chili's
4. The Mandarin
5. Arctic Circle
6. Spanky's
7. Mimi's Cafe
8. Robintinos

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. used a toothbrush that vibrates....not a good idea when you suffer from vertigo
2. photoshopped lots of cute pictures- also not a good idea
3. went to work for a few hours
4. helped make my nephews VIP poster for his kindergarten class
5. ate at subway...yummy!
6. watched 3 episodes of The Biggest Loser in about 45 minutes
7. didn't have to make dinner as our friends fed us lasagna and ice cream :)
8. placed a big order at The Children's Place 50% off sale for my boys for next year

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Christmas time
2. Halloween candy- although I shouldn't even touch it
3. the weekend
4. seeing Twilight the movie a dozen times
5. becoming a millionaire
6. preschool next year
7. our trip to Hawaii that I am secretly planning behind Ike's back...wouldn't that be fantastic :)
8. hearing what is on Max's mind

8 Things on my wish list:
1. pumpkin shake from Arctic Circle or Nelsons
2. a new wardrobe
3. motivation to eat healthy and exercise more than just twice a week
4. to decorate my entire house
5. a kitchen makeover with new cabinets and counter tops
6. a trip to anywhere that has a beach
7. straight white teeth
8. to be a good mommy

8 People I Tag:
Ike 8 times because he thinks tags are lame

for katie...

I had this song in my head all day yesterday and my friend katie just laughed at me when I tried to sing it out loud...I know I can't sing on key but I try! I hate this song- and I apologize for posting it on my blog, but I wanted her to hear it!!

Enjoy, I guess....

Once there was a snowman

Tall Tall Tall!

Today was the perfect day for making a snowman, so we bundled up Luke as warm as he could be and Ike and him went out for some snow fun. I looked out the door about 10 minutes later to find that they weren't just building an average size snowman- but it was GIGANTIC! Look at that thing! Ike had to roll on the second ball with two long 2x4's because it was soooo heavy. It was quite funny to watch him struggle and I ended up having to get bundled up myself to help him keep it standing. With some pretty clever finishing touches (apple eyes, lego mouth, and a screwdriver nose) this is about the coolest snowman I have EVER seen! Great job Luke and Ike, and myself too :)`

As I am typing this post, Ike just checked on Mr. Snowman, and the poor thing is tipping over and Ike is out there frantically trying to save him. He is yelling for my help, so I guess I better go help out.....wish us luck!

We are a happy family....

Thank you so much Katie for taking such awesome pictures! We are pretty darn happy with how they turned out. I am loving photoshop right now and have had some fun playing around with them. I sure love my cute family! Don't I just have the 3 cutest boys?!

One day soon

I am still alive, but going crazy. I have been without the internet and home phone for almost 4 days and don't know if I can make it another. Hopefully we will have a phone and the internet again soon- it has seemed like forever! I think I have used almost 200 of my minutes on my cell phone- which has actually been kind of fun as I know that Ike can't get mad at me and I feel so cool talking on it for some reason :) Anyways- I hope to be back and bloggin' soon. I guess I better give my sister-in-laws computer back....bye for now!!

Potty Boot Camp: Day I

I'm a BIG kid now!

Today was day numero uno of potty training my now 3 year old. This is the first I have attempted this with Luke, and I couldn't have asked for a better kid! He started off the day saying his usual when we asked if he wanted to go pee in the potty, which is "tomorrow". My mom babysat him today and finally got him saying "TODAY"- which was a big improvement!

We started the "Potty Party" around 2 p.m. I put Max down for a nap and then the fun began. I read a great book called "potty train your child in just one day" before hand which gave me a lot of tips for a successful training. Thanks Brittany for letting me know about this book!

Here are some things we did to make it FUN rather than FRUSTRATING:

• I gave Luke a little boy doll which we named Buddy. Luke helped me potty-train Buddy by watching potty movies, reading potty books, and helping Buddy sit on his little toilet. After Buddy was trained Luke thought it was pretty fun and wanted to try it out for himself!

• We had a "party" all day and just read books and colored while sitting on a blanket in the family room.
• We made a potty chart for Luke and Buddy.
  

• Of course there was plenty of prizes and treats to help bribe and spent the entire day on the potty every 10 minutes.
  
• Together we threw away all of his diapers (which I later grabbed and hid for Max one day)
• We called Grandma once he did it and he was able to hear how happy and proud she was of him!

Here is the score for the first day of training:

5 in the potty
&
1 on the kitchen chair/floor

Pretty good for the first day, don't you think?! I have to say that he did amazing and learned so much today. Way to go Luke! We will see what tomorrow brings, I will cross my fingers!!

And of course Max couldn't let Luke get all of the spotlight....while we were cheering Luke on we looked over to find him in the middle of the room walking all by himself!

My babies are all grown up!!

Another year older and wiser too.....

Happy Birthday to my 2 boys! Thank you everyone who came and celebrated with us- we wished we could have invited everyone we know, but we had a pretty big turn out with just a few friends and family. We had an ELMO themed party which included an Elmo pinata, Pin the nose on Elmo, and an Elmo birthday cake made by yours truly....don't look to close, it looks better from afar. I don't know why I decide to make these silly cakes- they are so much work and I end up shedding a few tears every time. I guess Luke's smile was worth it, and as you can see he didn't seem to care about the crumbs that got mixed in with the frosting or Elmo's distorted fingers and toes.

When we gave Max his little Elmo cupcake he didn't really know what we expected him to do. He usually devours anything we put in front of him- but the time when it was most important, it took him a good 5 minutes to warm up to it. But as you can see he ended up lovin' it and painting his face with it. I think he got a little inside his mouth......


They both got spoiled with presents....so many presents! Thank you to everyone! We had fun reading all of the books and playing with the cars and puzzles today. I don't really know which presents were for Max and which ones were for Luke- but I can tell you that they are both enjoying each and every gift. Thank you everyone for making it such a fun and memorable birthday!

Happy Birthday sweet boys!

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Max Willis is ONE!

Happy Birthday to my {ONE} year old boy!

This very day an entire year ago we happily welcomed Max into our little family. After 4 days of waiting for LDS Hospital to call with an open delivery room- we finally got in at 6 a.m. and Max was born around 8 p.m. that night.

What a sweet boy he is, and our lives would not be complete without him. Luke loves his "little friend" so much.

His personality is definitely different than Luke's. Max is much less patient and I can already tell that he will be a "climber" as I have magically found him on top of many high places...maybe with a little help from Luke, I don't know though. It has been fun watching him grow into his own person.

He is a happy and healthy little boy and for that we are so grateful. In the last month he has grown so much and has learned many new things. I don't think it will be too long before he starts walking as he loves to stand and hold his arms out to balance himself with a big smile and make sure we are paying attention. He has even taken a few of his first steps already. He can say many words and I can tell that he is starting to understand some of the things we say to him.

I love his big blue eyes and long eyelashes. I love his little nose. I love his sweet big smile with 8 teeth. I love the way he giggles when we tickle his thighs. I love the way he says "mama". I just love him with all of my heart.

We wanted to share his first year with you.....Happy Birthday Max Willis!

Trying out the Peanut Butter

Some fun things happen once little babies turn one, like switching from formula to whole milk, and being able to try peanut butter! Max had a small bite of my mom's peanut butter sandwich about a week ago- so I figured he was good to go with no allergies to peanuts. So yesterday I gave him some peanut butter cereal to snack on and I didn't think much of it when he started rubbing his left eye. It turned bright red, but I thought he just got a crumb in it or something. Then today, I gave him some more of the cereal and the exact same thing happened to his other eye! It turned bright red and watery and he wouldn't stop rubbing it. I of course panicked and started searching online for symptoms of peanut allergies but couldn't get much information....other then to watch them closely for the next couple hours if you suspected anything as it can be deadly!! His eye slowly went back to normal, so don't worry :)

Does anyone have any experience with this?! Max has his one year doctor appointment in a few weeks, so I can ask the doc then. I for sure won't be giving him any more peanut butter anytime soon- even though I am curious to see if it would happen again or if it was just a coincidence. I wish I took a picture to show you, but you will just have to settle for this silly picture of all three of my boys with a sticker on their heads....I know, totally unrelated!

two LITTLE lovebirds

We were able to go to Island Park this last week with some good friends...we hoped Luke would have a fun time, but little did we know that he would have the time of his life! Him and his friend Brooklyn were inseparable, and Luke couldn't let her out of his sight for 2 seconds! They spent the entire trip holding hands, following each other around, playing house (Luke was the dad and Brooklyn was the mom), and they didn't fight once! It was so nice to have them get along so well.

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Luke thought he would impress her with his incredible nose picking skills

Look at Luke's smile on his face- do you think he was having fun on what!?


what a cute couple- not to scare her parents or anything



Holding your hand makes me happy!

Oh- and me, Ike and Max had a fun time too! Max is at a tricky age so it is hard to be somewhere away from our childproof home where he can roam free. We were able to go to Yellowstone this time. I usually don't really enjoy it all that much as I have been there quite a few times, but it was the first time taking Luke and Max so it was fun to show them everything. We told Luke we were going to see some animals- but when we passed the few (buffalo of course) we saw from our car he was fast asleep in the back seat and we weren't about to wake him up. He kept asking when we were going to see the zebras and tigers- I guess it is a little confusing to a 3 (yep- he is now 3!) year old to know which animals live where.

Here are some more pictures from our vaycay!