Kids Updates

It can be really hard to be a mom sometimes, and then other times I just feel sad about the fact that my babies are growing up way too fast! I know I'm going to miss this adorable phase of life, so the least I can do is record everything about them right now!!

 Bentley is one of the biggest blessings in my life. I actually feel honored to be her mom. She is 5 years old, and it is right now that I for real just want to freeze time because she is at the best age. The things she says are just the sweetest, cutest, most adorable innocent things. She is the reason why I could have 2 kids after her so close and not go crazy. Right now she is just the best helper to her siblings! She is the peacemaker. She also has the kindest heart, and if I ever yell at Deacon for something, she will come to me and say "mom, that wasn't very nice, Deacon is sad." It makes me feel really bad sometimes! She is great at carrying Leo around, feeding him, getting him toys, and telling me when I'm needed. She is already such a nurturer. At night time sometimes Jeff and I are so tired that we tell her to read books to Deacon. She does that with no complaint and loves it. She also love to clean and organize. Not all the time of course, but when she decides she's in the mood, she can put all the toys away perfectly and make her and Deacon's bed. Sometimes she does this and comes to tell me she has a surprise for me. A tidy house is the best surprise! Let's not forget her love for gifts. If gifts isn't one of her love languages, I would be shocked, because she is constantly thinking about what she'll get Deacon for his birthday 8 months away...or what she'll do for Daddy for Father's day...you name it. And cards and pictures are constantly flowing from her to me, Daddy, Deacon, anyone who will accept them. She also has such a desire to learn, and takes it upon herself! There are papers everywhere with letters written all over them. She can't read yet, but I know she will be in heaven when she can actually read the things on papers she finds. Right now she copies books and writes it out on paper. Lastly, her love for church, FHE, gospel study, all of the routine things make me happy. If we forget FHE, she will be the one to remind me and start planning it herself! This girl makes me so happy and, while I love to see how much fun she has with Deacon, sometimes I wish I could just have her to myself all day. Her laugh is also so contagious, and she loves to be silly with Deacon and with her friends. She is very social when it comes to her peers, although it takes a little bit of time to get used to anyone new. She gets so hyper sometimes and I love to see her so happy! Love this girl.

 Deacon is the polar opposite of Bentley, and it makes me laugh to see the differences sometimes. When I think of Deacon I immediately think of his love for the little things of life. It doesn't take much for him to get so excited! His joy and happiness is very contagious and I just love it. I love giving him a present because he will show his excitement so well and come over to give me hugs and say "thank you mommy!" A simple thing like telling him we're going to the park will make him scream "YAHH!!" and he'll run to get his shoes on. He is also so funny! I remember one time when we were getting him ready for bed we told him to go get his underwear. He came back with his Cars CD player and Jeff and I were kind of disappointed, but then he opened up the CD part and there were his underwear! It was absolutely hilarious, Jeff and I couldn't help but laugh. He does things like this constantly and the best is when he cheers up Bentley from a bad mood to laughing hysterically. It took him a while to talk and he still struggles a little bit, but I could listen to him talk all day. He gives the best expressions and the things he says just sound so cute coming from him. Another thing about Deacon is his independence. He amazes sometimes at the things he can do by himself. It's annoying sometimes because I want to help him to make it go quicker, but he insists on not having help all the time, and he really does learn how to do things really quickly. He was feeding and dressing himself at such a young age. The other day we were at my mom's house watering the flowers and he went inside all by himself and filled up the huge watering can at the sink, and brought it back out. My mom was pretty surprised he could carry it full of water, and he didn't even make a mess. He catches on really quick to how things work and he's also been very physically fast. He can climb anything Bentley can and do all the hard things she does. He caught on to his strider bike when he was 1 and could do it easily at age 2. Lastly, Deacon can be so rough and wild, but he is also the sweetest, most cuddly boy. He loves cuddles and massages. I'll start rubbing his back and he won't let me stop. He'll move my hand back on if I move it away! I love my cuddles, hugs and kisses from him, and I'm sure physical touch will be one of his love languages. I have to say that age 3 is always a tough one for me, and it's showing to be true with Deacon as well. He has lots of tantrums and gets angry when things don't go his way. He also makes the biggest messes constantly and I gotta keep my eye on him at all times, but I love this kid so much. He is such a joy!

 
 Leo is getting to be so cute, and his personality is starting to show. He is almost 15 months old, has 4 teeth on top and 3 on the bottom, sleeps and eats like a charm, and is still not interested in walking! He has always loved to be held, so that gives him less opportunities to walk, but he is starting to show a little interest just lately when we make him walk back and forth between us. He might have taken a step or two and does get excited, but still would much rather crawl. I'm used to this, though, because Bentley and Deacon didn't walk until about 16 months too. Anyways, Leo is so cute when he smiles and giggles, it just makes you love him! He is getting a little goofy sometimes and wiggling his head or body back and forth. He loves to clap and just started to play peek-a-boo. He absolutely loves water and will do anything to get in it! I filled up the water table the other day with hose water and gave him some toys to play in it as he stood next to it. I looked away for a minute and next thing I knew he had climbed all the way up into it and was crying because he was cold. This also happens if I fill up the pool with water, he will get in it immediately. Also at the splash park, he was just crawling around everywhere. In the shower, the water will be hitting his face and he just loves it! He also just loves to be outside! He enjoys the stroller, which is nice. He loves to go on walks. Another thing he loves is anything soft. If there's a really soft rug or blanket he gets so excited and just rolls all over it laughing. I love this cute boy so much!!

 That about sums it up, at least of what I can think of right now! I sure love these kids of mine, but they are definitely a handful. The time I spend thinking about myself is very far and in between, and I definitely sometimes overwork myself until the point where I may not be the most fun person to be around! But I think every mom goes through this, and I consider myself lucky to have these kids be my own, and I couldn't imagine life without them!

Family Banff Trip

Lately the kids love going on little getaways where we get to stay in a hotel! They especially love bunk beds, but even if it's just somewhere new to sleep they get pretty excited. So I decided to plan a little trip to Banff for a night. We left on May.24, Jeff got off work early and we were in the car by 3. The kids watched Peppa Pig the whole way there, and Jeff was smart enough to get them headphones so we could still listen to music and not have to listen to the show! It was Leo's nap time but I'm pretty sure he never slept, but if he did it was very short. We arrived at the Douglas Fir Resort and it was raining so we quickly checked in and brought our bags inside. We were all really excited about our place! I booked a little bit bigger place than we probably needed but it made things so much better. It had 2 queen beds in the loft upstairs that the kids slept in (they had lots of space!), and they even had their own little bathroom. The main floor had a bedroom for Jeff and I, we stuck Leo's playpen in the bathroom for him to sleep, and it had a full kitchen suite and a fireplace.

Right when we arrived we immediately ordered pizza so we could eat and then head to the pool! The place had 2 pools but we went to the one that also had 2 water slides, a little kid pool and hot tubs - indoor and outdoor. I wasn't sure if the kids would be brave enough for the water slides so we went with them first, and after that Bentley went by herself over and over and over again. Deacon preferred sitting on mine or Jeff's lap but one time I just pushed him down by himself and he loved it! He went down lots by himself until he had one bad one where he ended up on his stomach and got lots of water in his face. I give him credit for even doing it at all though. The slides were pretty fast and he is only 3! I took Leo on the slide with me and he kind of liked it but I could tell he was so tired. Once I went into the hot tub, he snuggled with me for a long time, almost falling asleep. I enjoyed the cuddles, but poor guy was so exhausted! The kids could've stayed there forever, but once 8:00 hit we figured we better go for Leo's sake. We bathed the kids and quickly put Leo in bed. He didn't care where he slept, he just fell asleep instantly.

 After Leo was settled and the other kids were ready for bed, we decided to let them stay up and have a little fire. Jeff started the fire really nicely, but then we realized the vent didn't seem to be working and all the smoke was pouring into the house. The smoke detector was going off and Jeff pulled out the log, I grabbed some water so we could put it out. Then, Jeff finally discovered the switch to open the vent, way up under the fireplace! It was so funny because after we did this, we then read the instructions and warnings that were posted all over our room. This was not the first time someone had done this, and we felt like idiots for letting it happen! Haha. Normally the switch is a lot easier to find, but anyways, we opened the windows to air out the place and eventually started the fire again. The kids snuggled in blankets and we all had a nice, relaxing evening until bedtime.

 The next day we woke up and made breakfast in our suite. I had brought a cooler of food, so I made sausages, eggs, and blueberry Eggo waffles. I thought I had lots of food but we all downed it so fast and probably could've eaten more! Sometimes I underestimate how much Leo eats!! Afterwards we got ready for the day and headed to the other fun thing the hotel had to offer, a play place for the kids. It was so nice to have all these fun things close by. The kids played for a couple of hours. I took Leo back to the hotel for a nap while they were still playing and also packed everything up for checkout. The kids were sad that we weren't gonna be staying there another night, and Jeff and I decided that next time we should do 2 nights! It's just too much fun. 

After we checked out, we headed into town. I had packed a lunch and was planning on having a picnic at the central park and doing a hike, but it was raining and cold, so we changed our plans! We decided to go bowling and when we got there it was opening in about 10 minutes. So we hit a store and then came back, and luckily got in right away! Even though the kids just use a ramp for bowling, they still love it. And it gives Jeff and I some actual grown-up fun! They had free popcorn there which was also a hit! Leo was a little bit of a pest, but we took turns entertaining him. 

 After bowling we let the kids pick something at the candy store. Bentley picked a good old push pop and Deacon picked a water gun with candy in it. We then went to the Spaghetti Factory for lunch. I hadn't been there in such a long time and it was better than I remembered! My pasta was delicious and everything was very affordable. The kids weren't in the best of moods though so we ate and then got out of there pretty quick. Our last stop was Cow's ice cream, which we took to the van for the drive home. All 3 of the kids eventually fell asleep on the way home. We all had a great trip!

 

 



 

 

May

 It is adorable how much Bentley loves holidays, birthdays, anything that means a celebration or party! She is a little obsessed. So, when Jeff's birthday came around, I might not have done much if it wasn't for her. Since she insisted, though, we decorated the kitchen with balloons, streamers, happy birthday banner, and notes about why we love Dad. Then I made a steak dinner for him and bought a present (a jacket) for him. When he walked in the door after work we all yelled surprise! We also had some haagen daaz bars and drumsticks for dessert.

Mother's day came and I got to go to Bentley's school with her. They had a presentation where they sang some really cute songs, one about mother's that I almost cried in! They also did a fashion show where each child walked down a red carpet. It was adorable! Bentley was a little nervous I could tell, but also very excited and she did a great job. Afterwards we painted a shirt together for me, with both of our hand prints on it. Crafting is right up Bentley's alley! Then we had some snacks and left, Bentley got a shorter day of school that day. 
On actual Mother's day Bentley had a surprise for me in her room. She had literally been preparing for weeks because she wanted to fill her entire walls with pictures her and Deacon had drawn! She just about did it, most of her walls were covered, and she also made me a card and had Jeff buy me flowers and blow up some balloons. She even did a little dance for me. It was very cute, and very Bentley!

 On May.11 there was a ward temple trip to Cardston because the Calgary temple was closed. Jeff had to work, but my parents came with me so I had some help in the van and we all went down in the morning. The ward had prepared babysitting for Leo and activities and lessons for the primary. It was a gorgeous day so the kids played outside as well, and just had a blast with some of their friends and I was told that Leo did great. I had packed them all lunches so they had some food and then they also provided ice cream bars at the end. I hadn't been to the temple for a long time, since it's just so hard with kids to find the time to go, but it was great to do a session with my parents and some people from my ward. I was really glad I went!

After stopping by Debbie's house and visiting Grandpa briefly we headed home to catch Jurassic Quest. I had bought tickets long before I knew about the temple trip and decided to try to do both! Jeff was supposed to come with us but it turned out that he was really sick and couldn't make it. So, my mom stepped up again! We made it home around 5 and I quickly fed the kids some cereal for dinner and headed downtown. We ended up being there for almost 3 hours, which was a little shorter than we could've done, but we were still able to do just about everything there! It also wasn't very busy and I heard that it was crazy in the morning and afternoon so we went at a great time. There were lots of animatronic dinosaurs everywhere that made roaring noises, bouncy castles galore, and lots of rides! You could go on the t-rex and it would move and roar, there was one that walked, and another that we all rode around and had to use our feet to make it move. The kids also loved the dino dig in the sand and there was a block they were given where they had to shave it down to find a fossil inside. They didn't have time to finish it but brought it home with them in their bags they were given. I was also astounded by the amount of dino balloons that were sold because I thought they were given out for free by the number of them I saw around, but turns out you had to buy them and they weren't cheap! But, since I love living in the moment I couldn't pass it up, and the kids were literally SO happy when I snuck away and surprised them with their balloons. It was a fun-filled day and I didn't get home until almost 9 so we were all exhausted, but it was so fun! I love these kind of days.

 This month the weather has been pretty amazing, and we are loving going outside every moment we can! The kids were thrilled when a day came where it was windy enough to finally fly the kite Jeff had bought for them last year. It was pretty fun watching Bentley fly the kite while Deacon was wrestling her and trying to pull her down. She never did let go though. Leo had fun crawling around the grass.

We did some exploring with Lena one day and went for a bike ride around fish creek. We went to the Votier's flats entrance and found a little creek area that the kids played in for a bit and then they rode their bikes for quite a ways around a little loop. It was beautiful! Afterwards we were so hot that we stopped to get screamers. Then we went to the splash park for another couple of hours. You can guess how tired the kids were after all this! Deacon fell asleep on the way home at 6 and slept the entire night! It was a great day.

Jeff and I also took the kids to Fish Creek and Annie's for ice cream on May Long weekend. It wasn't the warmest day though and we all got hot chocolate at Annie's to go with our ice cream! We saw a baby and mommy owl in a tree, it was very neat! Our kids sure love exploring outside, and Bentley sure loves riding her bike. We also went later in the month with my parents to a different part of fish creek for a picnic, bike ride, and throwing rocks in the water. It was so nice of them to pack a lunch for us and play with the kids!

 Deacon is obsessed with worms and it's really gross!!

 May was a really good month. I just love this time of year where the weather gets warmer and the mosquitoes haven't come out yet, and the kids get worn out from all the outside fun! In my next post I'll write about our fun trip to Banff we also did in May.