My new blog!

Hello fellow bloggers...I have a new blog now! Check out lifeofsarahelizabeth.blogspot.com

This blog is Simply Sarah...

Heavy Heart...

It is with a very heavy and broken heart that I write this last post for cluffnstuff. After almost 5 years of marriage David and I are getting divorced. It doesn't matter who did what at this point because there is no going back to change it. I don't know where life will go from here or what is in store for me and my sweet kids. But one thing that I do know is that I am tough and I will be ok. Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive over the last few weeks. So with this event I say goodbye to the world of blogging--at least for a little while. I can't bring myself to continue blogging about my life right now. There will be happier times ahead that is for sure. But for now I need to find some closure and peace in my life. I'll be back to blogging again--with a new blog name. I'll even post a link to my new blog on here once I get it started. Farewell my cyberspace friends--see you soon!

Anna is 4 Months Old

Anna is 4 months old already! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. She is rolling over all the time now. She loves to be on her tummy. We put her to bed on her back and she usually ends up on her side or her tummy. She also has started playing with toys and reaching for things. We put the toy bars up on her swing and her bouncer. She loves it! And yes folks her eyes are still blue! I think they might just stay that way. Here are her 4 month stats:

Weight: 14.66 lbs~73 percentile~

Length: 23.82"~33 percentile~

Head Circumference: 16.2" ~54 percentile~
Joseph likes to read to Anna

He loves his baby sister!

Happy 4th and 5th of July!

On the Fourth of July David had to work so I took the kids over to my mom's. We went over to Murray Days. I had told Joseph earlier in the week that he could get his face painted. So for 2 or 3 days he would point to his cheek and say "face." So we took him over to Murray Days to play some games and get his face painted. He got a firework painted on his face. He sat really still and loved it! He also got to play a few carnival games.


After he got his face painted we went back to my mom's house. She had set up the whole backyard with swimming pools and sprinklers and slip and slides. Joseph's cousins Riley, Johnny, and Eliza where all there to play in the pool too. Joseph really loves older kids so he loves to follow Riley around.



They where jumping from pool to pool. Joseph would do back flips into the water sometimes and he would stand up and smile and do it again. They also had a baby pool set up. But I didn't think that Anna would really enjoy it since she hates her baths! But Eliza loved it and Johnny loved playing in it with her! Johnny loves taking care of his baby sister!

After all the kids were done playing in the pool we had dinner and then went back over to Murray Park to watch the fireworks. We set up blankets on the ground. Erica brought some bubbles for the kids to play with. By this time Johnny had already fallen asleep so Joseph sat next to Eliza on the blanket and played with the bubbles.

Anna just chilled in her stroller. She didn't really mind the fireworks. In fact she ended up falling asleep during the show. Joseph thought it was cool for about the first 5 minutes and then he was ready to go home. It had been a really long day for him and he was tired. We had so much fun!

On Sunday we went over to my dad's for dinner and fireworks. We set up some camping chairs and the strollers on the lawn to let the kids watch the fireworks. Joseph wasn't too into the fireworks. You can tell by the look on his face in the pictures. We also had sparklers for the kids. I don't think that either one of the boys really thought they were very cool.

Joseph climbed in the stroller to sit next to Eliza and watch the fireworks.

We had a really fun week-end. Everyone was safe and no one got sunburned so it was great! I am so glad to live close to my family so that we can have these fun get-togethers!

Summer time...

We have been having so much fun this Summer! The kids out at West Ridge didn't have school today since tomorrow is the 4th of July. So they set up some of the inflatable toys for the kids to play on. They set them up right in our "backyard." Joseph was so excited to go out there and play. I was surprised because Joseph could actually climb up to the top by himself.

But then when he got to the top he suddenly became scared.


So Daddy saved the day by climbing to the top and sliding down.

We got a grill last week so we have been having grilled hamburgers almost everyday! Yum! It isn't really Summer until you start eating grilled hamburgers everyday! Joseph loves to go out and help daddy. Today he was just in his shirt and diaper and he heard daddy say that he was going to put his flip-flops on so of course Joseph had to put his flip-flops on too. So he was outside in his underwear and flip-flops helping grill burgers for lunch!

I love to see the Temple.

We had the opportunity today to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. It was so neat. We have been talking so much about at church so it was really cool to finally be able to go and see the finished product. We went with our friends Amy and Spencer and their family. Joseph was a really good boy. He was quiet the whole time. I don't think that it is ever too early to teach your children about the Temple and it's importance. It was such a beautiful experience and I was glad that I got to share with the 3 people I love the most! It was cool to sit in the sealing room with my husband and 2 kids and know that I get to be with them forever because David and I had made the choice to be married in the Temple. I hope that you will go to the open house if you get a chance.

Our little family in front of the Temple

Joseph and his friend Abby

Washington Trip

So I forgot to bring my camera charger and my battery was dead when we got there. I will have to post pictures once everyone has e-mailed me the ones they took. We had so much fun! This was our 3rd year going. We always go the second week in June and stay at the Naval Resort on Pacific Beach in Washington. My dad's dad always goes with us since he is retired military so we get a discount. We spent our first day there just relaxing after the long drive. We went down to the beach and Joseph loved it! My grandma and grandpa Stears came with us too. Grandpa Stears took Joseph down to the beach and helped him collect things in his bucket. They also found a few little silver fish flapping on the beach. So grandpa would help Joseph catch them and then release them back into the Ocean. On Monday all the guys went into town to get groceries for the week. It literally took them all day long. The girls stayed back with the kids and we went to lunch at the little burger joint down the street. That night we went down to the beach to roast marshmallows and make s'mores. I love fires down on the beach! Tuesday we went into Ocean Shores to go to the beach. Of course both the kids fell asleep on the way there so they slept in the car while everyone else walked along the beach. Then we went into town to shop and get some ice cream. Yum! Murphy's ice cream is the best. They also have a clothing store there that lets you pick out whatever decal you want and then they print it on your clothes right there in the shop. Joseph and Daddy got matching grey sweatshirts and Anna and I got matching ones as well. Wednesday we drove to see the Worlds Biggest Pine Tree. We ate lunch first at the little cafe. By the time we were done eating it was pouring rain. But since we had driven all the way there everyone went and I stayed in the car with Anna and watched "The Office." On Thursday we went into Seattle. It was so fun! We went to the Space Needle. This time we actually went to the top. It was really cool. Then we went over to Pike's Market to watch them throw fish. It was really cool. Joseph thought that it was really cool too. The market was really neat. It was so colorful with such neat things to see. We also stopped and had sea food for lunch. I had Salmon and chips and it was so good. Then we went and took a tour of where my dad grew up. We drove by his old house and school and such. Then we stopped at a little danish bakery and got some really yummy pastries. Then we went on a ferry ride. It was a very awesome, but very long day. Friday we just chilled and went to check out a new little beach town called Seabrook. We also went to the beach to roast marshmallows one last time. We had such a great time on the trip. I'll post picture when I get them!

Birthday parties and sleepovers

Sunday Joseph went to his cousin Kayden's first birthday party. It was a monkey theme and Joseph had so much fun playing with all the kids. Below is a picture of him leaving the party all decked out in his monkey party gear.

David went camping with the boys from work this week and so my little brother Christian and my younger sister Ashlie came and spent the night on Monday night. Christian and Joseph made a little bed on the floor. I wasn't sure if he would sleep all night out in the living room on the floor. But he stayed there all night and loved it.

Pierced Ears, Merry-Go-Rounds, and Messes

We took Anna to the mall yesterday and got her ears pierced. She did so good. I made David hold her since it was his idea. She only screamed for a second. Once David stood up and rocked her she was fine. We have told Joseph that he is not allowed to touch Anna's ears now. This has been hard for him because he loves to touch her ears!

After she got her ears pierced we went upstairs to the food court and got lunch. After lunch Daddy took Joseph for a ride on the Merry-go-round. Joseph picked a Zebra to ride. He was cute because every time he would pass me he would wave.

Whenever I am getting Anna ready Joseph likes to climb into her crib so that he can "help" me get Anna ready for the day. This morning was no different. He loves to put lotion on Anna. He helped me put lotion on her and then I went into the other room. Joseph usually just climbs out of the crib when we are all done. Dave and I were talking when I realized the dangerous silence. I went into the kids' bedroom and this is what I found in the crib:

He was covered in lotion! If you look closely you can tell that he has a wipe in his hand and he is trying to clean himself up. But the best part was him trying to clean his binky off. He was so worried about it!

Doctors, Doctors and more Doctors

We had a very busy week last week filled with lots of Doctor's appointments! I've had these 3 little bumps on my neck for like 2 years now. I first noticed them when I was pregnant with Joseph. They were just these ugly little bumps that never really bothered me other than the fact that they were really ugly. One of them started to get bigger and almost over night it tripled in size. On Monday, Memorial Day, it really started to hurt. By Tuesday morning it was starting to get red and it was really tender. So I went and saw Dr Dietz who told me it was a Sebaceous Cyst that had become infected. He told me that they couldn't remove it when it was infected so he started me on an antibiotic and told me to make an appointment with a dermatologist to have it removed. So I came home started the antibiotic and made an appointment for the following Thursday to have the cyst removed. Wednesday we took Anna to see an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor for her nasal congestion and snorty breathing. Luckily after a thorough examination including sticking a fiber optic scope in her nose, they concluded that she has a small chin and a jaw that is set far back which causes her to breathe funny. There is nothing we can do except have her sleep on her side and wait for her chin and jaw to grow. By Thursday afternoon my cyst was even bigger, redder and hotter. I called Dr Dietz who told me that the only way to clear the infection at this point was to cut the cyst open and drain the infection. However he wasn't going to be in the office the next day so he set me up with Dr Hawkins. Luckily I used to work in this office so I know all the Doctors. Friday afternoon we went to the office and Dr Hawkins took care of the cyst. He numbed me up and then cut a slit in the cyst and basically popped it like a big zit. David watched the whole thing ( I wished I could've but because of the location I couldn't watch) said that he couldn't believe how much stuff came out! They packed it full of iodized gauze and told me to come back Monday and they would take the gauze out and re-pack it. After that lovely painful experience we went up to the University Hospital to visit Dave's grandma who was there because she was having chest pains. Everything turned out ok. We enjoyed a nice visit with her. Monday I went back in. By this time the gauze had all fallen out. Luckily it had started to heal and they didn't have to re-pack it. Now I just have to wait for it to heal and shrink back down before I can have it removed! So I took a picture of the cyst before I went in on Friday to have it drained. David told me I was nerdy for posting it but I wanted you all to see what I was talking about! I didn't take an after picture because it is just a large slit now!

Cluff Cousins

Today we went to David's sister Courtney's for a family dinner. It was so fun. All the grandkids were there so Joseph had a blast! We pulled up the same time as David's brother Tyler and his family. As soon as Joseph saw the kids he got so excited and started waving. He loved playing with all the little boys. We also found out that David's sister Michelle is going to have a baby in November. We are so excited! This will be the 4th Cluff cousin in a year! How fun!

The 3 Cluff Cousin's, Anna, Sam and Wyatt--# 4 will come in November!

Won't Kenzie make such a good big sister? She loves holding the babies!

No Way!

So last night I was getting Joseph ready for bed. I said to him "Are you ready for bed?" At first he said, "No." Then I asked him if he wanted to sleep in his Speed bed and he looked right at me and said "No way mom!" I didn't know weather to laugh or be mad! He goes to bed really well at night now. We had struggled with his bedtime for a few weeks after Anna was first born. He wanted to sleep in our room with us. But he's really good about bed time now. After we read scriptures and say family prayer David or I will read him a bed time story and then turn his Speed night light and his Paul Cardall music on and he'll go to bed. However the last few nights after we turn the lights off we can hear him in his room humming to his music. It's pretty cute.

Today we were out in the front room and it got really quiet all of a sudden. Anyone who has a 2 year old knows that this is a dangerous thing! We found Joseph in our bedroom in Anna's bassinet!

2 Months

Anna is 2 months old today! I can hardly believe it! She is smiling all the time and it is so cute! We went to the doctor today and here are her "stats:"

Weight: 11 lbs 14 oz

Length: 22 inches

She got 3 shots. Can you see the purple band-aids on her chubby little legs?

Who needs a double stroller? Joseph and Anna fit just fine in one!

Mother's Day

So I have been thinking a lot about motherhood the last few days and I really felt like sharing them on my blog. I have been thinking about Motherhood in a lot of different ways. I used to just reflect on my own mother on Mother's day but as I have grown-up and my life has changed my views on motherhood have changed.

First I wanted to talk about my own moms. I have been so blessed because Heavenly Father gave me 2 moms. First is my "real" mom as I like to call her. I don't think I ever appreciated my mom as much as I do now that I am a mom. We are pretty close now. We had our differences when I was teenager but as I've grown up we've grown closer. She is an amazing person. She has such unconditional love for people around her. She is one of the most compassionate people I know. I often think of the Mother Theresa quote that says "If you judge people, you have no time to love them" when I think of my mom. She is always thinking of ways she can help other people out and really admire that about her. She is also an awesome grandma! It's been so fun to see my mom as a grandma. My kids call her Grandma SoSo. One memory that I wanted to share is when my mom and I went on a cruise for my senior trip. We had so much fun! We laughed so much! It was fun to spend a whole week with her. I think she was glad to spend the time with me too, especially since Dave proposed the day we got home! I was grateful for my mom this week because she came and took care of me Tuesday after I had my gallbladder surgery. It was fun to sit and talk with her. I am also lucky to have my mom #2. I don't feel like I could ever call Julie my "Step-mom" because she's just my mom. I have 2 moms and that's just the way it is. It's confusing sometimes because I call them both mom. Sometimes even my husband has to clarify who I'm talking about. They are both listed in my phone as "Mom". I am so grateful that my "real" mom is so cool about sharing me with my mom #2. That's another amazing thing about my mom! My mom #2 married my dad when I was 8. At the time I was living in Arizona with my dad and at the time it was just the 2 of us. Along with a second mom I got 2 sisters and later another brother. It didn't take very long for my mom to become my mom. She took an awkward 8 year old and helped shaped me into a pretty well-grounded teen-ager. I lived with my dad from the time I was 12 until I got married and then David and I lived with them for about 3 years after we were married. My mom has always loved me like her own. I really feel like she's my mom. She used to listen to my boring stories everyday after school and she would always listen to me tell her about the latest book I was reading. I'm sure that she was bored out of her mind listening to me talk sometimes but you would never know it! She taught me how to cook and do laundry and make a bed and clean bathrooms. She also helped me through the awful highschool years when I thought that nobody would ever want to date me let alone marry me! She kept telling me that somebody special would come along and she was right. I was so excited when she learned how to text a few months ago because it's much easier to talk to her everyday! She has also been such a fun grandma to my kids.

I have also been thinking a lot about my mother-in-law, whom I've never met. 26 years ago today she died suddenly at the young age of 31 leaving 6 young children ranging in ages 6 weeks through 9 years. My husband David was that 6 week old baby. Her name was Paula Jean. We gave Anna her middle name after her grandma Paula's middle name. It seems unfair to me that I had the opportunity to have 2 moms growing up and my husband didn't even get 1! I have no doubt in my mind that she is still a very real part of our lives. I know that she was there the day we got married and I know that she was with our children before they came to us. There are many quiet moments when Anna will get very alert and look past me and I know that her grandma Paula is near. A few years ago David's aunt's put a book of memories together for the kids. There are some pictures in the back of the book. I pulled the book down earlier in the week to show Joseph. The last picture in the book is the last family picture taken before she died. It has all the kids except David. Joseph liked to point to all the people and have me tell him who they are. I pointed to Paula and told him that was his very special Grandma Paula who watches over him from Heaven. I told him that she died. Joseph looked at me and while pointing to Paula said "grandma died." I know that he has no concept of what "died" means but it was still very sweet. Later in the week he pointed to the book and we looked at the pictures again. He again pointed to Paula and said "grandma died" He had remembered our earlier conversation. I was surprised he remembered. We went and bought a little potted white daisy (Paula's favorite flower) and we let Joseph decorate the pot with Mickey Mouse stickers and he colored her a card. We took it to her grave today. He loved the cemetery. He proudly put his pot of flowers on her grave and then he liked to look at the picture of the temple on the grave. He also liked walking around looking at all the flowers and pinwheels and balloons. We took a picture of him sitting down by a grave. He was just sitting there and it looked like he was deep in thought. I wondered what was going through his little 2 year old mind. I have thought a lot about being a mother a lot today too. I love being a mom! I can't tell you how being a mom ha changed my life. I never knew it was possible to love another human being this much! I mean don't get me wrong I love my husband but it's such a different love you have for your children. Joseph made me a little hand print with a cute little poem in nursery. I couldn't even read it without crying! The poem was about how one day I'll miss his little hands. I can't believe how quickly both of my kids are growing. Anna will be 2 months old this week and Joseph is a little boy now. It seems like he skipped the whole toddler stage! I love these 2 little people. I hope that I can do a good job raising them! I love them both so much! I am so grateful that I am married to someone who makes motherhood a priority! He is willing to make sacrifices so that I can stay home and take care of the kids. I love him so much! I'm sorry for such a long post but I just had some things on y mind that I wanted to share with you--who ever you are!

Joseph and Anna with their great-grandma Stevens, ( David's mom's mom!) on Mother's Day. That's him below playing with the ducks outside Grandma's house.

So the other day I found Joseph sitting in Anna's swing. He turns it on and then climbs in and plays with his cars. The little stinker!

Anna's Blessing

We blessed Anna today. It was really nice. The weather wasn't nice but the day itself was. It was actually snowing today! Here it is the last week of April and it was snowing! David blessed her in our ward. Afterward we had a little get together at our house. It was really nice. We had lots of friends and family who came and supported us. It was special because Anna was blessed in the same dress that I was! She was also wearing a pair of booties that my great aunt knitted for me when I was in Highschool. I saved them all these years to use with my baby girl. The bottom picture is of all of us. Unfortunately Joseph wasn't cooperating!

Fun in the Sun!

We are just loving this sunny weather! We took Joseph to play at the "park" outside our house on Tuesday. He went with his friend Abby. He was wearing a baseball hat and he looked like such a little boy and not a toddler. Where has the time gone? I thought it was funny because the kids started out playing on the actual playground and then they decided that walking on the bricks along the edge of the playground was much more fun! Later that night daddy set up his Cars tent. I laid Anna in the tent next to him and he thought that was pretty cool. I am so thankful for the sun!

Anna is 1 month Old!

So this last week Anna turned a month old! I can hardly believe it! She is getting so big and she's starting to be awake a lot more often during the day. We bought her a new swing this week. Our other swing was broken and would only swing half the time. That's her below in her new swing.

Anna is such a special little girl! Having a little girl is so much fun. I have loved being able to dress her up and use bows. We had a little bit of a stressful week this week. I had a HIDA scan for my gallbladder on Thursday. It turns out that I need to have my gallbladder out. When I went for my test on Thursday I had no idea what I was getting into! The test was about 2 hours long and they injected me with radio-active dye. So the tech told me that I couldn't nurse Anna for 48 hours and that I would need to "pump and dump." I was a little freaked out by this news because I had no idea I wouldn't be able to nurse. But at this point I had been fasting for over 12 hours for the test and I didn't want to have to re-schedule. Luckily we had some formula samples at home that we could use. Anna took a bottle alright but it took a little coaxing from both David and I. It was really hard on me because it took me about 45 minutes to feed Anna and then pump and dump. Then she would want to eat 2 hours later. The first night I hardly got any sleep. By Friday night I was exhausted! Luck for me I have an awesome husband who loves being a daddy. He took care of Anna that night and sent me to bed. I got some much needed un-interrupted sleep that night! That's one thing that I have missed. It seems like our queen sized bed is now the "family" bed. Joseph starts out in his bed and then usually comes and gets in bed with us when he wakes up in the morning. That's anywhere from 5 to 8 in the morning. He does usually fall back asleep though until 9 or 10. And a lot of the time when Anna wakes up for her middle of the night feeding she ends up staying in our bed cause I fall asleep too. Below is a picture of the kids in our bed.

Saturday night we went over to my parents for a barbecue. My grandma Meredith and her sister Vernie were here visiting from Spokane. It was fun to see them and be able to show off my cute kids. My brother and his wife and kids came too. Joseph loves their little girl Eliza. She's 7 months old so she's more interactive then Joseph's baby sister. He loves to try and make her laugh. Below is a picture of Anna and Eliza. They are 6 months apart. Sorry the photo's sideways!

Having 2 kids is definitely more work than I thought. There are days that I am completely overwhelmed and I feel like I am a bad mom. But I also feel incredibly lucky to have 2 healthy kids and a wonderful husband who loves his family. I feel so blessed that he works so hard so that I can stay home with the kids! The happiness and love I feel as a mom totally out weighs the frustration!

Happy Easter!

Easter was so fun this year! Friday night Joseph colored Easter eggs with his Uncle Christian. He pretty much just liked to put stickers on the eggs after they were dyed and dried. I tried to show him that he could color on the egg with a white crayon and then they drawing would "magically" appear after they had been dyed, but he didn't really understand why he couldn't see anything when he colored on the egg. (Joseph putting his eggs in his bucket)That was the day after he broke my memory card for my camera so I don't have any pictures of him coloring eggs :( Grandma SoSo and Grandpa Terry had an Easter Egg hunt at their house the day before Easter. They gave Joseph a bucket and let him go find eggs. Joseph didn't quite know what to do. His cousin Johnny had already been to an egg hunt so he knew exactly what to do and what was inside the eggs. I thought that once I showed Joseph what was in the eggs he would get excited and start looking for more. But he didn't really get into. He was more interested in playing with the race cars they had there. He did go and find a few to put in his bucket. After the hunt Grandma and Grandpa gave each of the kids an Easter bucket of goodies. Joseph got a new "Cars" outfit and lots of candy and Anna got a new dress and a stuffed Bunny. (Looking for eggs) It was a lot of fun! We also had dinner and visited with my grandma who was here visiting from St. George. Easter Sunday Dave had to work so I took the kids to church with my parents. I do have to say that my kids were pretty much the cutest kids at church!!! It was fun to go to church with grandma and grandpa. It was Anna's first time at church. We got there before my mom and the other kids got there, but of course my dad was already there saving us a spot. (Ready for Church!) It was cute because Joseph was looking at the Hymn book when they finally got there and all of a sudden he looked up and saw Aunt Ashlie sit down next to him and he got a huge grin on his face and started pointing at her to me. He was like he couldn't believe that they were there. He was also excited because he got bubbles in nursery! Afterword we went back to my parents for dinner. David got off at 3 so he was able to make it to dinner. My parents had some Easter Eggs for the 2 boys and a big bouncy ball. Joseph was excited. After dinner and dessert we came home to see if the Easter Bunny had come to our house while we were gone. (Joseph with his Easter Bunny stuff) David had to be to work by 7 this morning and since the kids are still asleep when he leaves we decided to wait until that night to have the Easter Bunny come. It was a fun ending to the Easter Week-end. We came home and their Easter Baskets were set out on the counter. Joseph got a "Cars" bucket with "Cars" Easter Eggs, a Buzz Lightyear Kite, a stuffed Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc., and of course a chocolate bunny. Anna got a pink bucket with a stuffed baby Dumbo and a chocolate bunny. (Anna with her new stuffed Dumbo) The Easter Bunny also left Mom and Dad an Easter Basket with some of their favorite treats too. I feel like we have soooo much candy around our house now! It was fun to spend this week-end with family.

Cute Cousins

So this will be my last post with pictures for awhile...Joseph broke my memory card tonight. Luckily he broke it while it was in my computer after I downloaded all my pictures. So at least I didn't lose any pictures. I just won't be able to take any pictures for awhile! Today we took Joseph and Anna to see their "cookie grandpa" (David's Dad) and Aunt Ashley at the cookie store. It didn't take Joseph long to spot the cookies with M&M's or minis as Joseph calls them. It also didn't take long for him to convince his Grandpa to get him one! Once he saw how to get into the cookie case he just went ahead and helped himself to as many as he could get to before we stopped him! Below is a picture of Anna with her cousin Wyatt. They are almost exactly 2 months apart. Wyatt was born January 15th. Anna looks like she is smiling and Wyatt has such a serous look on his face!

Happy Birthday Daddy and Joseph!

It was the week of Birthday's at our house! Wednesday was David's birthday. He's 26 now. Crazy how fast time goes by! Joseph helped me make daddy breakfast in bed. We brought him his breakfast in bed and gave him his birthday presents. Joseph and Anna got him a "Cars" game for the Wii. ( Anna with a flower in her hair that is about as big as her head) I let Joseph pick out any game he wanted. It wasn't really a shock that he picked out a game with "Speed" on it. I got David a electric razor. Later that day we went to visit my dad. He had surgery on his ankle on Tuesday to remove some bone spurs. My mom had to go back to work so we took the kids over to see grandpa. Anna had her 2 week check-up later that afternoon. She's gained a pound! She's 8 lbs 10 oz now. The doctor said that everything looked good and she's growing great. (Joseph had a long day of shopping. He needed a nap and so he just closed his eyes) She moved from the 30 percentile to the 50th! Later that night we had our weekly game night. I made a Banana Cream pie to share. David would rather have Banana Cream pie than birthday cake! I of course forgot to take any pictures of David's birthday. Friday night I got to see my Aunt Laura Kaye and my cousins from Oklahoma. We played games that night. It was so fun to see them. Laura Kaye was married to my mom's brother, Gary, who passed away from a brain tumor 2 years ago. 3 Summer's ago Gary and Laura Kaye spent a few months with us while he underwent treatment at the Huntsman Center. We got to know them pretty well during that time. Since he passed away his wife and family moved from Idaho to Oklahoma so it was fun to spend time with them again. Saturday I went and ran errands for Joseph's party. My sister Ashlie ended up spending the night both Friday and Saturday night to help out. (Joseph's birthday treats. Aunt Ashley made the cookie bouquet and Amy made the awesome cake and cupcakes.) I don't think I could have made it through Costco and Walmart with out her and my mom! It's a lot harder to go places with 2 kids! You should have seen the back of the car. It was so packed full of stuff! This afternoon we had a party for Joseph even though his birthday isn't until this Friday the 10th. We had a hard time deciding when to do his birthday party. David works 15 hours on Saturdays so that left Sundays. With next week being Easter that left today. We had a Mickey Mouse party. We did it at our house and used the group room. ( Joseph blowing out his 2 candle) We had hot dogs which is one of Joseph's favorite things. Our friend Amy made him the cutest Mickey Mouse cake. Check out the picture. Yeah she's pretty talented and does cakes on the side. So if anyone has a special event coming up and you need a cake let me know and I can direct you to her website. Her specialty is giant cupcakes. We also had a pinata. It was fun. We used a golf club to hit and that made the Grandparents nervous. Looking back on it now it is pretty scary to give a 2 year old a golf club and tell him to swing it in a room full of kids. But lucky for us no one got hurt. The younger kids didn't quite get the idea that you have to hurry when the candy falls out. ( Dallin helping Joseph open presents) But the bigger kids were nice enough to share their candy. Joseph got some really cool gifts. He was so excited and luckily his cousin Dallin was there to show him how to open his presents quickly. He ended up being pretty spoiled. We had so much fun and it was great to have access to the group room. It's crazy how many people we had. Joseph loved playing with his cousins. It was funny to see all the boys together. Joseph is pretty loved. I can't believe that my baby boy is almost 2 years old! I feel so lucky to be a mom. Joseph is such a good boy. He loves being a big brother. He calls his baby sister Nana. There are times I look at this little boy and think about how much I love him. It's amazing the love you feel for your child and it's amazing how you can feel that love for the second one too. (Boy cousins Taylor,5, Dallin ,2, and Joseph) Joseph is defiantly a special boy. Our next adventure will be potty training so wish us luck. I am also so lucky to be married to David. It amazes it me that I am more in love with David now than I was 5 years ago when we got married. He is such a great dad. He never complains about helping out with the kids. I love him so much. I am so grateful for both my birthday boys!