Happy Birthday little man

Darren 2 years ago

Today my little man turned 2. Its hard to believe sometimes. Until I look at him, that is. He's so big and he's really grown over the summer. I've been meaning to put a post about him since before the baby was born. His favorite word is still no. Always no, never yes, though he will nod his head if he really wants something. He says so many new words everyday. We call him our little parrot lately. It is so much fun watching him as we talk and interact and seeing his face when you know he's understanding or just catching on to something. It is just great.

He's got enough energy for several kids and enough curiosity for even more. He loves to play in the water and pour it between cups and it ends up all over the floor. He is all boy and loves balls, trucks, dinosaurs, trains, etc. We had a little party for him with my family last Sunday and with Rick's family today. He has the greatest smile and expressions and he's really sweet most of the time. He's also quite rough sometimes but he looks at me like he doesn't understand why he's in trouble.

He got a couple trucks, some tools, and some Tonka Wheel Pals sets and didn't stop playing with them until bedtime. He's just a doll and we love out little D. Happy Birthday baby boy.

D opening up his tools

Good morning birthday boy

He was so cute blowing out the candles. He was actually too soft and had to do it many times! He loved to be sung to so we did it all day. When we had the house full tonight he looked at each person as we sang and when we said his name his face lit up with the biggest grin. It was adorable.

Annie

My little Annie is now 4 years old. We had a fun day at Lagoon after an unexpected call that morning. We had a blast and I'm still recovering but I wanted to put a quick post about my sweet Ann. She's a hoot when she's not screaming her head off. One of the sweetest things she does is to sing I Love to See the Temple. It is just adorable. She's quite verbose when she wants to be and come up with some really funny things to say. Carlyn was saying something to her yesterday and Annie yelled back, "You're trying to make me be a bad example." Today in the car we didn't hear anything until a loud, "I am not a Mr. Bossy Pants," came from Annie in the backseat. I know she says a ton everyday but Charlie is ready to eat his own arm off so I'd better go feed him. I'll have to post more with some pictures soon.

Update- Birthday, Ear Piercing, Goodbye

Hey everyone, I'm on my new computer, and it runs much faster, thanks to Rick. I haven't downloaded pictures for a long time, so I'll try not to make it too long. No promises though.

We've had a busy April. I'll start with Rick's birthday.

I mentioned in a previous post that the girls wanted to dress up for his birthday dinner. This is what they wore. So sweet!

That's quite a little fire on the cake there. We had to sing fast! :)

This is the end of the movie when all the kids were sitting on Rick's lap. I love it. They love their Daddy so much, just as they should.

The next big thing was the girls getting their ears pierced. I think I mentioned that they had to earn it by being good and earning beans. They had a few not so good days, but mostly they earned it pretty quickly. I am still not sure I should have let Rick talk me into this, but the girls love them and take care of them pretty well for how young they are. We got a little choked up while we were there. I know its a lot of pictures, but again, this was hard for me so deal with it!

Annie before

Annie during

Annie after. She chose green birthstones (I don't know what month.) No tears, no flinching. I am amazed by my brave daughters. Rick tried to talk me into it and I still didn't dare and was secretly relieved that they wouldn't do mine while I'm pregnant without a doctor's note.

Carlyn before

Carlyn during. Notice that she has her lamby. Anyone who knows her well know her lamby too. She chose lamby that night to comfort her.

Carlyn after. She chose the pink birthstone, of course. Again, no tears and not even the tiniest flinch. Tough cookie! For at least a week they proudly showed their ears to everyone. They'd say, "Look, I got my ears pierced. I didn't even flinch!"

Darren was bored out of his mind and screamed through the whole thing. He also went through at least 2 suckers.

Now I need to mention that my brother,Mathew, had let us know he was working in Canada for the summer and would be leaving in May. I was having a hard time with it because we're pretty close and see him a lot and my kids just adore him, especially Darren. Plus, I'm pregnant and he won't be here for the baby to be born. I'm not sure why this is so huge to me, but it is. So we had their ears pierced on Friday night the week before Easter. That weekend was also conference weekend and a family Easter party on Saturday morning (to be blogged about later.) So Saturday morning I had everything timed just right so that we can eat, bathe, get ready and watch conference then leave to the party immediately after. Well, Mathew threw it all off :)

Rick hadn't gotten much sleep that night (thanks to WOW) and was sleeping in while I showered. Next thing I knew, Rick was up and dressed. I was surprised and he said I had a call from Mathew who was on his way to Canada that day and wanted to say goodbye to us on his way out! I just stared at Rick then finally said, "You're a little late for April Fool's." He laughed but then said it wasn't a joke. Mathew was on his way. Well, I lost it. I bawled while I got ready. I know he's a grown up and I think this adventure will be really good for him, but I still miss him. Its hard when you get used to someone being there, able to come play games or watch the kids most times when we'd call. (Mathew, if you're reading this I don't say it to make you feel bad. We really are excited for you.) Anyway, he came by hugged us, used our computer, then was off.

Look at that smile! Any questions how much she loves Mathew? He lived with us when she was born and for awhile she liked Mathew at least as much as Rick.

I don't think Darren would have been smiling if he had known he wouldn't see his buddy for such a long time :)

Carlyn is old enough to understand better what was going on and was a little more clingy to him, but it was also really sweet because every prayer for over a week prayed for Mathew to be safe and have a fun time in Canada. How sweet is that?

A Quick Happy Birthday

Rick is going to work on my computer tonight so no pictures. But I wanted to say (a day late) a quick Happy Birthday to my sweet man. I love you, Rick, and I'm glad you had a great day.

We had french toast for breakfast and he worked until after 4 when he had a massage. Thanks Massage Envy for getting some knots out of my husband's back because I can't. I frankly was a little jealous. I've feeling very sore and would love a massage, but I'll have to wait. I am glad he got one though. He requested golden rod eggs for dinner (I told him I wanted to cook but his first request was Sizzler.) He liked the movie night at home we did for his birthday last year and requested another one this year. We rented Bolt and had popcorn. Half way through we sang to him and had some rich chocolate cake. We had a great time.

The best was that while he was gone the kids made birthday cards for him. Darren wanted to get in on it too and sat at his booster seat and colored with marker on the construction paper. It was cute, he was very serious about drawing and got mad when I wrote Happy Birthday Daddy on the inside. The girls always take it seriously and made some cute cards. Annie put princess stickers on it and Rick laughed saying he never thought he'd get a princess card for his birthday. :) We gave him the cards at dinner and Darren knew just what to do with the card he made and proudly passed it to Rick. It was adorable. Then, when Rick gave the girls hugs after reading their cards Darren grunted and held out his arms. Rick said, "You want a hug too?" Darren, who says no to everything, nodded his head and said yeah. It was great. He gave Rick a big hug. I unfortunately had a sinus headache and wasn't feeling great, but I hope that Rick never questions how much any of us love him. :)

My Birthday

I might not have posted anything for my birthday, but it turned out quite interesting. Not at all an ideal birthday, but it worked out fine. Its very important to the girls (and Rick) that I had a great day. First of all, Darren started running a fever of 101 to 103 on Sunday and has been extremely cranky and not wanting any food but no symptoms other than that. I thought it must be his ears, but didn't want to take him to the doctor for fear of just being told it was a virus.

So we started out the day as our normal Tuesday with visits to grandmas. We were going to have a lunch party at my grandma's house so I picked up my other grandma here in Salt Lake and headed to Centerville. Here there was no snow on the roads but in Centerville it had started sticking and was super slippery. My grandma lives on a very steep hill and we tried several times to get there, but after sliding all over decided we'd better just head home. It was a bummer because we were starving and my mom had tons of food, but my grandma couldn't go trekking up a huge hill. So she and I decided to go to lunch in Salt Lake instead.

We went to Arby's where Darren screamed the whole time. It was frustrating for me because I knew he didn't feel well, but my grandma got really upset too and that didn't help. Oh, I forgot to mention that I forgot my wallet at home too. Grandma treated us as her birthday present to me. I dropped her off and Darren fell asleep right before we got home and slept for about an hour.

My mom left grandma's early due to the storm and came to our house just before Darren woke up. He didn't want her and was being very grumpy to everyone, including me. It was fun to see her and my niece Evynn, though it was just for a few minutes. Evynn was so sweet and handed me a folded dollar bill and said it was my birthday present. It was so cute!

At this point Rick tried to settle Darren down, but it still took him over an hour after having ibuprofen. At this point I called the doctor's office. His doc was gone for the day, and the other doctors were full so we called kids care and got at appointment at 5:20. The biggest problem with that was that it messed up our plans for Rick to make a cake and a nice dinner (he hadn't gotten to the store due to Darren.)

We decided I'd take Darren to the dr while Rick took the girls present shopping. It didn't take the doc very long to figure out his throat was the cause of grumpiness. She swabbed his throat and gave him a popsicle. She also said it is very rare for kids under 2 to get strep and almost didn't test him. It came back positive though and after a brief conversation we were out of there in less than an hour.

The medicine finally kicked in and here's my little guy as he normally is, but for most of the day and most of the appointment he was screaming. He liked sitting on that little part of the table and he tried to turn off their computer several times too.

We decided at that point to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory. One of my favorites, plus I know the kids will eat there. He was given his first dose before we ate and already seemed better. We were very pleased that Darren did not scream through dinner and actually ate a little bit too.

It was very important to the kids that we have a cake so we stopped at Smith's so I could grab the cake I wanted. We got home and they sang to me. After we ate carrot cake they gave me presents. I got a flat iron, just what I wanted, and a bath pillow. I like baths when I'm pregnant and I hate leaning against the cold tub so they were the perfect gifts. I took a bath while Rick put the kids in bed and then he and I watched the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. My pick, not his :) All in all it turned out to be a good day, but mostly I was so much happier knowing Darren would feel better and he does already today.

Me with my flat iron and bath pillow. Yeah!

Mathew's Birthday

Last weekend we went to my parent's house to celebrate Mathew's birthday. We played a card game or two and ate a delicious lasagna lunch.

Too cute! I couldn't resist this one. Mathew blowing out the candles, while Evynn and Darren eye the cheesecake.

Mathew with all the grandkids in Utah. Jaycie in back, Aili on the left, then Evynn, Mathew holding Darren, Carlyn, Sharice, and Anneliese. And don't forget the cheesecakes!!!

I love you little brother!

Carlyn Birthday Party Pics

Okay, so I'm a slacker, due to morning sickness, because Carlyn's party was 2 weeks ago. I'm doing the best I can. I was a bad mom though and didn't take any pictures during the party, which I normally do, until the present opening. For her party, Carlyn wanted some friends to come for a Princess Tea Party. It was so fun. Thanks to my friend Alicia who helped me because I was really not feeling well that day and had already cleaned my messy house for the party. Anyway, we played Duck, Duck, Goose, Pin the Crown on the Princess, Musical Chairs, and had a little Dance Party (per Carlyn's request.) Then we had a fun little tea party (it kills me that I didn't take a picture) with a doily, plate, napkin and tea cup for everyone (the doilies were Carlyn's idea.) We had little cookies, pb&j sandwiches cut up into strips, tiny cupcakes and don't forget the pink lemonade. It was so cute and so fun! When we started to have the tea party some of the kids looked around nervously and said, "I don't drink tea." What cute kids! I said that was okay because it was lemonade and they felt much better. After the tea party we read a princess story and opened presents. We finished with a Disney Princess Sing Along movie.

Here is Princess Cinderella Carlyn ready for presents.

Here are the Princess sisters.

Carlyn's cousin gave her these vampire teeth. I just thought it looked funny.

Anneliese & her cousin Evynn were both Snow White.

After the friends party we had a family party. We had some pizza and cupcakes then opened presents. The only bummer about the day was that Rick was absent because he was working in our yard with a tractor to clear out the back yard (jungle) all day. I really missed him there, but he worked really hard and now we are ready for sprinklers and sod when we can afford them. We had a good turnout though. Grandma Hilton, Grandpa Hilton, Great Grandma Hilton, Parker, Maren, Mathew, Lindsay, Carisa, Sharice, Jaycie, Aili, Evynn, Grandma Linda, Maureen, Delenn, Belinda, & Josh. We missed everyone who couldn't be there but we had fun. The girls were really loving everyone, I thought, and Darren was a hoot.

The girls with Grandma Linda.

Carlyn and her birthday cupcake being held by Parker.

Sorry, baby D. This is what comes of having older sisters, but in my defense you put these on yourself but got frustrated trying to take the necklace off.

Rick does such a good job of decorating their room. It stayed up for a week and a half. She was asleep in her bed while he did this too :)

They make a big deal out of birthdays at preschool. This is from her computer class in the morning. Notice her new outfit. So cute, thanks grandma.

This is from her afternoon preschool. She was so excited to have Miss Jani give her her own cake. It was so cute. She got to take cupcakes to preschool for all her friends and she loved it.

Her birthday fell on a Wednesday, our busiest day of the week. So after her dance class we had lasagna, her favorite dish. We had some cake and gave her our present. She had requested a jewelry box and "real jewleries."

I had a hard time finding "real" jewelry that I thought appropriate for a 5 year old, but found these at wal-mart. In case you can't tell, they say "Angel" "Cutie" and "Princess" which suited her just perfectly. She's worn them almost everyday since.

This last picture I had to add because it is from Carlyn's favorite friend right now, Amy R., whom she sits with in Sacrament meeting and Carlyn just loves her. Thanks Amy for remembering Carlyn. It made her night.

My Baby is 1!

Last week my parents were in Park City for a couple days. We went to walk around the outlets with my mom and the kids had fun on the playground. Here's D on the slide
This is Darren on his birthday. He was mad that I was taking a picture instead of picking him up but finally decided to smile for the picture.
Mom and Dad left Park City Friday so we just had a party with them and Grandma Hilton at McDonald's. I got him to hold up his finger to say he was 1. He was funny about unwrapping and was sure he was going to get in trouble for ripping the paper. Annie was happy to help.
Cute cake! Thanks Macey's!
This was the present. He was scared of the noise, but Annie showed him what to do.Saturday we had a party for him at the park. Mathew, Lindsay, Belinda, Josh, Grandma Linda, Maureen, Delenn, & Grandma White were all there. We had Costco pizza, opened presents and had cake. It was great! This was the present from us. I got it off of KSL.com. Love it!
I let the girls choose a present for him from the dollar store. Annie got him bath toys and Carlyn got him a little basketball. He loved the firetruck that he's sitting on so much that it was hard to get his attention on anything else.

Gma Linda gave him a cute fireman outfit too and Gma White gave him this vacuum. Notice that he's still sitting on his firetruck.
He was not your typical boy digging into his cake. What's done there is what Rick did and D freaked out. He let Rick feed him a bite or two then stood up trying to get to Daddy.
In the process he dragged his foot across the top of the cake and that was the most damage done. He really didn't like the frosting on his hand.