Happy Birthday Liv!

Most of my recent posts have been all about Sam, so I just wanted to post a few pictures of my Livvy.  She is such and amazing little girl. She is always so sweet and thoughtful.  She always wants to know where everyone in her family is, and if they are ok.  The first thing she asks me when she gets home from school is if Sam has been a good boy, and if he missed her.  She loves spending every second with him.  I hope they stay best friends forever.  I am lucky to say that I am her mommy.  I know that she is a very special girl, and that she will accomplish many great and wonderful things in her life.  She is always singing a song, usually a primary song (and the theme song for Jeopardy.  Yes we are nerds.)  Olivia is very aware of the importance of family. A few days ago I got stung by a scorpion and killed it, and then (totally out of the blue) ended up killing another one the same day.  She first made sure I was ok, then she told me that she felt bad for the scorpions.  I asked her why and she said "what if they were a family?!"  It made me realize that she is so sensitive and tender hearted.  I love her so much and I can't believe she is already 5 years old!

Sam and Liv are best friends.  Liv has had to learn and grow a lot in the past few months.  Nobody has ever really tested her patience like Sam has.  She has had to learn to not only share her toys with him, but to let him eat them.  Sam puts everything he sees in his mouth.  He pulls her hair with his sticky, clammy little hands.  He splashes her like crazy in the tub.  He follows her everywhere.  He thinks she is hilarious.  None of us can make him laugh like she can.  They love to pretend like they are puppy dogs.  (Sometimes I wonder if he thinks SHE is his mommy!)
I love to see them play with each other.  Even though I know he is driving her crazy sometimes, it makes my heart melt when they are snuggling and laughing. 
Liv is really enjoying her preschool this year. She is getting so tall and beautiful.  She comes home from school singing a new song everyday.  She is so smart and is loving making new friends.
Sam is crawling all over and is starting to keep his balance standing up. He has 4 teeth on top and 3 on bottom so he eats pretty much all of the foods we do. He LOVES to eat (unlike his sister), and is growing like crazy. He is still in the 97th percentile for his height, same for weight.  I actually threw my back out last week putting him in the car, so we put him in a big boy car seat! It is finally starting to cool off here in AZ and we are getting excited to get out and go to the park and play outdoors!

Big helper...?

Liv is always wanting to help with Sam.  She loves having him in her bedroom and is always trying to teach him how to walk and talk.  She asks us all the time when he is going to be a "walking baby". We keep telling her when he starts walking, she is going to have to hide all of her special things in her room because he will be itto everything!  He is up on all fours and can move his legs really well, just isn't ready for hand movement to crawl.  He will be crawling within the week for sure though. 
One of Olivia's favorite things to do is to feed him.  Sometimes it is not worth the mess that it entails, but it makes both of them happy so I let it happen.  I figure  this is a small window of time that she will be on the minion side of their relationship, so I am going to take advantage of her services!  He loves watching cartoons with her and I am never afraid to leave him alone for a few minutes with her because she takes on the "babysitter" role easily.  I love these kids more than I could have ever imagined.  They are the light in our crazy, confusing lives right now.  If I am ever feeling down all I need is a hug from Liv or a snuggle or smile from Sam and my heart melts and I remember what is most important in life.  My family means everything to me and I am so lucky to have them!

Sammy update...

This little boy is growing up way too fast for me.  He is such a happy, smiley baby.  He loves to cuddle and laugh, especially at his big sister.  He is getting his first tooth, so there have been some rough days lately, but he still manages to get a few giggles out when he feels up to it.  His last Dr appointment he weighed in at 19.8, so it's safe to say he eats well.  he can push himself up into a cat position and no doubt he will be crawling within the next few weeks.  We have been trying to make him love the swimming pool.  He doesn't know quite what to make of it yet. He might not be the natural born swimmer that Liv is, but he does like to splash around a lot, so we will see.  I can't believe how fast the past 6 months have gone by for us.  A lot of happy things are happening in our lives right now.  I am so lucky to be able to wake up everyday to this smiling boy's little face!

 We had the chance to go to California for Easter this year.  Kate was moving into a new place and so we helped her move all of her stuff over on Friday.  It didn't take us long so we went to the beach in the afternoon.  Liv was in heaven! Then on Saturday we all went to an "Egg"stravaganza in Irvine.  It was so much fun for all of us.  The lines were long for all of the events, but Liv was so excited to get her face painted, so Kellen waited in line while we took her to other fun things they had going on.  She got to ride a pony named Jack, which she loved, and she played a few other games.  It was a beautiful day so we went to the swap meat after. Kate is a Gospel Doctrine teacher in her ward, so on Sunday we went to church and got to go to her class,  It was such a good lesson, and she as an amazing teacher.  We got back to her house and made some dinner and we had to go home shortly after that.  Candice came with us and flew home early Monday morning.  I was so glad to have her in the car with us, she made it so much fun! (Not to mention she was a great help with the kids in the back seat!) It was a fun little trip for us.  Riley and his family had been here in AZ for the week before that so we were so blessed to be able to be with all of our family for Easter week.  Olivia loves her Cousins and her Aunts and Uncles (and obviously her grandparents!!) so much.  Hope they all come to visit again soon!

Photo Shoot

 Here are some cute pictures that my friend Auburn took when Sam was about 3 weeks old.  She is amazing and has a special way of making the kids smile and laugh at her.  Thank you so much for doing them for me Auburn! Amazing!

Shamu

 Sam's thighs are beginning to resemble the Stay Puft Marshmallow man.  He is growing up so fast.  I really can't believe how fast time is going by right now.  Sam is such a happy little guy.  He especially thinks Liv is hilarious.  He really gets to laughing at her, it is so cute! We recently have started mixing in a little rice cereal in his diet because he is always hungry!  Below is the mess of the first time trying to feed it to him with a spoon!  So sticky after!

 Liv is still loving her preschool class.  They learned about dinosaurs last week and she was in heaven!

 Sam and Owen are about 2 and a half months apart.  Owen was blessed today.  How cute is his little tie?!