My Boy on a Bike

My mom bought a kids bike about a year or so ago on clearance from Target. We have been wanting to get it out for Xander for sometime, but never could find training wheels to put on it. Last summer (yes we have had them this long) we found some, and just put them away for some dumb reason. But today they finally got used!! Pat had taken the day off to study for his finals (which he really didn't do, shh, don't tell anyone), so he was home and (after he passed Mario Galaxy and opened the game to play with Luigi), he and Xander went outside, got out the bike and put the training wheels on! Xander was excited to try out the bike, but a little weary at the same time. He did a really good job for the first try. He really enjoyed it and I'm hoping that his joy with the bike will continue :)

Sidenote: The helmet that he is wearing came from his cousin Noah's Hotwheels birthday party, so it's just a plastic helmet for fun. We are going to purchase a REAL bike helmet, so don't worry, we are good parents :)

Mara's Pictures

I took Mara to Target to do her 2 year pictures on Monday, and got the email with the pictures last night. I just love the Target Portrait Studio so much! They always do such a great job :) Here are some of my favorites. I just love the one that I put on the sidebar. Her eyes just sparkle!!

Mara Singing

I was trying to put new pictures of Mara up, but blogger isn't my friend today. So we'll see if my video works. She found one of her birthday cards and started singing "We just got a letter" from Blue's Clues!

Mara's Birthday Parties

I have been meaning to blog Mara's birthday for a few days, but have been so busy doing little things (playing Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii) that this is the first time that I have sat down to do anything. On Friday we had the family on the Tolman side come over for some cake and ice cream. It was so much fun to have almost everyone there (we miss you Boise Tolmans!). Tammy's mom, Ethel, is in town for a few weeks and it was great for her to be with us! And Pat's cousin Ashley & husband Paul came too!! Thanks to everyone for coming!!
Mara got some fun toys and clothes. She got a really cute Cinderella doll that came with a horse from Dansie cousins. A fun Princess Phone from Tolman cousins. A cute baby doll with bathtub from Stradling cousins. And a dress, shirt, socks and shoes from Grandma & Grandpa Tolman! She was loving everything she got!! Then we had food :) My kids have always been ones to only eat the frosting, they are so funny!! When Mara saw her cake she got really excited about the Princesses! :) Every time she sees a cake of any sort she will say "Happy birthday to you!" and want me to sing the song. She is so cute! It was a great night and always fun to see the family. Then on Sunday we had a big birthday party for the April birthdays (Mara, my mom, and my niece Sawyer) Mara got a ton of clothes from Ramey cousins, Aunt Karri, and Mana :) A neat Bathtub Cinderella Doll from JD & Chris. And a fun Princess Coloring book and Cinderella Polly's from Grandma Joan :) Mara loves the little Polly doll, she is constantly wanting me to change her dresses (I'm just glad I was able to put away the small shoes before she noticed) It was fun to have all the birthday's together. It was Sawyer's first bday, so it was fun to see her eat her cake. Which she would only do if Brent or Lisa lifted the cake to her face. It took her awhile to get her hands dirty, she is just so cute!!! :) Thanks again to all the family that helped make Mara's birthday special. We love you all!!

Today she had her checkup at the doctors, and she is 35 inches tall and weighs 31 1/2 pounds!! She is still in the 90th percentile for her weight which is a far cry from where she was at birth (5th percentile, weighing 6 lbs 10 oz) It's so fun to see how much kids grow!

My Baby is 2

Today is Mara's 2nd Birthday. I can't believe she is this big already. It seems like just yesterday she was a newborn! She was born weighing 6 pounds 10 ounces. The smallest at birth of all her cousins on both sides of the family. I was so worried that she would stay skinny, but sure enough, she did get chubby like her brother.
There are so many things that I love about her. I love her smile and the way she laughs, she is just so sweet. I love the way she talks, and she talks a lot!!! LOL She is always saying "Mommy, dance!" (whenever there is music playing, whether it is in the car or at home), "I'm OK" (when she coughs or sneezes), "Bless you" (when someone else sneezes), "I wanna see" (to pretty much anything that is out of sight), "I can't like it" (when she doesn't like something), "I felled!" (even when she does the tiniest little trip, and doesn't even hit the floor), and "I'm princess" (whenever she is wearing dress-ups). She is loving Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, but I am trying to make her watch the other princess movies. Her favorite thing to sing is "I know you, I walk you...dream" from Sleeping Beauty and "Cleaning up the toilet, ohh" from Enchanted (that one always gets the song stuck in my head)!! She loves for me to sing "Twinkle" and "Rock baby" when I put her to bed. She loves to wear her "Jellies" and skirts. Her favorite things are her blankie, bear and pillow, (all things that Mana has given her, coincidentally) There are just so many things that I love about her, that I can't even think of all of them. I always have a hard time getting my thoughts in order when I blog. But for her birthday I made yet another slide show of some of my favorite pictures of the past 2 years. Too bad there's a 30 picture limit because I love so many.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
PRINCESS!!

Happy Anniversary :)

Today is our 6 year wedding anniversary :) I can't believe that we have been married for this long. But I look at my two beautiful children and the years come into focus. When we got married digital cameras were expensive, so all of our photos were taken with film. For the longest time I have wanted to get the negatives scanned and put onto a CD, so I would have my wedding photos on the computer. So last weekend I did just that!! (I took them to Costco, and it was really inexpensive) They turned out wonderfully and put a smile on my face. I even got my engagement photos and some family pictures on the CD too!! So I picked through over 400 pictures total and found my favorites to make a slide show :)

I just want to tell my husband that I LOVE YOU!! You are my best friend and soul mate. And my ultimate minimate, lol. You have always been able to make me laugh, cheer me up when I am sad, and you let me vent about the hard parts of being a mother :) I know that school is hard and tiring, but you are almost done!You are the most determined person I have ever met, and you are able to do anything that you set your mind to. You are a wonderful husband and an amazing father. I love the sound of joy that comes from our children when you walk through the door. They love you so much! Remember:

I LOVE YOU,

ALWAYS AND

FOREVER!

BTW: 100 posts!! Wahoo!!

Sci-Fi Nerdiness

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

I can't tell you how much I love this show! It feeds my inner soul and makes me happy! Pat and I started watching BSG about this time last year. We borrowed it from my brother JD. Pat had watched it by himself and then I joined him about 5-6 episodes into the first season, and instantly loved it! We were able to watch season 2, then had to wait to see season 3 (which had just ended on TV). But JD was able to find the episodes for us, so we got caught up before Christmas :) But last July when we went to California, I failed to mention that Karri, Pat and I went to San Diego for ComicCon, we were able to go to a panel called "The Women of Battlestar". It was awesome to be there, and see the actors that we loved (even if it was from a distance). I even talked with Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol). It was awesome!!

This is a show that always keeps you guessing. You start out not knowing who is a real human or who is a human model cylon. They build you up to love a character and then show you who they really are! It is amazingly written and the music is so beautiful (go to my playlist and listen to the Bear McCreary music, I love it)

My favorite characters are Lee "Apollo" Adama and Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. They definitely go through a love/hate relationship, but are ultimately best friends, but we all want it to be much more. Too bad right now they are married to different people. Then there is Gaius Baltar and Six.These are Pat's favorite characters. She is a cylon and he is a "what about me" type of person. His craziness always makes me smile. I can't wait to find out what is going to happen in season 4! It has been a long time coming, but the wait is finally over :) It starts tomorrow!!! If anyone wants to check out a new show I highly recommend BSG. It is on the Sci-Fi channel, so look it up.




On another note: I am such a geek at heart! What do you expect growing up with a father that loved Star Wars, Star Trek the Original Series, and everything Sci-Fi. He originally got me into Star Trek: The Next Generation (which I loved and was a little obsessed with as a kid, and now we own all 7 seasons on DVD), and then I got into the whole X-Files obsession. (we own all 9 seasons of this one too) And I am so excited that there is going to be another movie! Here is a picture of the teaser poster! I am anxious to see Mulder and Scully back together and especially on the big screen! The movie premiers on July 25. Which is when Karri, Pat and I will be in San Diego for yet another ComicCon :) (I hope BSG people will be there again) So we are totally going to see the movie when we are out there!
Anyway, I just wanted to share my joy with you and that's all of my Sci-Fi Nerdiness for one post.

Easter Egg Hunt

Last night we had an Easter Egg Hunt in the backyard for the grandkids! It was so much fun. I think that we had 3 times as many eggs then we had last year. All of the kids had overflowing baskets, so we had to start filling bags! I was walking around with Mara taking pictures, so I didn't get that many of Xander. But Karri, Lisa, and Mom were taking pictures too, so I was able to snatch a bunch of them :) All together we had so many pictures that I had to make a slideshow! (oh darn) After the egg hunt we had BBQ hamburgers and hung out. It's so great to have family close by. After dinner my mom played "Ring around the Rosies" with the girls, it was so cute, those pics are at the end of the slideshow.
But I had to post one picture, because it was so cute!

Happy Easter

HAPPY EASTER!!!

I feel like this holiday has snuck up on me, so I haven't done all the things that I would normally do. I would usually get the kids some new clothes, a new shirt for Xander and a dress for Mara, but that didn't happen :( But I did get a dress from my sister in-law Liza, that her daughter Addi wore, which turned out to be perfect for Mara!! We didn't color any eggs, even though I bought more eggs just so we could color them :) There is always next year!
We had baskets ready for the kids this morning, and Xander decided to go upstairs without us and peek! I can't believe he is already getting like this. They were excited for there presents. Xander got a cool 3-D Ninja Turtles Puzzle, the newest Little Einsteins Movie, M&M's, a little Pablo stuff toy (from Backyardigans) and a cool gun that blows bubbles!
We got for Mara her own My Friends Tigger and Pooh movie, M&M's, a Uniqua stuff toy (also from Backyardigans), some cool bath tub crayons, and a little egg toy that lights up. Xander's first thing he did was put together his puzzle. He loves it and I know he will be playing with it alot :)
In the rush to get out the door to go to church I got a snap shot of the two of them together. They are so loving when they want to be, lol. I actually braided the top of Mara's hair into two braids. They were so little because she has such fine hair, but then I put little ribbons at the bottom and it was so cute! I really need to try some new styles with her, so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know.
This was after church, she is showing off her dress! Thanks again Liza, I love it!!



And another sweet picture of my girl :)

I'm So Excited!!

One of my favorite shows in the history of the fraking universe (ty JD) is Battlestar Galactica!!! This show is so amazing! It is a re-imagining of the original BSG, but a hundred times better. And yes I am a Sci-Fi geek when it comes to certain things (if you didn't know already). The 4th and final season of BSG starts on the 4th of April and we are so excited! I have never posted anything from YouTube before but this was totally worthy of a post. On Wednesday some of the cast of BSG was on David Letterman and they did the top ten list. Karri called me and told me about it, so I have to post it. Enjoy!!