Lions and tigers and bears.....what fun!

Well, we didn't see any lions or tigers today, but we did see some bears! We had so much fun at the zoo today with some friends. Luke hadn't been there since he was about 11 months old. He had so much fun seeing all of the animals that he reads about in all of his books. We saw elephants, gorillas, monkeys (aka George), and a giraffe and her little baby!

We picked the perfect day to go as it was so warm and pretty outside! Luke loved being able to run around after the long winter of staying indoors. Hopefully it stays this nice for a few more days.

What a great day it was, and we can't wait for more outdoor fun!

All I did was blink.....

I can't believe how big my boys are getting! I swear I just found out that I was pregnant with Max. I remember feeling so overwhelmed with joy and worry. How was I going to share my love I have for Luke with another baby?!? It is amazing how this works out and the love just multiplies. I love seeing Max's eyes get big and him smile at Luke, and how Luke has to show Max everything that he is doing. I hope they will always be the best of friends. I love my Boys- how did I get so lucky?!

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more.. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." -Oprah Winfrey

So long flowers...until next year

I love getting the Valentines Day flowers- but it is so sad the day you have to throw them away. Yes, mine are already in the garbage. So sad. At least I got a few cute pictures of them before this sad, sad day. Even though flowers don't last very long, I still would LOVE to get them more than once a year, as long as they aren't more than 15 bucks...hint, hint. I guess I should just be grateful for what I get, and I do get a lot. Ike, you are the best! Thanks for all you do, I love you!

Snapshots worth sharing

I had to share a few pictures I took of Max in his cute red polo. My good friend Katie gave me the cutest clothes before I had Max, and this is one of them. I didn't think it would fit yet, as it is 6-9 months- but it did, and I thought he just looked scrumptious!


Luke loves to hold Max, and when I feed him a bottle, he always wants to feed him all by himself. He is getting pretty good at doing this- but I have to stay right there as once Luke is done feeding him, he will gently slide him off of his lap and move on to something else. Here is a picture of Luke and Max with one of Luke's "CHEESE" smiles.

Max's 1st Photoshoot

My friend Brittany and I staged our own "photoshoot" the other day with our new cameras, and we were both so pleased with how it turned out!

Max is getting cuter every day.

With how well it turned out, I don't think I'll ever pay a professional again!

So cute, don't you think?

ABC's

Luke is getting so smart! Here he is singing his ABCs.....

His favorite thing in the world is reading books. We have to read them every morning right when he gets out of bed. He can count to 10 (it usually skips 5-9), he now knows all of his shapes (besides things like pentagon of course) and he can name all of his animals! Now if we could only get him to learn his colors! Everything to him is yellow or blue!

The 2's really are TeRrIbLe...

Can I just say that I love being a mom- most of the time!!! Luke woke up last Sunday a different boy. He woke independent instead of my sweet little toddler. Maybe the new little brother is now finally catching up to him, or perhaps it's him just growing up. Don't get me wrong, I love him to death. He is just testing his limits and my patience. His new word is "Huh??" No matter what I say, it's "Huh?" I was beginning to wonder if he has a hearing problem, but I doubt it. He just keeps on doing the naughty thing he is doing pretending that he can't hear or understand me. He's been hitting Max, hitting our walls with his play hammer, pushing the kitchen chairs all over the place so he can reach everything that he knows he shouldn't!! And he has major crying fits every day where there is nothing I can do to stop the crying so I end up putting him in his bed until he is ready to stop. You are probably thinking that this is typical 2-year-old behavior, and I am sure it is - but Luke has always been the most mellow, well-behaved little boy (so I think). So it has been kind of sad to me, and I find myself missing the old Luke. The same kind of thing happened about 6 months ago- but I don't know if he out grew it or if I just got used to it.

The other day when I put him in his bed during a crying fit, something terrible happened!!! He climbed out of bed on his own! I knew that day would come - and he is 2 1/2 so it's about time. Here is story behind his bed... 3 months before Max was born we bought Luke a big boy bed. It is actually a bunk bed so that Max and Luke can eventually share a room. For now, we took the bunk beds apart, and Luke's bed is the top bunk but on the ground. Since it is the top bunk, it has rails all around it. We thought this would be easier for Luke to transition from his crib to a big boy bed as it would have an enclosure and still feel like a crib. Until now, it has been a genius idea, and we have had no trouble at all. He sometimes would climb into his bed, but he never dared climb out. He wouldn't even try. He would call for me until I came in to rescue him. Anyways- those days are long gone :)

There are so many wonderful things to say about Luke! I am sorry to go off on all the negative stuff. Most of the time- he is a happy, fun little boy. He is talking so much now, and saying the cutest things. I will write more about these things next time. Thanks for listening- I feel much better now :)

100 Things about Me, Myself & I

My friend did this on her blog- and I had so much fun reading everything she had to say about herself. I don't know if I can think of 100 things to say about myself- especially interesting things- but I will give it a try! I am sorry if you get bored, but here we goooooo........

1. I am not a morning person- very hard with 2 little kids!
2. I love to scrapbook- but I never do it.
3. I could spend hours and hours blog surfing.
4. I tell people I gained 50 lbs. when pregnant with Max- but I think it might be closer to 60!
5. I am doing Weight Watchers- only 10 more pounds to go!
6. I seriously have the 2 cutest kids in the world.
7. I have had Raisin Bran for breakfast almost every day for the last 3 years!
8. I drove the wrong way on the freeway on accident on a date when I was in high school.
9. I love to doodle.
10. I like to hang out in my garments- sorry if that grosses you out!
11. When it is warm, I love to go walking outside with my double jogging stoller.
12. I hate it when people tell me I am shy or quiet- even though I am.
13. I could eat Subway everyday for the rest of my life if I could.
14. I love to take pictures with my new camera.
15. I love being a mom- but want to wait at least 4 years before having more kids.
15. If Ike had his way, we would have another one in 9 months...
16. I don't have much to say most of the time.
17. I have a fear of losing loved ones.
18. I eat popcorn and icecream every single night.
19. I don't like to read books- and that makes me feel dumb.
20. I love Jack Johnson.
21. I worry and have to make sure the doors are locked at least 3 times every night.
22. I lose tons of hair after I have babies- so much that it scares me to pieces!
23. It is growing back now, and that makes me happy :)
24. I am really emabarrased right now.
25. I watched every episode of Dawson's Creek.
26. I love Pacey and was so happy that Joey ended up with him in the last episode
27. Dawson really bugged me.
28. I cried when his dad died.
29. I cuddle with my little boys blanky sometimes- it reminds me of mine when I was little.
30. I hate the dentist with all of my heart.
31. I love to decorate my house.
32. I wish I had money to decorate my house.
33. I love to cuddle with Ike- he doesn't like it as much.
34. I hope my kids like me when they are older.
35. I love being surprised!
36. Sometimes I think I sound really good when I sing.
37. Ike tells me I should try out for American Idol.
38. I like to watch Curious George with Luke.
39. I love anything made with chocolate.
40. I had a crush on my husband in high school.
41. Sometimes I would visit his mom (my young women leader) hoping he would be home.
42. He never was home.
43. I regret having a boyfriend in high school.
44. I lost a lot of friends because of it.
45. I LOVE waterskiing.
46. I hate snowskiing- I had to slide down the bunny hill on my butt once because I was so scared.
47. I have been to Disneyland so many times that I am sick of it.
48. I love the movie About a Boy.
49. I would love to be able to run a marathon one day.
50. Ike makes me laugh everyday.
51. I work from home for a scrapbook company called Making Memories.
52. Watching Ellen makes me happy.
53. Sometimes I wonder why I am so blessed.
54. I wish my legs could get tan- they always stay white!
55. I love having a girl's night out with my friends.
56. This doesn't happen as often as I wish.
57. I need a vacation so bad.
58. Hawaii would be nice.
59. So would a cruise to the Bahamas....
60. I love to daydream.
61. I am scared of heights.
62. I love the color purple.
63. I hate it when people call and ask to speak with my mommy.
64. I sometimes say she isn't home and take a message.
65. I love my orange scrapbook room.
66. It makes me happy.
67. I wish I could dance.
68. I want to invent something awesome and make millions.
69. I wish I had more desire to finish college.
70. I am a positive person most of the time.
71. I worry about what people think of me.
72. I want to change that about me and have more confidence in myself.
73. I love to smile but I hate my teeth.
74. I had a miscarriage at 14 weeks after trying to get pregnant for 1 year.
75. I lost 65 lbs after I had Luke (I only gained 19 lbs. with him, not 60)
76. I worry way too much about trying not to hurt peoples feelings.
77. I hate to fold laundry
78. I have only used my iron about 5 times ever.
79. I worked at Keva Juice in high school.
80. And Your Valet Dry Cleaners.
81. I was on the swim team in high school- but I wasn't very good.
82. I just did it to get some exercise.
83. I hate my widows peak.
84. I dream I can fly probably twice a week.
85. I got caught in high school forging my moms signature on a truency slip.
86. I love taking bubble baths.
87. I cry so easily.
88. I also laugh easily.
89. I need to be better about hanging up my clothes in my closet.
90. I love to organize my house.
91. I am so happy I am almost done with this.
92. I was a red crayon for Halloween once when I was little.
93. I got chased by a midget in a church when I was little.
94. Maybe that was a dream- I can't remember.
95. I love to watch The Office.
96. I think Jim is hot.
97. I am happy Jim and Pam are together.
98. I wish I was more outgoing.
99. I love it when Luke calls me mama.
100. I love my life and wouldn't want it any different!!

Well, there you have it. Now you know way too much about me! I hope you still like me! :)

I love cake

I've been doing Weight Watchers the past few months. I feel I've done pretty good, but every once in awhile I have days where I just can't resist temptation. Today I crave chocolate cake. It doesn't help that my friend Jen posted this picture of perhaps the yummiest-looking cake ever! And I just barely posted the video of Luke's turtle cake that I spent hours on.

Anyway, instead of eating cakes, maybe I can satisfy my sweet tooth by posting pictures of them...

This cake I made for Luke's 1st birthday party. The theme of the party was Curious George. It's funny that we've sort of forced Luke into liking Curious George. Now he can't go to bed without watching an episode!


This cake I took to my parents when we celebrated a few birthdays in the family. Obviously, it was also Easter time. Otherwise, a bunny cake wouldn't have made much sense, now would've it?


This is the cake seen below that I made for Luke's 2nd birthday party. I don't know why I chose a turtle, I just did, alright? Get off my back... jeez! Anyway, as I mentioned in my last post, for some reason, this one just didn't come together like the others. But after some last minute help (and consoling) from my mom, we got it figured out!

Happy Birthday Luke - 5 months ago!

Against my wishes, Ike bought a new computer last week. At the time, I would've rather spent the money on clothes, or maybe decorations for the house. But using it now I'm so glad he talked me into it! It has lots of cool features. It's way fast, and I can watch TV on the computer while answering emails. Best of all, we're just now putting all of our home videos onto DVD. Our old computer would do it too, but it was so dang slow and half the time it wouldn't work - or so I'm told by Ike.

Anyway, going through all our videos we've found some gems like the one below. This is Luke's 2nd birthday party. We celebrated it at Hogan Park by our house, and all of our family and friends were there. The best part of the night was when Luke tried to blow out his candles!



In case you're wondering, I made the cute turtle cake. It was pretty stressful, and I won't lie - there were a few tears shed. But in the end, I was pretty happy with it!

ps. Max was born a week later!
pps. Special thanks to Ike for getting me started on this blog and for helping me upload this video.

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2007 was so awesome! Ike always makes it so special for me, and seems to out-do himself every year. This year was no exception as he surprised me with a Canon Rebel camera! I've been coveting my mom's (and my next door neighbor's) for months, and it came as a total shock! He also got me new scriptures, an expensive punchbowl, and lots of other fun stuff. I am so spoiled!

Check out all my loot on the left - missing is the camera - because I took this picture with it - and the punchbowl because Ike didn't give it to me until our anniversary.

Luke had a fun Christmas too as Grandma & Grandpa Yospe got him a fun train set, and Grandma & Grandpa Layton got him a new bike. Santa didn't bring him much at all as he was so spoiled by his grandparents.












Max loves his bouncer, and will stay in there a long time just playing, having fun. It's nice for me because I can get a lot of work done while he's in there!