"Happy Birthday Dear Gracie!"

It's hard to believe that our baby is two years old! We've had fun singing "Happy Birthday" all week long to Grace. She never tires of hearing it and singing along. Every time we finish, she reminds us to blow out the candles too.

The girls have been working on a sticker chart all week long in order to go to Chuck-E-Cheese. We conveniently helped them to earn enough just in time for Gracie's Birthday. We had such a fun birthday together as a family at Chuck-E-Cheese's and then at Grandma and Grandpa Yorgason's house with cousins. I can't believe we don't have a picture of her blowing out the candles--only video!


Grace's Favorite Things to Do:

• taking care of her baby that she calls "my Becca"


• going potty "all by myself," which really means just sitting on the toilet for a few minutes, like a big girl


• having a tea party and pouring the water herself

• saying prayers--she insists on saying most of the prayers in our home, and she'll begin without anyone asking her to say them. And after a sentence or two, she'll stop and complain that "Millie Mae not saying prayer" (Millie isn't folding her arms!)

• brushing anyone's hair who will let her
  


• pushing her dollies on the swing


• dancing in her purple polka dot princess dress
  


• taking off her diaper and throwing it onto the floor before she falls asleep (and then wetting the crib before we discover it's off!)
  


• coloring with markers, gluing with a LOT of Elmer's glue, doing play dough and any other craft she can get her hands on
  


• helping to make Mac'n Cheese or or orange juice or any food that allows her time up on the counter


• singing songs solo style--as shy as she can be, she still loves to perform!

Gracie's Favorite Foods:

• frispies (rice crispies)
  


• fruit (she eats more fruit than anyone in our family)
  


• chicken dinosaurs


• mac 'n cheese
  


• juice


• hot dogs
  


• cheese

• toast that she butters herself

• fishes, crackers, pretzels, etc.
  

• rice that she salts herself


• "torn" (corn)

Cute Sayings:

• As I pick her up, she'll say "ahhh...I so heavy!"


• "um...sure...yeah, sure!" (this is her main way to say, "yes")


• "why?"
  


• "otay" (she hasn't got the "k" sound down yet)

• "amen" when finishing a book or ending a pretend phone call

• "tan you pease help me?" (she is very polite!)

• "tome on, otay?"
  

• when anyone takes a bite of food, she'll ask, "you lite it?"


• "I get mateed (married) in da temple" (and every time she sees a princess, she mentions how they are getting married too!)


• "Mommy,...wha doin?" (she loves to talk about what I'm doing)

Things We Love About Grace:

• her complex personality that keeps us wondering
  


• she can be sweet and cuddly, reserved and shy, hyper and fun, strong-willed or agreeable
  


• her constant jabbering that is getting easier to understand all the time

• she's always talked in sentences! She is smart girl!
  

• her cute nose-wrinkle when she laughs

• she shrugs her shoulders after she makes a comment
  

• she makes the biggest frown with her lower lip out and turning down
  

• her innate mothering nature--she has a need to care for her babies everyday
  


• how she can concentrate for a long time on things like drawing, books , puzzles, etc.

Hot Summer Days

I love having a blog, except when I don't write! And that seems to be every month! Then I try to catch up, and after getting caught up, I let it go for another 4-6 weeks. So sad, but life is busy!

So here's my attempt to cover for July and August:

Good Times Outside

Trip to New Mexico
It was so fun to visit Dave and Holly's family. They were great hosts! We were spoiled by them the entire time. Now we love Albuquerque too!


Millie's Drawings
One morning while Paul and I were trying to sneak in a few more minutes of sleep, we asked Millie to go draw us a picture. She came back with one, and then she'd leave again and draw someone else. So, here's the perspective and skills of a 3-year-old:

Grandpa

Daddy
Mommy
Grace
Abby (her friend)
Lagoon
We talked about this place all year long, and the big day has come and gone! But I don't think the girls were disappointed. We thought they might last for 4 or 5 hours, but we stayed ALL day long (that means no naps!), and they loved it!

The Ladybug Drop is one of our favorite rides to talk about still. It goes up and down!
Paul's favorite ride: the wild kingdom train.

We made the mistake of taking Grace on a couple "scary" rides at the first (you can see the fear all over her face!), so she had a few hours where she refused to go on any rides.
But we finally decided to get our money's worth, so we forced Grace to go on the mildest ride there (the boat one). She was so mad at us. But after a few times around, her smile came back and she started enjoying herself again.

We went on the Merry-go-Round too many times, but the kids just don't get sick of this one!
Mommy is STILL afraid of heights, so the Ferris Wheel was not a relaxing experience. I tried to hide my fear from the girls, but they could sense it. Now every time we pass by Lagoon, the girls see the Ferris Wheel and say, "there's the one that you got scared on!" I wish their memory wasn't so good!

This is the Place Monument--Fairbanks Family Reunion
We look forward to this family reunion every year because it's so much fun for the kids. We loved the petting zoo area. The girls just went right up to the lambs and goats with no fear. And they loved the train rides too. We highly recommend this place for anyone who hasn't been there lately. They have new things every year!


Oquirrh Hills Temple Open House
We're so blessed to have another temple in our valley! We loved touring the new temple, even though the girls were a handful. Hopefully they aren't too young to remember it and to gain an appreciation for this special place. We went with the Angela and Michelle. It was great to be there with them!


Gracie insists on holding Millie's hand almost everywhere we go. I can't get enough of it either! I'm so glad they are "best sisters" as Millie put it today!

Anniversary Celebration

4 wonderful years of marriage
3 years living in North Salt Lake
2 beautiful daughters
1 December baby on the way...

endless memories already made together
and eternity to look forward to.

Looking on the Bright Side of Things

Yes, it's been a pretty gloomy, wet June. But there are many reasons why I am grateful for all the rain we've been getting out here in Utah the past few weeks. The reservoirs are pretty full, the mountains are still green...and, on a more personal note, I haven't had to hand water our gardens!

Our vegetable garden and flower garden are insufficiently watered by the sprinkling system, so every summer, we plant with high hopes, but then after a few weeks of summer weather, they start to dry off. We begin to water by hand each night, and pretty soon we get tired and neglectful. Our garden never produces like it should, and half the plants we buy end of dying.

So, at least for the month of June, I'm really enjoying our gardens!

Meet Templeton

Well, we finally became pet-owners. We don't really know how to just play in the backyard anymore. Now, whenever we are outside, we take turns holding the bunny or watching it hop around. Templeton has become part of the family!

In the week that we've had it, the girls have come a long way in learning how to treat a pet. They help daddy change it's water and give it more food. They like to open the cage and let it out. But of course, it tries to avoid being picked up by them. Gracie has always been pretty sweet with it, but Millie has had to learn to not pick it up every other second. Templeton seemed so scared of the girls those first few days, but now he (or she) will sit calmly on their lap.



We put together a little cage that it can sit in with the girls so we don't have to worry about it getting away to far. The poor thing probably hates this thing. It loves to run to our garden and hide from the girls.

1st Place Matchmakers 2009

Paul has won many trophies in his days of sports, but this is my first one. I think we better show it off a bit!


And now, the story behind the trophy:

(a little background) Paul and I were set up on a blind date, so one of the goals of our marriage is have successful set-ups, so that others can enjoy the happiness of marriage that we enjoy.

In 2006, Paul tried to set Kent (his brother) up with Sara (an intern from his work). However, she was leaving on a mission, so it fizzled out after just one phone call. We thought of her a couple times while she was gone, but she didn't even remember the phone call with Kent. Then after her mission, she returned to working in the same department as Paul. So last Summer, Paul talked about trying the set-up again. (Now this is my important role) I kept reminding Paul to get her number while he was busy at work. He got it. She was willing. And Kent called her up. They started dating, and the rest is history!


Aren't they a happy couple? It's been so wonderful to see them fall in love, get engaged, and then married last week. It couldn't have been a happier day! They are such a perfectly-matched couple. Elder Holland performed their wedding, and that was a memorable experience for all of us.

At their wedding breakfast, they surprised us with this trophy. Don't ask me how they had time to think of a trophy with all the other wedding plans!


Gracie is kind of fixated on the whole thing. MANY times a day, she brings it up. The conversation goes something like this:

Gracie: "wa...wa...wa...Sarah?"
Mommy: "Where's Sarah?"
Gracie: "ehh...ehh..daa...Tent (Kent)"
Mommy: "Where are Sarah and Kent?"
Gracie: "umm...bu-bye...ehh...home!"
Mommy: "Yeah...they went bye-bye, and where did they get married?"
Gracie: "Temple!"


And just for the record, we are still VERY much in love after almost 4 years of marriage!


UPDATE: We just got news that another couple we set up are now engaged! We are so happy for you, Eric and Lisa! Congratulations!