Spring is finally here... Sort of!!

Vance was falling asleep in the car but he couldn't stop chewing his pretzels.
He had just put a new pretzel in his mouth, I just missed it sticking out. Still so cute!!
Our fun day at the park. Vance was enjoying the chipmunk and was really trying hard to get it to rock.
Vance and all his cuteness on the swing.
"You want me to do what?"
"Okay!" WEEEEEEEEEE all the way down.
Our family on the bridge over the Iowa River.
These boys are so cute you are pretty much distracted from how high the water is in the background.
Let's go fly a kite!! This is one of Vance's new favorite things to do and of course we have had plenty of wind.
Vance flying his new Turtle kite all by himself.
"See mom!!!"
Then he got bored and decided to come and throw rocks.
He found a stick and threw it too.
So much force behind the throw he was struggling to keep his balance.
If this isn't a picture perfect moment I don't know what is. SO CUTE!!!!

Matage Framing Giveaway!!

I found this website on a friends and they are offering a drawing to win this amazing picture in a beautiful frame.  I would recommend that you go and look and hey, why not try to win it right?

NO!!

What a word!! I am learning that over and over everyday.  Vance doesn't tell me no on a lot of things but once he says it he just keeps repeating it because he thinks it is so funny.  He just sits there laughing at himself for saying something funny.  He will say everyones name anytime except for when I ask him to say it for Mimi or one of his aunts or uncles and then he says "No!" while laughing.  He is just so funny.  Everyday brings a new word or several new words.  They may grow quickly when they are little but once they start talking they just grow up so fast.  I can't seem to keep up with him sometimes.  It makes be very thankful that I don't use bad words because he would not be shy at all to say it anytime.  The other day we had a big moment... he came up to me and said "Poo Poo!" and he grabbed my hand and took me into the bathroom, picked up his cushy seat, put it on the toilet and was looking at my like "Hello take this thing off so I can go.  So I took his diaper off and put him on the potty and he went Pee!!! I was like "Hurray!!"  It was a total shock for him to know that he had to go pee.  I love him so much and everyday brings new surprises that I love to look forward too.  To all you mothers out there, enjoy every moment because you never know what the next moment brings. 

Our little scare

So as some of you know we had a little scare with Vance on Friday morning. We took him into the ER to try and get him some help. They couldn't figure out what was going on with him but he was just laying there not moving, not talking, not smiling, nothing. He was just laying there and sleeping and when he was awake he wasn't doing anything. Needless to say we were scared out of our minds. They took blood, a head CT, a urine sample, and a nasal flush to try and figure out what it was. He was put on an IV to rehydrate him because he was a little dehydrated but they still didn't know what it was. They decided to admit him just to observe him overnight and finally at about 6pm he woke up and ate something and started moving and talking a little bit. Thankfully the next morning he was ok but that day was the worst day of my life. I hate not knowing what is going on. I can handle it if I know but not knowing was killing me. I was an emotional wreck but through the thoughts and prayers of our family and friends he got better and I was able to deal with everything. He got discharged on Saturday at about 2:30pm and we still didn't know what had caused it. When we got home the PA called us and told us that the Nasal flush had shown that he had Parainfluenza 3 which is a virus that can cause croup and that that might have been what had caused him to act that way. So finally we knew what we needed to do and where to go from there. He is doing so much better and back to his normal active self, thank goodness. I used to get so tired and frustrated with him jumping and running all over the place but you never know how much you love that until he doesn't do it anymore. I am so thankful to my Father in heaven for making our precious son whole again. I am also so grateful for my amazing husband Curtis and his strength when I had none. He was such a great support to me even though he was going through the same things with me. He is so much stronger than I am and I am so blessed to have him in my life. Well here are some pictures of Vance with his little IV.



OUR PRECIOUS LITTLE ANGEL!!! HE WAS SO BRAVE!!!

Vance and his new hair

Yes I said it we cut my cute curly boys hair. I am still crying about it because his curls were so cute but he is still just so adorable so it doesn't really matter. I just got tired of people calling him a girl and just broke down and cut it. He looks like a little man. SO HANDSOME. So here it is everyone.

Before the cut sitting in the tub.
Look at that cute hair!!
And then I started to cut it off. WHAT AM I DOING!!!
Oh but doesn't he look so cute!!!
He really looks a lot different.
The next day I wanted to try it spiked up and I think it looked so cute.
The whole outfit and hair, HEART BREAKER!!!!!!

Oklahoma here we come!!!

This is from our families trip to the Oklahoma city Memorial. It was a very peaceful place. When you look at the walls they represent the minute before and after the bombing. The significance is the moment we were innocent and the moment when the world changed. It was a beautiful monument. The pool represents the mysteries of life. There was a chair that represented each person that lost their lives in the building on all nine floors. If you look closely you will see small chairs which represent the children that were killed in the daycare. Each chair has a persons name on it so you can see all the people that were lost. On the opposite side of the pool there is a tree that is called the Survivor tree which was the only tree that survived the blast. It is a really neat tree. Then there is the fence which is just a portion of the original fence that went around the bombed site while they were searching and clearing it out. They saved this portion so that people would still have a means to express their feelings about that day. Across the street is a statue of Christ with his back turned to the building and his face in his hands which shows his pain for the loss of those innocent people. It was quite the experience. It always makes me stop and think about how grateful I am for my life and for all those that give their lives so that we can be free. Thank you Ella and Sam for taking us there it was great.

The first pictures are from Ted's mexican cafe. It was so Choice!!! Thanks for finding that because Curtis was in heaven with those homemade tortillas. The rest of the pictures are from Incredible Pizza. It is like a Chucky Cheese but sooooooo much better. Vance was all over the place. He thought he was in heaven with that train. He was an expert at it by the end. We were there for a very long time but the kids all enjoyed themselves as did the adults. There were games for all ages. Another one of Vance's favorites was that little carousel. He kept running back to it and trying to get onto the fish. He was so funny. He was in and out and around and through everything he could be. It was great family fun.

These are just a few pictures of us hanging out enjoying each other. Vance loved hanging around Isaac and Darron. They were like his big brothers for the whole week. They really played so well together. Darron did miss Vance when we left and was begging Alethia to give him a baby brother and to name him Vance. It was so cute. All the kids had a great time. We adults had a ball as well. We played some games but we really just enjoyed each others company most of all. Our visits are few and far between. Mimi and Papa also decided to celebrate all the grandbabies birthdays while we were there so there is a cake with all there names on it. Hans, Holly, and Kelsie left before we got to the cake but Kelsie is on there as well. You can imagine how fun it was trying to keep six kids fingers out of the cake so that we could take pictures. It was so funny. We loved being there and spending time with the McAdam's and the Broderick's. Thank you so much for everything. WE LOVE YOU!!

My life as a Mom!!

VANCE IS 19 MONTHS TODAY!!!!
So as many of you know toddlers are just so funny. Every moment is a new experience with Vance. Last night during bath time Curtis calls me from the bathroom and says he needs me. I said just a minute and he said I don't think I have a minute and then I said what's wrong and he said I don't think you want to know!!! Well as I walked in and looked in the tub I was shocked to see that Vance had pooped in the tub!!! EEEEEEWWWWWW!!!! I am sure some of you have dealt with this before but it has never happened to us so we were both just kind of in a state of "what do we do now?" It was an interesting experience and I am so glad that I didn't have to deal with it by myself. My brave husband took the job of scooping it out of the tub into the toilet. MY HERO!!!

This morning is a whole other story. Vance was sitting eating his breakfast and usually when he is done he yells "Mama!!!" and I say yes and he says Da which means done but today he just started throwing his eggs so I went in to take his tray away and he grabbed it from me and said "wawa" which means water so I just thought he wanted his sippy and so I let him get that and continued to take the tray but OH NO that was not what I was supposed to do. He was drinking his sippy with one hand and with the other he grabs the tray to put it back on his chair. Now that may not sound as funny to some of you as it really was but if you could see him it was hilarious.

I am learning so many things about Vance and his little personality. He is just so much fun and I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father that he sent this special angel to me. I don't know what I did to deserve him but nevertheless he is ours. He is so smart and funny and I love him so much. So there you have it folks just a glimse into a moment in the life of Vance's mom!!!!

Our Temple trip

We had the opportunity to go to the Nauvoo temple last month and to take the elders with us. It was a great experience. The Nauvoo valley was beautiful. The river was partly frozen over and there were huge chunks of ice along the side of the river. We took the elders down to see Carthage Jail and our drive took us along the side of the river. As we were driving we saw bald eagles just sitting on the river. There were at least 15. I have never seen one up that close before. They are really beautiful. It is always and amazing experience to go to Carthage and stand in the place where Joseph and Hyrum sacrificed their lives. It is truly a blessing to be so close to these two amazing historic places. We love it here.

The Vance man!!!

Of course we can't post pictures without posting some of the love of our lives, our little boy. He is growing so quickly. He loves playing with his turtle, reading books, singing songs, nursery, putting on daddy's football helmet, throwing balls, and learning new words. He is just the cutest thing. He has now learned how to try and climb up the gate that we have to keep him out of the bathroom. It is really a funny thing to see. I am the happiest mommy at the moment because he has been taking naps in his bed now for two weeks. As some of you know I couldn't do anything to get him to take a nap in his crib before but he was ready and we finally worked out the kinks and he does great now. I am just so happy!!! Vance has this adorable personality that just shines in his smile. He is so full of life and he reminds me how amazing life truly is. Everyday is a new adventure and I am so grateful and blessed to have him to teach me everyday. He and Curtis are my life and I don't know what I would do without them. The Lord has truly blessed me.

Snowed In!!!

So I feel like I haven't posted much lately so here you are. The first set of pictures is from our trip to the Science Museum on Curtis' vacation at the beginning of the month.  We were the only ones in the museum that day and so we just had a ball.  Of course Vance and Curtis both loved the bubble room.  I think that is where we spent the most time. The bottom pictures are of the snow storm we had at the beginning of the week of our vacation and we were snowed in for a few days and as you can see there was quite a bit of snow. It is still melting. It was a really beautiful sight. I love the snow. Overall it was a really fun time because we got to spend a lot of time together as a family.

I love my son!!

I just thought that I should post today how much I love my son.  The Lord truly knows our needs and he knew that I needed this little guy in my life.  He is such a comfort to me being in a new area away from family and all things familiar.  He has become my best friend and I don't know what I could do without him.  Today we had a doctor's appointment for his 18 month check up and he just sat there and let them listen to him and rub his belly and look in his ears.  He also got two shots today and it was pure agony!! I know a small bit of how our Father in Heaven feels when we are sick or hurt or when we make choices that are not the right ones.  Being a parent is so hard sometimes but I wouldn't trade it for the world.  He is just growing up so fast and I can totally see his life just flying by me and I can't bare to think about it.  He has starting using the toilet before bath time and I know that it is just a matter of time before other things come along.  It is amazing how quickly they learn.  I am completely mortified that I am going to totally screw him up because I have no idea what I am doing but I am so glad that I have great women in my life that have experienced these things before and they have helped me so much.  I am so grateful to have him in my life.  The Lord knows what we need.  I just love my son.  He is my hero. 

My Love!!

This has been a great week for us. On Wednesday we celebrated our 4th anniversary. I know I can't believe it has been 4 years but it has been the best four years of my life. I have the kindest, sweetest, loving, most handsome husband in the world. He is such an amazing father to Vance and such a great example for both of us. He works so hard to make a secure future for us. I am so blessed that he chose me as his companion. Each day I fall in love with him more and more. We are very blessed in our lives that we have each other. I thank my Father in Heaven daily for blessing me with this amazing man. We are lucky because our anniversary falls on the 13th which is the day before Valentines day and so the whole world is celebrating their love the same time we are celebrating our marriage. Everywhere I went this week I was reminded about that special day in my life and that is such a great thing to have. Over the last four years there has been a lot of things that have come into our lives but the greatest blessing of all was our son Vance. He has made us grow stronger as a family and he helps us to remember to laugh at ourselves. Curtis is a great example to Vance and you can see the special bond that my boys have and I am thankful for that. We love all our family and thank them for the support they have given us and we hope that we can return it ten fold in the future. To my love, my friend, my rock, my life.... I love you baby, I am so excited for the rest of eternity that I get to spend with you.

The newest developments!!

So Vance is just growing up faster than we are ready for but it is such a fun time. He has a few things that he absolutely loves to do now. One of his favorite things to do is to get into the bowls and put them on his head and walk around the house with it on like one of daddy's hats. It is so funny as you will see below. He also loves to wear daddy's hats around the house as well. He has a stethoscope that Curtis gave him and he loves to put it in his ears and listen to my heart or his heart. It is great.Everyday it seems like he is learning something new and it is just so amazing to me. The other day I heard a noise and I went to find out what it was and I discovered that it was just Vance but the noise was him rolling his tongue and now he does it all the time. His favorite time to do it is when he is laughing so he will start laughing and the end of it will be the rrrrrrrrr sound and it is so funny. He loves to tickle now, thanks a lot Curtis, and so most of my day is spent letting him tickle me much to his delight. He even wakes up from a nap and the first things he does is give me kisses and then he tickles. It is hilarious. Another new development is that anytime he hears our camera turning on no matter where he is or what he is doing he will say "Cheese" and now he not only says cheese he turns his head to the side like in one of the pictures below. He is just such a character!! He loves his books and loves playing ball with daddy. Everyday he goes and knocks on the door of our room and says "Daddy?" and I have to tell him no that daddy is at school. He loves his daddy. Just a few fun facts about our adorable boy!

One of Vances newest and favorite past times. He loves his books.

This book is great!!
He disappeared for a while and this is where I found him, I'm telling you loves his books!!

This was our cleaning day and he saw me sweeping the bathroom and when I turned around he was in the kitchen sweeping the floor. Good to know!!
What isn't this how you are supposed to do it?
I am not that much bigger.
I love my Weeble Wobbles Aunt Michelle!!!
CHOO CHOO!! Train time!!
Vance eating his broccoli for the first time. I had to have proof for daddy.
Just being silly!
Cheese!!!
My new hat!!
Gotta love me.
I think you are going to be fine.
This is where he turned his head and said cheese. We just wanted to take a picture of him in his outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Birdno and this is what we got instead. I would trade for this any day.
OH HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THIS BOY!!!!