Vance's Love for Lady Antebellum

This obsession for Lady A is getting a little bit out of hand. I have a mixed CD with Eminem, Jack Johnson, Miley Cirus, Adele and, of course, Lady A is on there too. Vance asks for the music to be turned on and loud before we even get to the car. He will ask repetitively, " other song, other song" until we find a Lady A song and then he will say without fail, " Mom, louder please louder!" We have started thinking that for Christmas we are going to get him their next CD because we can't stand this one anymore. He is so funny and very particular about his music. We have tried Jordan's music, that's a no-go... which I am ok with, we've tried other country music, christmas music, church music, Thomas the Train songs... Nothing soothes this little boy's heart like Lady Antebellum. So funny. I just never want to forget these little things!

Vance's 2nd Birthday

Trains Trains Trains! This boy loves trains! That obviously needed to be the theme for this birthday. It was so fun to plan this party and all the kids loved it. We borrowed a train that the kids could actually ride on, we had the pop-up Thomas the Train tunnel, coloring, and of course treats. The kids were wired and that was the goal:) Here are the pictures:

I didn't get one picture of Vance riding the train but he loved it! Thanks to Jaime and Aaron for letting us borrow this!
Love 2 year olds. They can't handle watching paper being torn and new toys that need to be opened. So funny. Also, we all tried so hard to get one picture with the kids and this is the closest we got. We are missing one, Karter was NOT in the mood to take pictures, ha ha.
Clearly Vance was done with the whole hat/picture thing.

Before the party started, Vance was too excited about riding the train so he didn't eat dinner. When we got home, he insisted on eating dinner in Thomas with Jordan. Jordan squeezed in through the door and fed him oatmeal ( a staple in Vance's diet). While dining in Thomas, Jordan and Vance discussed every thing about the party. I teared up as I listened to Vance answer all the questions and tell Jordan about everyone who was there and what he did. It was so sweet to hear Vance get excited about his friends and the ice cream he got to eat.

I can't believe he is getting to an age where he understands how to be excited. It is only getting better and better because of this. He is so happy and I can't wait to throw him a party next year. I bet he will want to choose what theme, the type of ice cream that he wants and who he wants to invite to the party. So fun! We can't wait:)

Happy Birthday big boy! You are so fun and happy. You loved your party! When daddy gave you your bite of cake and ice cream, you couldn't get enough! Your reaction to your presents were priceless and you didn't stop smiling. The best was when you opened your box from Grandma and Grandpa Tall( I don't know what to call you guys ha ha). This box had your pop-up Thomas the Train tent in it. You bent over backwards and screamed. SO funny! Your love for Thomas the Train is true and devoted... which is hilarious to all of us. The thing you loved the most about the party was that all of your friends could fit inside the pop-up Thomas. You guys were kicking, rolling and laughing loudly in that thing and it was so fun to watch. We LOVE you Vance and will always cherish these memories of you. Can't wait for next years birthday party!

Love,
Daddy and Mommy

He's 2!

Vance is two. I am loving this age. His sweet personality is coming out and is so funny! There have been so many changes in this boy in the past year, I'm sure I will miss a few. We are happy to say that he has, knock on wood, grown out of his milk allergy. He is still reacting to peanut and egg. He is cheerful and happy. Generally, he wakes up ready to play and learn. He is a sucker for Thomas the Train and Chuggington. I think he probably dreams about trains. I don't know if it is a bad thing but instead of just having his stuffed animals when he sleeps, he has to have his mini trains, Thomas and Percy, in bed with him too. He loves them.
He is a kid who responds well to bribing, sad but it works. He is very active and energetic. He is still hesitant about situations, which I hope he always is choosy about what he does. He is getting better with liking textures. He still doesn't love touching sand or anything that looks gross, like when we carved the pumpkin. He is sensitive in all ways. Vance is a loyal person and has a loving heart. He gets his feelings hurt, especially when I tell him daddy has homework or has to go to school. That breaks our hearts to see him melt down and cry. He is smart and quick as ever. We have to be very careful about what we say or do around him because he will mimic everything. Overall, he is the best little boy and rarely throws tantrums. Let's hope he stays this way!

I'll just make a quick list of things that he loves, does, and hates just for the record.

Things he loves...
1. Thomas, Percy and Chuggington's Wilson
2. Orange juice
3. Ice cream- finally can have milk
4. Playing outside with his friends ( Marshall, Karter, and Abby)
5. He still loves to read. Sometimes we will read for like 45 minutes!
6. HAMBURGERS! When I asked him what he wanted for lunch on his birthday he said, " Burber mommy, burber!" This makes Jordan very happy. They'll go to Carl's Jr. and have some "man time" with out me and I am just fine with that.

Things he does...
1. Colors like crazy. He could do this all day and so sometimes that's what we do.
2. Loves to run with Jordan. He makes Jordan run along side him.
3. Building blocks. He likes to build tunnels for Thomas and the other trains to go through. He only likes how Jordan builds them, not me, I don't do them right I guess.
4. Talks NON-STOP. This is a good thing but man, this boy is a "Tall" for sure!
5.Sleeps really well. He sleeps 12 hours at night and then takes a 2-3 hour nap everyday. What a blessing:)

Things he hates:
1. Still hates peaches... peach yogurt, straight peaches, peach anything, he spits it out.
2. When Jordan leaves to go anywhere without him
3. Leaving grandma, which he pronounces,"Obama's house".
4. When Jordan gets on the computer to do homework

Vancer,

We love you and you are everything to us. We love to watch you learn and grow. It is so fun to play all day with you. You are special. You are Daddy and Mommy's best friend. We love you more and more each day.
Love,

Daddy and Mommy

Our Little Nacho

NACHO!!!

We love Halloween at our house! Vance was old enough to dress up and trick or treat,which he loved. We also had a Halloween party/get together at our house. Pretty simple but a fun Halloween!

All of the kids loved being wrapped like mummies except Vance, which we expected... he has a huge bubble so we knew he would scream.

Then the disaster hit. Toilet paper everywhere and the kids were loving it!

Super fun holiday! Can't wait for next year!

It's About Time

We probably should announce or keep record that we are having another baby! I am just not an announcer-type person so I didn't really think about jotting my thoughts down or even writing about this but I guess I will want this for later.

Miss Norah ....... Goulding, no middle name yet, will be coming around the end of January or the first week of February. My actual due date is Feb. 8th but in my ultrasound she was sizing a few days bigger than that...so I like to go off of that. Plus I am hoping to get induced a week early again which puts us at the end of January! Kind of scary to think about having another baby to take care of but so exciting that we are able to do so!
Her wardrobe has been started by Auntie Angie and from what Bill's reactions are to the credit card bill, I think Norah will be set:) Jordan has put the hammer down on me buying anything. I actually have done really well sticking to that. I have only spent 26 dollars thus far. If you know me, that is a huge accomplishment and Jordan really should be very grateful and very proud!
Vance is aware that mommy has a baby in her tummy but I don't think he really gets it because um he's only 2 but he always includes her in his love you chant at the end of the night... "love you daddy, love you mommy, love you nona!"
This will be an adventure and we are excited! I'll keep this updated. I don't have really any pictures quite yet of me and I don't know that I will but we will see.

Smiley Boy

Canning fruit...Check!

I felt it was time that I do something very domestic since I am a stay -at- home mom. So I chose to learn how to can food! I have never done this before but with help from my neighbors, who are master canners, we canned apples! So fun and kind of therapeutic... sounds weird and that may just be because I haven't gotten away in a while for a massage/ pedi but this is a way cheaper therapeutic experience to get that fill:) Jordan's happy I'm sure. Anyway, this 5lbs bucket of little apples filled 14 jars:) Here is the proof:



Don't judge if they don't look right, just be proud I am actually doing something that is beneficial and healthy!

Fall Festivities

This year Vance is big enough to enjoy going to the pumpkin patch and so we made it a day affair and went with a few of our friends. It was fun and the kids loved it! Here's a few pictures...





Vance was so excited that Jordan was there to play with him. He wanted Jordan and that was fine by me:) He is so heavy now days that it kills me to carry him so I really don't mind when he wants to be a daddy's boy!

Fun way to start the fall season!

A Dream Come True!

HANSON BROTHERS!!!

I got to see HANSON in concert! Ha ha how can you not be jealous of that!?! Seriously, I got just as twitter patted(sp?) as I did when I was 12. They still got it goin' on. Anyway, I went with some girls from our apartments and it was a blast. All of us are pregnant so some were dancing while holding their bellies, some sat down on the floor when we were waiting, some asked for water at the bar which made the bar tender mad... ha ha... and all of us LOVED it!

The girls...Super fun night! Wish we could have had a few other girls there too. This will be a tradition for sure!

Sisters.

Miss these two girls. I wish we lived closer... maybe someday!

Camping in MT

We got to go up to my parents house for 2 weeks in August and we loved every minute of it. We love being up there because it is so chill and we love the slow pace of life up there. We also love Vance's face when my mom comes home from work or when my brothers get home. He has a special love for family and it makes me happy that we are close to some of our family. I have told my mom over and over that I am searching the market down here for a house so that they can be closer to us and family. Soon that will happen...hopefully!

We got to go camping while we were in MT. It was an adventure to get to the camp ground but it was a blast! Vance was so good and he is a true boy. He loved the hike, rocks, river, Chico (the dog), and everything about the dirt. These are the only pictures that we took during the whole trip... lame! Anyway, we can't wait to go up to MT for Christmas!

This face...

...Never gets old. Love you Vance!

Growing Up Started Today

We had a moment today that makes me a little bit sad. When we lay Vance down to go to sleep he no longer stands up and yells for me or for Jordan, now he lays there with his 5 binkies and says, " luh you , nigh nigh, bye" over and over. I got teary only because I think that was the first step to his independence from us. He thinks that he is big enough to go to sleep on his own and be in a dark room by himself, which is a good thing, but it is hard for me to let go of certain things sometimes. When I put him to sleep, I feel like it wraps up the day, whether it was a crappy day or a great day, it always ends the day on a positive loving note. I don't want that to change so I will rock my baby boy until he no longer lets me:)

Now I am going to get a sugar-free Jello to ease my heart a little and help me focus on something delicious that can get rid of these tears and make me happy!

Cabin 2011

We always look forward to this time of year. We love being in the mountains and breathing fresh air and of course being with a lot of family too. We love the boating, eating, laughing and the lazy feeling of being at the cabin. This year I think we counted 40 of us there. The family is getting huge and more fun with every new baby! Here are some of the 200 pictures that we took while we were up in Idaho...

Old Faithful.

In all the years that we have gone up to Yellowstone, I have never actually seen Old Faithful go off. It was crazy and it kinda scares me that there is that much pressure to make water shoot that high into the sky and that it is timed. That is weird!

Daddy time= letting mommy breath for a couple of minutes. Vance did not want to be with anybody except me, I wasn't even able to go to the bathroom alone! When Jordan came up to the cabin a couple days after me, Vance had no choice but to be with daddy for a little bit. Thank goodness!

I love when the boys match! Thanks mom:)

DAL babe workin' it!

I don't know who was more excited, grandpa or Vance. My dad loves to show and teach Vance and Cade how to do things and so when Vance wanted to drive the boat, my dad was so excited to show him the horn and all sorts of things.

Can't wait for next year!

Pure Joy and Happiness

This boy brings happiness to our lives! He does this goofy smile with his bottom jaw slightly to the off center... I don't know why but we think it's funny and so does he.

Strawberry Days Rodeo

This was so fun! Jordan's cousins invited us (forgot to take a picture with them) and we loved it. I do have a hard time with some of the events at rodeos because I feel so bad for the animals that I can barely watch but I like the ambience of the rodeo, something about real cowboys and cowgirl, I just love that style! They also had yummy strawberries and cream that everyone loved. If I could handle the harshness of roping the calves, I think I would go to every rodeo around because it was a lot of fun!

Ketchup Ketchup Ketchup

He loves to dip things in ketchup but mostly he loves to just suck it off his fingers. Sick. I guess I should have been prepared for this because Jordan's whole family eats ketchup on everything.

My Thought of the Day

So I should be folding laundry but instead I was looking through old post in my blog and I can't help but think about how fast the time has flown by. I was reading about how tired I was when Vance was little and how much joy he brought to our lives. Things have definitely changed now, he sleeps 12 hours straight and he is way more entertaining and is our world. He is so happy still and I pray that never changes. I needed to just write a little bit on here to remind myself how lucky I am each day for the chance I have had to be a mom to Vance and a wife to such a wonderful man. I love my job and wouldn't trade it for anything!

The Big Island 2011

Photo overload but what can you expect, we went to HAWAII! There were 8 adults and 2 babies, what a crazy trip:)

Our family has never ever in our whole lives had a family picture taken so we decided to have family pictures done in one of the most beautiful places, Kona,HI. It actually went better than I thought it was going to. Our family has some "joksters" that make things a little difficult to do things quickly but we got it done pretty fast. I think this family picture was really important to all of us because our family is getting bigger, Dallin is going to be leaving on a mission some time soon, and I think that it was about time!

Here is the personality difference between the boys:

Sister sister, never been a such devoted sister!

My sweet boy fell asleep like this everyday.

Grandma and Vance chillin in the sand.

HAHA!

Excuse the crack:)

The daddy's and their boys

Dear Mr. Turtle,

You or one of your buddies swam with us everyday and sometimes snuck up on us and scared us. We love your home and we will come back really soon to visit you.

We miss you!