A few things that make us smile...

 This is sort of a random post, but I thought I would share just a few of the things that make us smile these days.  Caleb told us about this new Alphabet app, and Brigham is a huge fan.  You match cute monster letters that make their phonetic sounds to their outlines to spell the words and then there is a little cartoon to explain the word.  Brigham laughs at the cartoons and is learning phonics and new vocabulary in the process.  And it is free.  And there are no commercials.  So it's pretty great.

Brigham's second favorite app these days is the free Disneyland app.  You get to explore Disneyland and California Adventure with pictures, movies, music, and games.

My favorite app at the moment is a journalling app called Day One (another Caleb recommendation).  I downloaded it January 1, and have written 86 entries since then!  This is a pretty big accomplishment for me because I have been pretty bad about journalling since I got married.  I would go such long periods without writing and then it was hard to catch up and just became overwhelming.  This app was the perfect solution for me.  I set a little alarm to go off at 8:30 at night and if I haven't written yet I can take a few minutes to write something about my day and I can attach a picture.  You can export them all to a PDF document and print them in a book later.  Sorry if this sounds like a commercial, I just wanted to pass on my great new find in case anyone else out there is looking for a journalling idea.

This little girl gives the best kisses.  If you pucker up and say "mmmm" then she will lean right in a give you a kiss.

This little guy loves to ask "a doin, mom?" and then when I tell him what I am doing he usually asks "why?"  He says "pon" and pulls your hand when he wants you to "come on" and follow him.  He also loves to say "watch this" and then do something awesome like shake his head or make a weird noise or funny face.  He says "mine" when he doesn't want to share and "never" when he doesn't want to do something.

He went through a brief stage where he kept asking to watch "Woo-wan" (Mulan) and listen to songs from Mulan.  The video shows a little bit of his Mulan impression, which will hopefully make you smile. (You must go to the actual blog to view it).  

Happy Easter

We had a lovely Easter this year.  The kiddos enjoyed 3 different egg hunts with friends and family.

I'm still not sure how I feel about doing the whole Easter bunny thing.  I think it is super weird.  But the kids did find some buckets with surprises in them.

Brigham brought his peeps over to me and wanted me to open them.  So I explained to him, as I handed him one, that they aren't toys, they are candy.  So he hands it over to Lexi and says "here Lexi, eat it." And she happily obeyed.  She loved it.

We enjoyed a quiet Easter afternoon watching bible videos and then headed to grandma's for Easter dinner.  

The little gentleman helped Aidyn find and retrieve the last egg at grandma's house.

We are so grateful for friends and family and the time we got to spend with them.  Most of all we are grateful for our Savior, his life, his atonement, and his resurrection, and the knowledge that because of  Him we will be resurrected too.

Spring Fever

We were definitely ready for Spring to arrive.  Now that it is warming up we are loving being able to go outside most days.  Of course, Utah weather in the spring has its ups and downs with snow one day and beautiful blue skies and warm temps the next.  But now that these two have had a taste of playing outside, they want to go out everyday, even when it isn't super warm.  Lexi is fearless when it comes to climbing on the playground.  She climbs up on her own and tries to go wherever brother is going.  She likes to turn around and go down the slides backwards, just like she is going down the stairs.

When we are inside, this is her favorite hangout spot.  

 From my pictures, you may think my kids are perfectly happy angels all the time, so I thought I would include this one to keep it real.  Lexi has had a rough few weeks.  Not sure if it is allergies, a cold, teething, but she has been really sad and wants to be held or hang on to my leg much of the day.  When she wants to look really sad, she flops on the ground and buries her face into the floor.  On a positive note, she seems to be happier the last few days, so this is happening less often.

No matter what toys we buy her or give her, her favorites are the ones that Brigham is playing with.  He is very possessive of his Toy Story toys, so naturally she is constantly trying to take them when his back is turned or when he is taking a nap.

 We usually venture out about once a week to Macey's, Target, or Costco.  Most shopping trips include some tears and usually end with me thinking, "why do I do this to myself?"  This one started out pretty well because they both got to ride in the car together.  The joy ended a few minutes later when Brigham started squishing her.

This trip to Costco ended well because I rewarded them with their first churro.  Lexi was shoving as much of it into her mouth as fast as she could.  Brigham was a bit more conservative and after a few bites handed the rest of his portion back to me.  Seriously?  What kid turns down a churro?

Brigham loves to bring his toys outside.  See that nice fence in the background?  We are loving it.

  He has started lining up his toys and then getting his toy camera and saying "cheese" and taking pictures of them.

 Sometimes I will find Brigham just lying on the ground, or in the tub, or in the bean bag with a thoughtful look on his face.  Just pondering life, I guess.

He still loves to "read" his books throughout the day and will even sit and look through them quietly on his own.  He is talking so much now, and I can even understand most of it.  He is stringing words together in short sentences and is constantly asking me what I am doing, why I am doing something, or where something or someone is.  It is so fun to start having these little bits of conversation with him.