Our Family

Our family has been very blessed lately. We are so happy here in Vegas. I didn't think I would ever like living here when we moved here, but I honestly love it. We finally have our house exactly the way I want it. We love our friends, neighbors, and ward. The girls are growing like weeds and very happy (even if they tend to whine) and we feel incredibly blessed to be welcoming a baby boy to our family. I'm going to give a quick update on each of us along with some family pictures we had taken in May.

Kirk is very happy at IBM. He is still in the enablement department and I honestly don't think there is a job he would like more. He recently was promoted to help manage the enablement department. He is in charge of all scheduling and is the go to person for when his coworkers have questions. He still trains occasionally but mostly works on documentation and management items. He has been working from home 2-3 times a week and it has been so nice to have him around. I'm especially excited to have him around so much for when the baby comes. He is still the adviser for the teachers quorm and really enjoys it. He really enjoys teaching the lessons and being around the youth. He is still running, swimming, and biking. He plans to do the tough mudder in October and a half ironman in November. He is also really really really excited to have a son.

 

I am happy to be home with my girls. Lately I've felt the importance and divine role of being a mother. I've felt such peace in my life that staying home with my kids is everything that I want to be. I enjoy being  at home mom and all that in entails (cleaning the kitchen 5 times a day, washing clothes that were only worn for a few hours, changing clothes on little princess dolls, trying to teach Audrey to put her shoes on the right feet and to teach Kirsten how to spell Howcroft, doing my best to make sure there is a meal on the table for Kirk when he gets off work (and hopefully its more than cereal!).
I have the best calling right now. I am the nursery song person and I get to spend Sunday School going to 3 different nurseries and singing with cute kids. I love it! It's so fun and I love getting to hang out with Audrey during class. The little kids love me, I feel kinda like a celebrity walking around the halls because the kids all know me and want me to pick them up. And the parents like me too because I teach their kids primary songs...I'm telling you best calling ever.

Kirsten is blossoming before our very eyes. She is not a toddler anymore and has definitely transitioned into a little lady. She decided to let her bangs grow out and her hair grow long...although she isn't a huge fan of long hair and asks me to cut it. I probably will after school starts, but I think it's so gorgeous I can't bare to take scissors to it yet. She has changed so much in a year. She is confident, happy, friendly, sincere, and very sweet.
She loves to draw and is constantly drawing pictures of mermaids. She is actually really good, I'll have to post one of her drawings soon. She is very creative and is constantly coming up with specific craft projects she wants to do. She loves to dance, especially to classical music. She hosts little dance party's in our living room for the family and has each of us take turns playing the piano while the others dance. She also enjoys playing the piano and we hope to start lessons with her soon.
She is such a mellow person and carefree about so many things, but she has a perfectionist mind and is so particular about 1 out of 10 things she does. That one thing must be exactly how she envisions it, I love to see her little mind at work. She spends the majority of her day playing with little dolls (especially mermaids) and has a very vivid imagination. She plays for hours at the little house and castle we have. I find mermaids and princess dolls all over the house doing the most random thing (I even found one using lingerie as a swing in my closet) and it makes me smile. When she decides to, she is excellent help around the house cleaning up. But she has to be in the mood (just like Kirk, if he isn't in the mood to do something it absolutely will not happen, ha ha).
She loves to spell her name, sing her ABC's, do puzzles, and workbooks. I really should spend more "school" time with her but I love these lazy summer days. She can't wait to go back to preschool. I beg her to stay home with me but she always says "no mom, I go to preschool. It's ok, I love preschool." I try to ask why she likes preschool so much but she just shrugs and says "I LOVE it", well ok! I would love to keep her home for the last year before kindergarten starts, but I really feel that preschool is what is best for her. And so I suffer through it.
She is really helpful when it comes to Audrey, and helps her with anything she can. Shoes, car seat, getting shirts out of their closet, climbing the pantry for snacks...you name it, she is all over it. She is really obedient and generally listens the first time we ask her to do something. She fights with Audrey over toys but that's it.
She is always saying "maybe tomorrow" when we ask her to do something she doesn't want. When she walks down the toy isle at stores she says "maybe for my birthday" to every toy she would like...which is almost every single one! She is excellent at saying "I love you!" especially when you tell her you love her, she doesn't miss a beat before replying the same back. If she thinks you are sad about something she replies (with an arm around your shoulder) "it's ok mom!" She is really just a good, sweet, girl and I am so honored to be her mother.

Think of the sweetest person you know, now times that by a billion. Think of the most defiant stubborn person you know, now times that by 100,000 combine the two and you have our Audrey. I tell you there is nothing that can melt you like her sweet little eyes and warm smile. She knows just have to wiggle right into the softest parts of your heart. Unless she doesn't get her way. Then she will make you wish you could turn your body inside out and swim across the ocean to ease the pain. I'm not exaggerating.
Audrey is everything I am, everything Kirk is, and more. She has it all. She is thoughtful, energetic, playful, smart, funny, endearing, kind, helpful, exhausting, defiant, disobedient, stubborn, strong willed, and always sure of herself. She loves to be right in the middle of the action. Kirk and I have to constantly keep her busy with things to keep her mind going. When we get dressed she helps pick out our clothes, when I do my hair or makeup she does hers right alongside me, I do laundry and she helps put the clothes where it needs to be, she sets the table while I cook, or sits on the counter to help cook, I vacuum and she has to take a turn vacuuming the same room, etc. She is very involved. If I sit on the couch she isn't far behind with books for me to read. She is very attached to her purple blanket and her owls.
She has a tiny little baby owl and a stuffed white out that she loves to wrap in a blanket and carry around. She is very nurturing and loves to baby talk to her owls and tell them how cute and sweet they are. She lets me hold her "babies" and tells me how much they like me. She already adores her baby brother and rubs my tummy and talks to him a couple times a day. She likes to pretend he is trying to get her. She loves to talk about how big he is getting and how she will hold him "all by myself."
Her favorite phrase is "I do it myself" and does everything on her own unless she literally can't do it by herself. She loves to play princess's and mermaids with Kirsten. The two of them play so well together (most of the time) and love to have their dolls "go potty" and "take naps."
Audrey loves to cuddle and snuggle with Kirk and I. I can always count on her, her blankets, and her toys (owls, belle in a wedding dress, and prince Eric) joining me to watch cartoons or snuggle in bed. She adores everything about her Dad and doesn't let him to be gone to work. She has a huge love for the gospel already and is always insisting on scripture time. She loves to say prayers, and knows most of her primary songs. She is so funny and smart and says the cutest little things all day long. She loves to have long little conversations about the things going on, and she always has me smiling and laughing the whole time.
She has her defiant streak though. If she doesn't get her way she throws major screaming fits. She screams and screams and screams and is inconsolable. We are trying to handle it correctly, but I'm afraid I'm going to loose my mind first. Lets just say she has been spending a lot of time in her room lately....just because I have to put distance between myself and her insistent screaming. It is incredibly infuriating, but once she calms down (and she will let you know when she decides to calm down "I calmed down!") she is so sweet and kind. It's almost like she has to scream to get her rage and frustration out. Can she starts sports yet?!
She is such an amazing person and hopefully these trying days of her being two will pay it forward and her puberty will be a breeze...please?! There is no one in the world I love quite like I love my Audrey. There has never been someone who knows exactly how to "work me" and get what they want like she does. I really adore being her mother and am very glad she is such a huge part of my life.

And then there is our baby boy. I'm 18 weeks and still can't believe we are really having another baby...let alone a boy! I'm not quite sure what to think about having a boy. When we found out I was delighted for a couple reasons. 1. I was right. 2. I could decorate the nursery in the airplane theme like I planned. 3. I was going to have a cute little scout in a blue uniform. But as the days have gone by I keep picturing him throwing rocks, thinking farting and burping are funny, tying grasshoppers to fireworks and blowing them up, etc. I know what my brothers were like and I have a tiny glimpse of what Kirk and his brothers were like growing up and quite frankly the combination has me terrified. But I'm warming to the idea of a momma's boy (which he better be), not having to do 5 different outfits worth of laundry each day, not having to "do hair" before leaving the house, and if he screams half as much as Audrey does I might even let him blow up one grasshopper. Kirk is thrilled at the idea of a boy. He likes the thought of raising a son to be good and make a difference. That is exactly what terrifies me...I have to raise him to take care of a family. To be good to his wife and provide a decent living for his family. There is so much responsibility to little men.  But we are getting ready for him. We already painted his nursery (hopefully he doesn't turn into a girl at the 20 week ultrasound) and have bought a couple outfits. The nursery is planned down to the very last detail in my mind and I can't wait to have it come together to welcome him. We are excited. Only 154 days to go...

Get a load of these two!

4th of July

We had so much fun this past fourth. We stayed in town and hung out with some of our favorite Vegas peeps. The past couple of years the 4th has been thumbs down on fun, but I was determined to plan a fun day this year. We were not disappointed.
That morning our ward had a little bike parade and bring your own donuts get together. It was so much fun. We decorated the girls bikes super cute. It was a nice cool morning (which is a miracle in Vegas) so we got to enjoy being outside with our friends for a few hours. The girls loved riding up and down the church parking lot with their friends. Kirsten cruises on her bike like no ones business. We had so much fun.

We left the church and went to the pet store to look at fish, birds and ferrets. The girls love the pet store and we don't go there nearly enough. Afterwards we bought a huge family tent. We are so excited. We set it up in our house a few days later and it absolutely did not fit. We can't wait to go camping in it next weekend.

We met a couple friends at the movie to watch Brave at 10:30. The girls loved going to the movie house. They hadn't been since Tangled 18 months ago. They loved having popcorn and sat through the entire movie. It was a really fun thing to do together as a family. 

We came home and had naps and got ready for a bbq that night. To our surprise and delight it started raining in the middle of the afternoon. It rained for an hour and a half and we stayed outside in it the entire time. It felt SO good. 

That evening our friends the Bingham family and Wilson family came over. We had a fun bbq, water balloon games, decorated "flag" sugar cookies, did side walk chalk, enjoyed the cool weather, did fireworks, and finished the night off with smores and cupcakes. It was a perfect evening and exactly how I want to spend every Independence day from now on :) Kashina is a fabulous photographer and took a few pictures for us. Thanks for celebrating with us friends!

Photo Bomb

The girls received American Girl dolls from their Nana Christmas 2010, but I have them put away to play with occasionally so the girls can appreciate them a little more when they are older. But the day before Kirk got home from Singapore we got them out and the girls were in HEAVEN! They played with those dolls nonstop all day. And at one point I found the girls putting bandaids on their American Girl dolls heads. Funny kids.

 

Later that day I found them in the downstairs bathroom "doctoring up" their little stuff animals.

Kirsten has definitely gotten into posing for the camera, silly faces and all. She loves for me to take pictures of her dancing, playing with her toys, or dressing up. Here are just a few.

 Oh the fun things the girls do with their Dad. They love these tunnels!

We have a fantastic ward. Every day during the summer they have a different activity, hosted by someone different, for anyone to do. We have had swimming days, days at the splash park, tour of a dairy farm, tour of California Pizza Kitchen, Canada Day party, and all sorts of other fun things to do.

At Anderson Dairy. Audrey told me the cows were broke, then decided that "they died."

Nothing beats free ice cream at the end of the tour!

Their very own pizza's made all by themselves! Kirsten's had no sauce...yum!

The other day the girls were anxious to color but I was trying to get dishes done and the table cleared off first. I finally told them they could just color on the floor. They got really excited and were busy for a few minutes...until I came around the island and realized they took me literally. They had fun cleaning it up though so that's something right?

Kirsten's mermaid and mad face that she had to stop!

They are so silly!

Audrey was getting undressed upstairs when I heard yelling and screaming comparable to her teeth being ripped out. Nope, just stuck in her shirt. Oh her screaming will be the death of me I tell you!

Freshly bathed. This is how they might remember their childhood....always wanting to watch a movie on our phones.

The rule at our house lately is everyone takes afternoon naps...or is quiet enough that mom can take one. One afternoon I went to check on them "napping" and only saw Audrey's legs sticking out from under her bed. I couldn't find Kirsten anywhere until Audrey showed me Kirst under the same bed. They were having a blast playing with their little dolls under the bed. Love having kids!

I don't know if all kids have awesome nap time pictures, but mine seriously do. I'm always cracking up at the things they do to fall asleep.

After waking up from a nap I saw this. I first noticed the cute kangaroo and fox lined up but then I was like "wait is Kirsten tied up?"

And sure enough she managed to bind her feet and hands together before falling asleep. I kindly let her free while she slept and she didn't remember any of it when she woke up.

Oh nothing strange, she just fell asleep with her bear on her face.

And when I woke up from my nap today I found Audrey in her bathroom fast asleep like this. I'm not sure if she needed to go potty and then couldn't stay awake any longer or what but this picture seriously cracked me up!

So sweet...like there is nothing strange about sleeping next to the toilet.

After a rough morning yesterday I asked Audrey if she wanted to go live with Aunt Camille. She quickly replied yes so I told her to go pack her bags. She (and Kirsten) promptly filled their princess backpacks with shirts, shorts, skirts, socks, shoes, underwear, toys, and a few books. They were so cute getting ready and helping each other pack. Audrey then told me "you have to drive, I can't, I'm to small, you do it." If only Aunt Camille lived close enough I could have dropped them off for a few hours!