Lara Beware

Luckily this ended with no injuries. Lara is still loved (too much) by Claire.

We attended Corey Hansen's wedding a few week-ends ago, and it was fun to dress the girls up. I thought the desserts would be too rich for the girls and I would begrudgingly have to finish them, but I've trained them too well. They love their chocolate, and the desserts at this reception were incredible. We couldn't complain about the company as well. Brock has a wonderful extended family. We always enjoy seeing Ashlyn Tracy's namesake and the reason Brock and I met and fell in love:), Tracy Bentley.

With their love of sweets, it's a good thing Claire likes to brush teeth now. It is amazing how some battles seem like they will never end. She used to clench her mouth shut every night. She opened up fine for the dentist, but not for me. Now those fun times are behind us...


The Saturday before Memorial day we stayed most of the day at the beach with my siblings, parents and Aunt Cherryl and Uncle Leo who were visiting from WA. Ashlyn picked out some sunglasses that are pretty snazzy and enjoyed chasing squirrels with her cousin Sarah. Claire and cousin Eric are turning into playmates which is cute. I never thought my mom's big bug glasses (on Lara) would ever be in style again, but I guess fashion revolves in a circular fashion.

We also had a fun beach day with the Davis family two weeks ago. Katie and Cordell were visiting from West Virginia.

We made an ingenious baby trench so Lara and Elijah could hang out in the shade. Eve and Ashlyn had fun playing, and I think that making 'smores at a beach bonfire should be the end of every day.

All smiling, all looking...what are the odds. A mother's day miracle!

This last week-end a dear friend chastised me for not updating my blog...she was quite the motivational speaker. So to recap a few highlights...
There the girls are striking a pose, and Lara in her jumper...finally one of our kids likes hanging from the door frame and bouncing around. Easter was awesome. It is fun with Ashlyn getting more excited about traditions and celebrations; I guess the trick is to not let the real meanings get lost in the treats. In the picture you have Claire in her bunny costume from Grandma Solano, too cute. I don't know if it is better to let them eat their candy like crazy for a few days so it is out of the house or to ration it like I did. I just threw out our last few stale peeps yesterday.

Our little 2 year old Claire. What a fun age. She cracks me up. My favorite is when she pretends to sleep in her car seat; she has a great smile and giggle. Her Great Grandmother Plumb calls her "my little Swedish girl" and sneaks her Oreos whenever she asks for a cookie (she learned that word very early on). My mom calls her a wild card because you don't always know what to expect from her. She has a strong 2 year old sense of what is MINE. While I am folding clothes she will watch me and yell out what item of clothing belongs to who. "THAT's ASHY'S SHIRT!" "THAT'S CLAIRE'S" Spoken as if I was handling things that I shouldn't. She is now wearing pull-ups and potty training herself. Is mom ready for this....

Our four year old Ashlyn. She has a fun sense of humor and she is still making up stories and her stuffed animals and little figuines are having a contant flow of conversations. She definately likes to run the show. If you ask her who is the boss she will tell you it is mom and dad, but that has not been internalized.

We were up in Henderson NV on the girls birthday to watch my little brother Jesse perform in the musical Savior of the World. He was Joseph, and has quite an amazing voice both singing and speaking. Way to go J-man. We stayed at their house along with my bro Spencer's family and cramed 10 kids under 9 years of age (with 3 nursing babies), and 6 adults under one roof for a memorable sleep-over. I don't think Ashlyn could have asked for a better present. We all went to the Childrens discovery museum on Saturday and had a great time playing together.

Here's Brock demonstrating the giant bubbles to Claire. (Reminded me of the movie Abyss)

The newlyweds and the oldyweds. Becca married Tim Skaggs on March 21st and my parents celebrated 35 years of marital bliss. Cute couples. They missed the 6am wake-up call at our sleep-over by staying at Cami's sister's house.

In an older post I showed Lara in between her two body guard cousins. Their cheeks have since grown slightly smaller and Lara is gainging, so here they are again. Lara enjoys her new sitting-up skills until she falls over onto her face. She's such a happy baby.