What the kids are up to.

Elise has finally decided to be more photogenic. She has never liked having her picture taken, but lately whenever I get my camera out, she smiles.
She is already starting to crawl. She has mastered the army crawl, but still working hard at getting up on her knees. She does that cute little rock back and forth all the time.
She is very motivated to go really fast when she see something she wants. Which usually is Dallin cars, the phone, or in this case the remote.

Dallin LOVES to play letters. Ever since he learned the alphabet and then learned to recognize the letters he has done this. He thinks it is so fun to sit on the computer and types letters and numbers.
Dallin also has a new found love for the US map. I bought him a map placemat and he loves to ask about the states. He has gotten really good at remember most all the states too; in just a few days. He never ceases to amaze me. You just point to a state and he will tell you the name. He is acting pretty silly since he had a camera in his face, but you get the idea. He actually answered a map question on “Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader” the other day too! He flipped it over and found the state flags on the other side and now he is asking which one belongs to which state and he know about 8 of those too. He’s so cute!One more bragging moment, Dallin can now spell his name. I taught him one morning and by the time Jon came home he could do it all by himself. He apparently got Jon's love for learning!
Being cute!
Getting frustrated
Eating! Elise loves to eat. She is such a natural too.
Just Chillin.

Day at the Zoo

My parents and I took the kids to the zoo last week and like every mom I tried to think of everything we could possibly need. We had the stroller, lunch, plenty of water, the camera, etc... But despite all of my preparation, I didn't check the weather... For those not in Missouri, that is not a bright idea. When we got there it was stifling hot and really humid. We ended up dumping water on the kids heads every 10 minutes or so. The Kansas City zoo is really huge too, so lots of walking. As most know, our weather can change at the drop of a hat. So when we got to the furthest point, it decided to downpour. And I mean downpour! We of course didn't bring an umbrella. So we were soaked. And we rode a boat and tram as close as we could get to the entrance, but we ended up running through the rain with both kids asleep. Anyway, it was fun and memorable...

Dallin was so excited to be at the zoo.
So was Elise.
My parents bought both of the kids hats since it was sooo hot and sunny! And Dallin had to have a snake too.

It is really pretty. This was right before we got on the boat. It was at the beginning of our rain.

Fishing Anyone?

So we haven't actually taken Dallin fishing yet, but we did buy him a Lightening McQueen fishing pole. Jon took him outside to practice casting. It was really cute to watch him focus so hard. He loves his new pole and can't wait to go fishing now.

Jon got a pole too...He didn't want to go fishing with just Dallin's pole, but Elise thinking it is her new toy!

Need some daily strengthening?

I have been completely drawn into this blog and this blog and I can't stop reading them. They are both strangers to me, yet they are sisters who have taught me so much. They are LDS families who have both experienced tragedies. They are two of the strongest woman I have ever read about or known. They both lost their little girls in the past two months to accidents and their testimonies and faith is so strong it can be felt through their writing like a brick wall. It has put my life into such a perspective. I love my children more, I have more patience, I love life, and I try to make sure that every day counts. If you need some perspective, I highly recommending reading them. Be prepared, you will cry. Well that is an understatment, you will Ball your eyes out! But it is so worth it to feel the spirit and the testimonies these sister have.

Happy Independence Day!

When we decided to buy a few fireworks this year for the 4th, we weren't all that excited. But once we got to one of our gigantic tents (there is honestly one on every corner), we realized that we weren't in Vegas anymore. We have WAY better fireworks here and they are so much cheaper. So we both were like kids in a candy store. We spent about $50 and got anything from bottle rockets and Saturn missiles to fountains and black cats.

So we started our day at Cracker Barrel with a delicious breakfast.
Here were are waiting for a table.

Being Silly

And here is Elise, just hanging out.

And Dallin with a full tummy!

That night we went over to Matt and Rosannes house for Coles Birthday/ Independence Day. Happy Birthday Cole!We shot my dad's handgun before it got too dark, which was a lot of fun. And then we had tons of fireworks. More than we had time to shot off actually. Dallin was down there with all the big boys lighting them off. I love the way Rosanne, my sister in law, put it, "Around here nobody is too young to light fireworks. As long as you can walk and hold a match you're good." SO true! It was really loud, but apparently both of my kids are use to the noise because it didn't seem to bother them at all. All and all it was a great holiday!

Man, I love that Girl!

I know that I have told pretty much everyone that Elise is the best baby, but she really is. She sleeps, eats, hardly ever cries, laughs all the time, puts herself to sleep, LOVES her brother... She is just so easy is ever aspect. I feel bad that she gets pushed to the sideline a lot because Dallin has been needy lately. She is just such a sweet girl and I just love her so much. I have been reading this blog that I found while blog hopping and it has had put my life into such a perspective. I love my little children so much more since I read about this woman's struggles with losing her baby in an accident. I look at my children and can't hug them and love them enough. It really hit home for me with Elise. I just look at her and her sweet innocence and the joy that she bring to our house in just a few months of life. She has been hitting so many milestones lately. She rolls all over the place, she does the army crawl and she has begun to get up on her knees even. I never imagined needing a baby gate before she was 6 months, but it is looking that way. She seems to be teething also. But she is still such a happy girl. She LOVES her jumper. She gets in it and goes crazy. It is so cute! I'm so glad that she was brought into our lives. She has been such a blessing.