Nixon had a family birthday party last Sunday. My brother was attending a medical conference in AZ and his family and my mom were all going with him so there went half of the party. I was worried Nixon wouldn't be happy with his party guests. But when I asked him who he wanted to invite to his birthday he just said, "stephanie" so I figured it would be fine. My dad, Lance and Stephanie, and Spencer came over for dinner. We ate papa murphys of course. After we ate we went outside and hit a pinata which the boys were thrilled about since there were no other kids to share the hitting with. We played some tetherball and then the mosquitos came out so we went inside to sing happy birthday. Nixon had one hand on his cheek the whole time and was all smiles. He wanted lots of candles so I put "happy birthday" candles, a number 3, and three tall candles on the cake. He loved it. He was a little confused opening presents. I would tell him who it was from before he opened them and it thought it meant that he should give it to them to open. He got lots of great stuff that should keep him plenty entertained. I think Logan felt a little left out since both of his siblings were opening presents at the same time. After the party Kyle told me that when Nixon opened his new razor scooter Logan made a face and went outside to get his razor to trade for the new one. Gotta love him for trying.

Exciting news!!This little baby of mine turned 1 today......and neither of us were thrilled about it. She absolutely hated having cake. She didn't take one bite. Just crushed it with her hands and then got mad that her hands were so sticky and then kept flinging her hands making the cake and frosting fly across the room. She's a big time eater so I was shocked.

I'm also shocked that I have a child that isn't walking before they turn one. She had very little desire to. It's all about begging me to pick her up.

She whine for me and tugs on me all day long. If I'm not around she is perfectly fine.

No, I never started sleep training. She still wakes up at least once at night. I have just been holding her for a minute and putting her back to bed instead of nursing her. Baby steps.

She is getting a little sassy.

She hates getting out of the shower.

She cries every morning when she wakes up and then is happy as can be once she really wakes up.

Still meows all the time.

She loves being outside.

Being at the baseball field for Logan's practices with a crawler is no good. filthy little baby.

She doesn't want anything to do with milk. Not sure what to do about that.

She is just the sweetest one year old ever.

She got a walking purring cat, dancing dog, and clothes for her birthday.

Opening presents always with one hand on me so I can't get far away.

3 years old

Nixon's birthday was yesterday. Let me tell you, this child of mine is something else. Kyle and I lovingly call him "lazy" because he prefers to lay around ALL day long. He still wants to be carried instead of walk. He always says he can't even if he knows he can do something. I should've known this was in his personality from the moment he was born. I really think when I was in labor he was inside of me thinking, no way am I moving, they can just cut me right on out. And so he is my only c-section. The benefit of his "laziness" is that he has always slept through the night since he was about one month old. He also wants to cuddle all the time, always wants to hold hands. He is very loving. He is still attached to his dog but only the tail. The tail is what makes him suck his thumb so I think we will be needing to end that real soon. one year oldtwo years old
Some things about Nixon at this age:

He is a big kid. People at Logan's sport's practices always ask why Nixon isn't playing. They are shocked when I tell them he is two and too young to play.

He throws nasty tantrums. Like numerous one all day long. It's painful.

When he talks, he is very expressive with his eyes. It makes us laugh everytime we have long conversations with him.

The poor kid has always gotten hand me downs from Logan and always sees Logan getting new shoes and clothes. But he needed shoes and I didn't have the size so we all went to the store and bought him some shoes. His face was priceless. So happy to be getting something of his own. It made me feel bad for him.

Logan and him basically wear the same size now. Logan is taller but skinnier.

His favorite person is "tephanie" (stephanie) my newest sister in law. He requested the she be at his birthday party, along with pop and grandma.

He has been picked on ever since the moment I brought him home from the hospital not only by his brother but just by other kids. If you approach him he might knock you down just to show you that you can't mess with him anymore.

I think he learned from a young age that as soon as he cries I come running to his defense, so he cries hysterically over every little thing knowing Logan will get in trouble. I've gotta work on that.

He can ride his bike really fast.

He can dribble a basketball well and make baskets.

He picks on Brynnley but sometimes because Logan tells him to.

He likes to eat.

He's pretty stubborn.

He wants a razor scooter for his birthday, one just like Logan.

His tantrums make Kyle and myself crazy, but we love the kid so much. He really is the cutest.

buddies

Everyone told me that my two boys would be best friends someday. With as much fighting as there was going on I didn't believe anyone. But now, the fights are few and far between. They want and need each other, to play the majority of the time. Although, Logan told me the other day that sometimes he likes to just play by himself sometimes. Anytime we drive down a hill the boys yell out to put your arms up for the roller coaster. I think it's time to get out passes back at Disneyland.

Oh, they still fight/wrestle. This was actually just happy wrestling, but they will throw down over a piece of trash if one of them is mad enough.

They dig in the backyard for hours (this happens to be naked digging). I don't know how many times I have looked in the backyard to find one of them peeing on something and the other one laughing. They instigate each other. Really I don't stand a chance when they gang up on me. They watch shows together. The most quiet time of the day.

They collect worms together, call them pets, and try to convince me to let them inside.

They pull out everything from cupboards and create new living space/storage space for themselves. After refolding all the blankets numerous times I finally gave in and have left this storage space empty for their enjoyment.

They are best buds, although neither one of them will admit to it. And when they are tired. They both put their blankets over their head and are out.

Together, they make Kyle and myself crazy absolutely crazy. But at the end of the day we couldn't imagine life without these wild boys.

11

Sweetest face I ever did see. Filthiest face I ever did seeCraziess face I ever did seeMaddest face I ever did see
11 months old (sigh)

She is so tender and sweet and yet the child will not give out any kisses. Never ever.

She sits in a cheerleader star all the time.

She pulls her hair.

She has zero desire to walk on her own although she walks along side the couch and pushes things across the room.

She eats like a champ and only nurses 2 times a day. It's a different story at night.

She is a horrible horrible baby at night. Every two hours up.

She says mama, dada, and hot.

She meows like a cat. Today I went to get her when she woke up from her nap and she meowed. She talks cat.

She is dirty all the time. The crawling stage really isn't all that great. Church tights are a one time use.

She gets really mad if you take something away, like keys.

Her favorite toy is a rattle Logan got from my friend Megan that was free from Goofy's kitchen.

I caught her on the tablet that one of the boys left on the floor.
Did anyone know Logan as a baby? Brynnley all wrapped up in a towel=Logan

Attempting headstands. I find her like this at random times during the day. She is pretty tough. This is her post being thrown at with mud through the screen door. Didn't phase her one bit. Brynnley has been a sport's spectator since she was born. I guess with 2 older brothers and a dad who breaths sports she didn't really have a chance.She loves her pillow case and tucks in in between her pacifier when it is in her mouth

She is just one of the boys. Makes her way into the boys room and starts playing legos. This is her ALL day long. On her knees, arms stretched out, throw in her right hand opening and closing and her saying, "mama" over and over again. It's pathetic but it works everytime.

She is loved

My younger brother Lance got married on the 7th to Stephanie in the LA temple. She is a sweet and quiet girl that Nixon is quite in love with. Not sure how that happened. It was a fun but long day. I was instructed to wear black pumps with my bridesmaid dress. I have no business wearing that high of a shoe chasing after three kids. My feet were sore for days.

I've decided that I am awful at remembering to take pictures so the only pictures I have of the reception are from the photo booth they had there. Surprisingly, we all fit in that little box. Nixon cracks me up.

christmas

I just decided that I did a horrible job taking pictures this past Christmas season. We had both an elf join our home and an advent calendar but I really didn't take any pictures of any activities we did. I did snap a picture of the boys prior to the Naples boat parade. We went to a soccer friends house for a little party prior to the parade. The boys loved it.

Brynnley's favorite thing about Christmas were these shiny glass bulbs that I hung from the ceiling. We drove to Idaho to spend Christmas with Kyle's family. Nixon's face shows how we felt about that drive. I was shocked that we were able to load all the Christmas presents in the car without the kids discovering any of them. We made the drive in two days and arrived on Christmas eve. The boys put out their stockings, cookies, and carrots in anticipation of Santa and his reindeer arriving. Christmas morning we had church at 9am so we let the kids check out all their stocking stuff and Santa's presents. Logan wanted a Lego 4-wheeler (that took Santa 2 hrs to put together)Nixon asked for Cranky from Thomas and friends. He seemed to be really excited with all the treats in his stockingI painted these little superhero peg people for the boy's stockings. Ironman, superman, spiderman, and batman. Got the idea from blogs of course. I wasn't sure if the boys would like them with all the other big presents they were getting. However, they seem to really like them. I learned that I should have put some sort of seal on them because with all the playing they got the paint starting chipping. Have you seen the Disney princess peg people? so cute. I made some for one of Nixon's girlfriends and bought enough girl pieces to make Brynnley some. logan received a ton of Legos (those little pieces will be the end of me). His favorite presents are probably his new fast shoes and his razor scooter. Nixon got a ton of Thomas trains stuff, games, crocs, legos and a bunch of other typical boy stuff. He was thrilled with his new thomas pjs I made him. So much so that he stripped down as soon as he opened them.

The boys got an I pod touch to share. I think they are too young to have one, but it was perfect for the long rides in the car.

I didn't get B anything for Christmas. I did get her a Christmas church outfit. Other than that she received a doll, bathing suit, and learning toy from my older brother and wife.

The day after Christmas I got the flu (blah). But I managed to crawl around enough to help Kyle pack up to head to the cabin. And an even bigger success, I managed to make the drive to the cabin without puking. I ended up being sick for the better part of the trip. Even on the drive back to California my stomach was a little off. But the boys had a blast on our trip and never caught the flu.

First things first, Logan had to get on a 4-wheeler.

But dad had to plow the driveway a bit. These two played in the snow for hours. Nixon fell fast asleep on his ride. Miss B made it outside. Adorable. Stinkin adorable. After a couple of days alone all the cousins arrive. Mason seems to be a favorite from this trip. He's as crazy as my boys. I love this picture of my boys. I see this look between them numerous times throughout any given day. It is the look that fun and trouble are soon to follow. The whole family went sledding one day. After a minor traffic accident involving Kyle's brother crashing (softly) into his dad's new truck we found a nice hill and the kids had loads of fun. And that's where the pictures end. Looking back, I'm sad that I felt so crummy the whole trip. The snow is something special for us Californians and I wish I was able to enjoy it more with the family. But I came home 4 lbs lighter....not too bad.