Pearly Whites

Cole had his first trip to the dentist last week, and he did awesome. He was at Hayden's last appointment and saw her getting set up this day, so he knew just what to do. He climbed right up in the chair and was ready to go.

He looked so tiny in the big chair. He usually seems like such a big boy, but he seemed like such a little boy there. The staff kept commenting on how cute he is and what a good boy he was being. They asked him what kind of fluoride he wanted- grape, orange, cherry, or marshmallow. He said "Green." Green is his favorite color, and is always his first choice. He ended up with marshmallow :)

He and Hayden both have 20 healthy teeth. They both did a great job, so after their appointment we headed to the McDonalds playland for lunch and some fun!

*As a side note, Hayden was so sweet at the playland. Cole was scared to climb up and play at the top. Hayden was up there playing with her new "friends" and Cole was very sad. I kept telling him he could do it, but he was too scared. Hayden ended up coming down, helping him on every part of the climb, and then coming down the slide with him. She did it over and over, and they had so much fun playing together. It was so sweet to see her watch out for her little brother!

Kids

The kids have been having some fun, while we've been stuck inside due to the cold.

They've been playing with homemade "sticky goop", as we call it. Of course, it's a sticky mess to clean up, but oh so fun!

Having glow stick baths (yes, it was dark in the room). They've done this several times and always love it.

Playing with "sand". I mixed flour (it's whole wheat, that's why it's brown) and some baby oil. It's really cool because it feels like flour but it's more moldable. Hayden and Cole played with this for over an hour! It was a big mess, but actually didn't take much effort to clean up. I saved it in a zip lock baggie. I think we'll probably pull it our again today :)

For breakfast on Valentine's Day, we had heart shaped hootenanies (german pancakes) and some strawberries. We had a pretty low key day. I had young women that night so Ryan and I went out to dinner the next night. I got a beautiful red rose. The kids gave Ryan a bag of oreos and I made him a candy card. The kids got balloons and some art supplies. Their grandparents all sent them a card and some fun, too. It's so fun to celebrate how much we love each other!

This is how I found Cole, when I got out of the shower the day after Valentines. He obviously really enjoyed Ryan's candy card. I was surprised how much he loved the Hot Tamales.

They love to play or just hang out in the laundry baskets.

Cole is such a love bug. He gives great hugs and kisses. He loves to give eskimo kisses and smooches, and I love to receive them. It's seriously the sweetest thing!

I love my kiddos!

Crafty

I've been getting back into craft days with my friends over the last few weeks. Here are some of our projects...

Conversation Hearts

Valentine Ribbon Wreath

Heart Clips

Lucky Frame

It's always so fun to get together and get crafty!

Baby Girl!

We are having a healthy baby girl! We went in on February 7th (the ultrasound has the wrong date) for an ultrasound. I was almost 21 weeks. The baby was curled up with her bum wedged low and her legs and feet pulled in. Because of her position the technician couldn't see her lower spine and was pretty sure it was a girl, but couldn't say 100%. I had another ultrasound this week and it is a girl and she is developing right on schedule. Hayden and Cole don't really care too much. For the first few days, every time we mentioned our new baby girl, Cole would matter of factly say, "no, it's a boy." He's now come to terms with the fact that she's a girl. He loves to kiss my belly and talk to the baby. Hayden isn't so into it all. She's excited for a new baby, but really passive about the whole thing for now.

The morning of the ultrasound.

After the ultrasound, we got lunch at one of our favorite places, Mainstreet Smokehouse. It was as delicious as ever. Then we did a little shopping. This is the first outfit for our little miss (except for what we still have from Hayden). The picture really doesn't do it justice. It's so tiny and just adorable. I'm excited for all of the ruffles, bracelets, bows, etc that come with having a baby girl!

We are so happy to have this sweet baby girl coming to us in a few months, and we know she is a blessing from our Heavenly Father. I'm in love with her already!

Sledding

Our winter has been super light on the snow, but a few weeks ago we did have a pretty good storm. The next day we headed to Hart Hill to do some sledding. Apparently, we weren't the only ones with the idea, because it was pretty full. But we stuck to the little hill, and had plenty of space.

Hayden is not a real dare devil. She doesn't like anything too fast or unexpected. However, she LOVES sledding. That's why I love these pictures of her. She seriously had a huge smile the entire time. It's fun to see her break away from being cautious and just have a blast, and that she did!

Cole liked it, too, but got cold fast. Ryan went down with him once, but he's a big boy and wouldn't let that happen again. He was a little cautious, but had lots of fun.

Ryan really is the best Daddy. He would push the kids down the hill, go to the bottom and help them up with their sleds, and then do it all over again. Again and again!! I stayed at the bottom with the camera. I know, pregnant laziness at it's finest.

After the sledding, the kids had to make snow angels. After a small fight to stay from Hayden (Cole was done and ready to be warm), we headed home for some hot chocolate and naps!

(Cole is a major lip licker)

 

Let's Go Hawks!

 One afternoon last month I got a call from Ryan asking if I wanted to go to the Blackhawks game that night. Of course! Ryan had been working with some people from Panasonic. Panasonic has a suite on the pent house level and they weren't going to be using it for the game that night. So, Ryan and some coworkers got free tickets. I scrambled to find a babysitter (it wasn't too hard, because my friend Lacey is awesome like that!), and we headed to the game. I haven't ever been in a suite before and it was pretty cool. I didn't understand why you would want to be in a suite instead of right on the front row, until I watched from the suite. You can see everything up there. It could have only been better, if the Panasonic people had been there to buy us some free dessert. Man, those dessert carts look soooo good, but they're soooo expensive. The Blackhawks had a major win and we had a majorly fun night!

New Years and Stuff

We got some Zoo passes from the library, so we decided to go on New Year's Eve. It was cold, like in the 30's, but it was a lot of fun. We bundled up and ran from building to building to keep warm.

It was all decorated for the holidays and for the Zoo Lights they do at night.

The kids and I have been to this zoo at least 5 times, but Ryan has never been. He was teasing me, because I kept saying, "We've never seen this part." Mostly the indoor reptile exhibits. I'm not a huge fan and in the summer I have no inclination to go in the stifling hot buildings.

We did end up seeing  lot of cool animals we haven't seen before, like this parrot that ducked as soon as I snapped the picture. We stayed for a few hours, then headed home to warm up.
Later that night we went to our friend's, the Deja's, for food, games, and fun. I didn't think we would make it to midnight and had told Ryan to plan on heading home at 9. But we did it. We payed for it the next day, however. It was our first morning back to 9am church. I didn't set an alarm, because our kids always get up between 6:30-7:30 no matter when they went to bed. This Sunday morning was different. Ryan nudged me and showed me the clock. 8:45!! We missed Sacrament meeting on the first Sunday of the year. Not the best way to start 2012! We have been doing better since, and we are excited for all of the new adventures this year will bring.

Here's just a random picture of Cole. Relaxing on the couch, eating an ice cream cone. Man, that's the life ;)

It has been a super warm winter so far. Two days ago we were outside playing, without jackets on. It was 53 degrees, sunny, and warm. Then yesterday, the first real snow hit us. Snow all day long and wind chill in the single digits. The kids wanted to go out and play. I'm not going out, so I let them play on the deck. They lasted about 20 minutes, and were ready to come in. We filled some bowls with snow and they played in the bathroom. They loved it! First thing this morning Hayden asked to do it agian. I see this being a popular winter activity at our house!