~The Baker Family Adventures~

last year in my 20s

2012-01-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

I have one more year to enjoy my 20s! My 20s have been great to me. Went on a mission and loved every moment of it, got married, had 2 children, will finish my associates (in about 2 months), and have lived in 2 countries, 4 states, 7 cities. This year some things I would like to accomplish be for the big 3-0 are lose weight, become more organized, love more, play with the kids more, and learn to love my scriptures even more.
So to celebrate my birthday my friend Corynn and I shared a party. Her birthday is just a couple days before so we thought it would be fun to invite a bunch of couples to go bowling. We had so much fun. All together there was 25 people that came and in our group we had 5 January birthdays. I think we need to celebrate birthdays with friends more often.

cute kids

2012-01-26T21:11:00.000-08:00

Is it bad when your child's favorite words to spell are ALL related to movies or TV shows (don't you love how Ezra made an 'R' with a 'P' and 'L' to spell Dreamworks.. seriously ask him to spell anything Disney related and he can and will .

Rylie working with her OT doing some messy time with glue. I just want to give a shout out for early intervention. It works! do not delay, if you have any questions about your child's development call your state's early intervention program and get them evaluated and start as soon as you question things. I don't want to imagine where we would be today had I waited to see if they would eventually talk on their own later. I'm so glad I went with my instincts and their progress is amazing.

Kids and I having fun tracing our bodies. Ezra is really into drawing bodies these days so I thought he would really like this activity.

and he did! He kept telling me "look mom, its me Ezra"

We have also had fun racing cars while working on our fine motor skills :)

Just a really cute picture of Ezra.... he needs to slow down growing up!

It happened, both kids looking at the camera at the same time and neither one of them are upset. It only took 3 years, but we finally have "a keeper" (after every picture we take the kids say "that's a keeper")

I had a couple videos to upload, is there a secret for doing it b/c my videos never uploaded?

A Random Post of everything in between

2012-01-05T22:04:00.000-08:00

One thing we love to do as a family is going to the aquarium in Tempe. The kids love it and I have to admit it really is one of my favorite places to go. I love the picture of Devin trying to look like he is holding his breath under water..I laugh every time I see it. Yet again another family picture where not all of us are looking at the camera at the same time..tips please!

We made it up to Greer around Halloween time. The weather could not be more beautiful. It was such a nice and relaxing trip and I hope we go every fall break. This trip Ezra broke/bent his arm. He was acting like Buzz light year and decided to jump off Tim's big ol' truck and landed face first into the dirt. When he got up we realized that his arm was very crooked so we took him to the hospital. I was freaking out of course. I especially was freaking out because we were 25 minutes away from the hospital and he was sitting in my lap as devin drove. He kept wanting to fall asleep and that just scared me so I kept asking him to tell me the ABCs or how to spell his name and anything else that I could think of to keep him awake. When we got to the hospital the doctor told me that it was fine that he fell asleep..I don't do well with my children being hurt, what can I say? :) So then we waited to get his arm Xrayed. Right away they came in to show us the results and said they had never seen anything like this because his arm wasn't broken like they thought, it was bent at a 22 degree angle instead. Our fear was that he was going to have to have surgery to have them break it then place it but after going to the specialist he decided that it would be OK to let it heal on it's own an just cast it. It is still crooked today and they said it would take about 2 years for it to fully straighten out but I think he has learned his lesson. Anytime he jumps off things he now tells me "be careful don't break the other arm."
Even though all that happened it was such a nice little getaway and fun to see Sweetie and PopPops and Aunti Tanni and Uncle Clayton..even though a certain aunt drove over Rylie's pink box..but i won't mention names ;)

Another random collage because I didn't feel like posting a bunch of individual pictures. Devin graduated with is bachelors in psychology!!! yay!!! I really thought this day would never come :) He starts his masters program soon which I'm excited for him but not looking forward to having him back in school, for selfish reasons! We also got to see our good friends the Tibbs from Alaska recently. Devin and Jon went to HS together and Jon and I worked at Wellsfargo together. It was great seeing some Alaskan folks and made me almost miss Alaska-just enough to make me want to visit this year.

The kids have so much fun playing. This summer/fall we played a lot of hide and go seek, rode bikes with our neighbor friends, Blue's clues, and had a lot of picnics outside. They sure are fun to have around and they keep me going constantly. Sometimes I can barley manage the two of them and often wonder how families manage more than 2 kids but I guess we are given what we can handle.

Because I'm usually the one taking pictures I thought I would post these few pictures that I do have with the kids..i have almost perfected my self portrait pose. Don't you just laugh and love Rylie's one eye opened look that she always gives, she is a goofy girl i tell you!

California Lovin'

2012-01-05T21:07:00.000-08:00

We were really lucky this summer to get to go to San Diego and Disneyland with Grandpa and Grandma Telford. We seriously had such a great time and going back on these pictures make me really excited to go back for our family reunion in February! We of course went to Mormon Battalion and USS Midway. Neither one of them were exactly exciting for the kids but we still had a good time anyway. I loved the tour that the church gave on the Mormon Battalion and in the end we got to dig for gold and rylie got to play in water, her favorite thing to do!

You can't do San Diego with out going to Sea World of course! I love Sea World, I especially love that we get to go free once a year because of Devin being in the military :) I think the sea otter show is my favorite, its the most entertaining but Shamu is just amazing! Ezra thought it was so cool to meet Elmo. He asked him where Dorthy was right away and they all thought that was pretty cute. He also was tall enough to do the big Atlantis ride. He did amazing! After the first big dip and when we started going up the next one he said to me "oh no, not again!" He loved the big roller coasters and cried when we didn't let him go a third time!

Ah Disneyland! I wish I had more pictures, but Neva has a good majority of our really fun pictures. Seems like words can't describe how awesome Disneyland is. It was hot and we walked a lot and by the end of the day I admit I was grumpy, but it really is magical. I don't have pictures of our dinner at Goofey's kitchen but seriously it was one of the best parts of the trip-well worth the $$.

We were having so much fun that we decided to stay an extra day. I love how every picture taken at the beach always looks amazing..because the beach is amazing! Ezra loved writing his name in the sand and watching the water wash it away. I would move to So. California in a heart beat! We also got to visit Great Great Grandpa Wilkerson (the kids great great grandpa, Devin's great grandpa) He wasn't feeling well when we went so we didn't get to talk to him much, but we love that we have been able to visit him every year. This year I believe he is turning 94..I think.

Ezra Turned 4 ( a long time ago!)

2012-01-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun planning Ezra's birthday this year. I couldn't believe my little guy was turning 4! Ezra was obsessed with angry birds around his birthday time (September 8) and still is, just not as bad. So it only made sense to me that I would throw an angry birds themed party. At the time you could not find Angry bird's birthday supplies anywhere! but now it seems everywhere I go I find angry birds and it would have been really nice to have had all that stuff for his birthday. I had to do everything by hand, but it was worth it because he loved it! I also made him a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom magnetic toy thing. He loved it, it didn't last long on the cookie sheet so now it is on the fridge and still gets played with at least once a day.

I decided to go all out. Blog world and pinterest really inspired me. I love seeing pictures of parties people do for their kiddos and I wanted one that looked just as cute. I was very happy with the outcome and I'm pretty sure the kids were too!

We have great friends and we feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many fun little friends. The kids watched Rio Angry Birds, played pin the beak on the angry bird, colored, danced, and ate lots of goodies.

We sure do love our little man. He is such a smarty pants and loves to have fun. Thank you Corynn for taking awesome pictures- you are the best!

still alive

2011-10-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

Hi all!
Just wanted you to all know we are still alive and kicking! I have soo much to blog about and one day when I can sit down and really focus just on it I will. But we have done so much in the past months that I am feeling guilty, we had a trip to Sea World, Disneyland, Ezra turned 4, he started school again, and we have been having so much playing these days that I have a ton of blogging to do. So please stay tuned and don't give up on my blog..i haven't :)

Summer Lovin'

2011-07-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

I love all the fresh produce during the summer. This year I felt quite domestic as I canned my first jars of strawberry jam and froze tons of fruits and veggies. I didn't get pictures but I also had tons of Zucchini and from that I made 15 loaves of zucchini bread and i don't know how many muffins. Lovely!

I have gotten into crafting quite a bit and was able to attend Girls Night out hosted by Somewhat Simple, Lil' Luna, and My insanity. It was a blast! I didn't take many pictures-dang it! I did get a picture with Lil'Luna..love t hat blog! its hard to take a good picture when you are at least 6 inches taller than the other people taking pictures with you, but i still wanted to share the love. I also hosted a craft night at my house an we made the Flags on breadboard, so much fun and I can't wait to do another!

This summer the kids have been playing hard, learning lots, and growing butterflies. I love to see my kids do learning activities and love it.

Ezra has been doing a summer camp all summer which left Rylie and I time to ourselves 3 days a week for 3 hours. We had a lot of fun. Mostly we went to the YMCA but we did do some outing too. Here we met up with my good friend Amelia from Casa Grande and played at Toy Town in Ahwatukee. Totally fun. Its a small space but has a bunch of different rooms and spaces. Rylie loved the costume room, kitchen, and grocery store areas. I can't wait to go back, and hopefully see Amelia again! :) (hint hint)

One day while Ezra was at camp we took Rylie to the Temple. She loved all the pretty flowers and walking on Temple grounds. She also like going into the visitors center and looking at the statue of Jesus. I love to see my kids eyes light up when they see things of Jesus. Taking her there reminded me that we need to do it much more, at least once a month walk the kids on the Temple grounds. I want it to be a familiar place and a place that they are anxious to be able to go inside one day.

Family outings!

2011-07-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

The summers in AZ are HOTT! We have tried to keep ourselves busy so we don't think too much of the heat. To start of our fun family outings we went to Rawhide in Chadler. This is an old western setup and totally fun! The kids really enjoyed dressing up in their sheriff's outfits, panning for gold, the petting zoo, and riding the old train.

This summer my mom did a great job organizing a family reunion that was long overdue for the McGee family. Some stats from the reunion. Empy and Mamie have 360 direct decedents-with spouses we have 502! 76 missions served and 16 members of the military. Just a little family tree, right?!

During the summer we are able to attend certain museums for free because of the military, what a blessing! We loved the AZ science museum and I can't wait to go back. The pipes on magnets is something Ezra created all by himself to roll a marble down and go through the maze to get to the end... pretty smart kid if you ask me!

Love me some peaches! We drove all the way to Willcox to pick peaches with Aunt Anita. It was a lot of fun and very very hot! It was a lot of fun to see her, but next time we will chose an indoor activity in the middle of July!

After picking peaches we went to the air and space museum in Tucson. So fun to see all the huge airplanes up close. I'm glad we went, I have been wanting to go for awhile now. I love the big NASA airplane, also the Air Force one that flew president Kennedy is the top middle picture. Pretty cool stuff.

Sissy

2011-06-02T04:49:00.000-07:00

I just want to take some notes on the kids because honestly I am terrible at keeping a journal, and our family blog is the closest thing we have to it. So this post is dedicated to our Sissy, Ms. Rylie Jane. Actually her middle name is Dianne but for whatever reason we all like to call her Rylie Jane. :) Rylie is a now 2 and 5 months and she likes to keep me busy. She is a climber and loves to be messy. She also loves to copy everything her big brother does. Yesterday Ezra was pretending to be Super Why and had his Why Reader in his belt so Rylie had to find something to stick in her belt, the only problem was she didn't have a belt so she was sticking everything down her diaper...little did i know! I have said recently that I always thought Ezra was a hard 2 year old, but really Rylie keeps me on my toes just as much if not more because of her love of messes. Haha, silly Sissy. I can't express enough how much she LOVES animals. She likes to pretend she is an animal too and eats like one, and eats the cat's food too. She would spend all day with playing with animals if she could. She also did a preschool but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it... bummer! She loved it because she got to color and sing songs. She loves girly shoes, the girlier (is that even a word or right spelling?) they are the better. When we go to play areas where shoes have to go off the first thing she will run to is the shoe cubbie and not the slides! She has been receiving speech therapy for almost 7 months now. She still isn't talking a ton, but we are noticing that it is starting to click. Just in the last 2 months she has started talking a lot more. She says "dank you" very sweet and also "where did go"-these are her current 2 big phrases. She uses baby sign for drink and please still and will imitate almost everything I prompt her to say. I think I would be a little more discouraged with her speech, but having already gone through this with Ezra I know that its just a matter of time before she really takes off with her words. Rylie is a lover and and loves to play. She loves to be tickled, get "dizzy" and dance. She loves to be chased and play peek a boo games. She is our Sissy, sugar and spice and everything nice! (most days)

Preschool Graduation

2011-06-02T04:26:00.000-07:00

Ezra has completed his first year of preschool!!! I remember the first day he went I couldn't believe I was sending him off to a school for 3 days a week, he seemed soo little and he was still my little baby. He started just a few days after his 3rd birthday. I have to say that I was so impressed with his teachers and everyone in the classroom. He had a wonderful class made up of 10 boys and 1 girl. The little girl loved it too! When he started school he knew all his letters and was starting to write some (he loves letters) and he also recognized numbers 1-10. He did not recognize colors nor could he tell you the names of shapes. But now he knows how to write all his letters upper case and lower case, he can spell several words, knows all his colors, shapes, and numbers up to 30. ( they had calendar time every day so he only went up to 30 :) ) Ezra has a great imagination and is so smart. He taught himself how to write his name, he could do this before he went to preschool, when I realized he could do that I encouraged more spelling and reading for him and now he is spelling and writing words that represent the things he loves most; like Baby Einstein. If I sat down and counted I'm pretty sure he can do 20-30 words independently. He is making amazing progress with ABA therapy and his therapist will even comment on what a hard worker he is and the progress he is making amazes them too. Now that I have said all that I just want to add that I am super excited that the preschool will increase from 3 days a week to 4! :)
A little side note and story about Ezra. He will sometimes wake up with really bad foot pains at night and he is very upset. Ezra really does not cry, so for him to cry and not be easily distracted by something says a lot about his pain. The other night while he was upset he wanted me to sing but I thought he wanted me to sing our typical ABC song like always. So when I started to sing the ABC's he said "No, Mommy" and then said something I just couldn't understand. So I started to name all the other songs we sing, but he kept saying the other name. When he said the song again I told him I didn't know what song he wanted, luckily Devin walked by because he told me he was telling me to sing I am a Child of God. So I started to sing I am a child of God and sure enough it was the song he wanted and it calmed him right down. It was such a sweet moment for me because I remember singing it to him when he was just a baby and around 2 he stopped wanting that song and preferred more of the nursery rhyme songs. So for him to recall that song and for it to calm him so much was a very tender moment for me.
One more story I want to keep for the records. Ezra has been pretending a lot lately. Sometimes I don't know who I am talking to because he is pretending to be so many different characters. The other day he was a kitty. I asked Ezra if he wanted a peanut butter and jell sandwich, he said "NO!" so then I decided to ask kitty if he wanted a sandwich. The response, "me-yes". So I have figured out if Ezra isn't hungry then maybe one of his characters is, and 9 times out of 10 I am right and he will eat. I have even gotten kitty and Handy Many to eat a vegetable!

Autism awareness month

2011-04-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

April is Autism awareness month. As many of you know Ezra was diagnosed with autism and because of that it is a huge part of our family. Day in and out we have therapist in our home. Between his preschool and therapist he does a total of 30 hours a week of therapy. We have an amazing team of people working with him, and I fee so blessed. He is a hard worker! I haven't talked much about this on my blog, it honestly wasn't something I wanted to do because it was so personal, but really I want people to know now. I want people to understand what autism is and what its not. To learn more about autism I suggest going to this website, Autism Speaks is a great website and tool for everyone that is interested in learning more about autism. Ezra amazes me constantly with his progress. A year ago he could barley say 20 words total, but now is speaking sentences. For example he is banging on the door right now saying "open door mommy, watch baby Einsteins" This is huge, for him to combine so many words together is huge progress. A year ago they said he was talking a one year old level and his receptive language was even more behind, this made him almost 2 years behind his age, now he is 3 1/2 and is talking at a 3 year old level and his receptive language is at 2 years and 9 months! he is catching up so quickly and I love it! He LOVES his ABC's and can read and write many things, for his age he amazes his therapist on this level. He also is a smart little boy with numbers. I honestly thought he could only recognize numbers 1-13 but just the other day he went all the way up to 30, not just saying the numbers but actually recognizing the written number and now he is even writing numbers 1-10!

April is autism awareness month and to kick it off on April 2 they had a huge walk in Tucson. We went and had the support of my brother and his wife along with my grandma and grandpa. The walk was 3 miles, and I'm pretty sure Ezra walked at least 2 1/2 on his own. The kid enjoyed the bounce houses, train rides, and animals. One lady that does horse therapy brought horses for the kids to paint on and walk. Rylie was seriously in heaven! Her and I must have stayed with the horses for at least an hour. I think she is a cowgirl at heart. I also make matching shirts for our little group to wear. On the back we did "Team Ezra" with the kids hand prints. On the front we had the autism puzzle and our names that Ezra calls us by. For Ezra's front he wrote his name and it said "team captain"

If you have any questions you would like to ask me, feel free to ask. Like I said, I like to help educate people and I don't mind sharing our story.

yes ezra is dancing around with no shoes, he refused to put them on, and i figured it was his day so why not let him keep them off for the moment!

Some updates Feb-march

2011-04-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

So even though I have blogged in two months we have actually done quite a bit. February we finished celebrating Rylie's birthday by FINALLY having birthday cake with her, and you can see she really enjoyed it! Then of course we had valentines day. Both of the kids are in a preschool program so between their friends, teachers, and therapist I think I almost went crazy making homemade valentines. I make a total of 22 crayon hearts with a starburst candy and wrote on their card "hope your day is bursting with love and color" . Then for the teachers and therapist I made cake balls. (soo yummy) The note for them read "you are as sweet as cake". Valentines was fun, and I actually really did enjoy making all homemade treats, however 22 kids and 9 teachers/therapist adds up pretty quickly so next time I will simplify! Also in the Feb. collage is a wreath that I made. I like it a lot, I just need to spray paint the hook to a more neutral color. And that folks is the month of February Highlights :)

The month of march proved to be a fun month for us too. We went to the zoo early on in the month then to Vegas to play with Grandpa Baker. Rylie loves animals, and loved the zoo. Unfortunately its too hot here already to go back, zoo months in Arizona are really in the fall and winter. We also had fun playing in shaving cream and getting all messy! In Vegas we went to Coke world and tried soda from all over the world, honestly I think I only like 3 flavors!

In march my mom, or Sweetie like Ezra likes to call her, came to visit for a couple days. It was a lot of fun because we had her here for 4 days with no agenda. Seriously she just came and played with us and we didn't have to rush anywhere or do anything on any time frame, it was really nice. The kids enjoyed the sprinkler under the trampoline (and still do), planting flowers with sweetie, getting messy with sidewalk paint and chalk, and just playing all day! We love when Sweetie comes to visit and look forward to seeing more of her this summer!

5 year anniversary and birthday fun!

2011-02-09T05:06:00.000-08:00

Right when we got back from Utah Devin and I got to celebrate our 5 year anniversary and my 28th birthday! It was a perfect weekend. Tannis and Clayton came up to watch the kids for us so that we could get a hotel one night. On Friday night we went to WICKED!!! It was awesome. Words can't describe how happy I was to finally see it, and to top it off we had awesome seats! Devin did a great job making the room look very romantic and he gave me a beautiful necklace for our anniversary. The next day was my birthday. We decided to do something that we have never done together and that we can't do with kids...so I figured since he went to a musical with me the night before I would agree to go shooting with him. I will admit that I was very hesitant that I would even enjoy doing this, but it was actually kinda fun. It was also fun because we haven't gone shooting before and it was something he really enjoys doing. After we we went shooting and shopping we went home to have cake and ice cream with the kids and Tannis and Clayton. I love Costco cakes...enough said :) Devin also got me Clinique Happy perfume for my birthday..or not happy but the pink one..basically i love the way it smells. It was a such a great weekend.

Like I said January was a busy month!

Utah Trip

2011-02-09T04:49:00.000-08:00

So I was TERRIBLE taking pictures while in Utah. We went to Utah to celebrate Neva being married. Scott is a great man and we are very happy for them, they are very happy too! We did a lot of things and I honestly only took like 10 pictures..lame right?! We did have fun going bowling just the 4 of us, and I did take a quite a few pictures of that.

don't you just love her cheesy smile?

Devin bowled a 120, I had a 112, and the kids both got 80

Ezra loved it!!

This was the best pictures I had of when I got together with Ashby(Breanna), my first companion in the mission and Hill (emily), my last companion in the mission. In order from left to right we have Olivia (Ashby's), Ezra, Ashby's niece, Rylie, and Ander(Hill's). It was a lot of fun to get together and see each other's kids.

At Trolley Square they had this tornado simulator and as you can see Ezra loved it and Rylie not so much.

The girls getting our pedicures before the wedding! I think Neva was way too stressed to really enjoy it, but we still had fun. Sad story actually, they were waiting on me because the only had 2 workers and 3 of us so it took a lot longer than we wanted. So when it was time to dry my toes I thought I had waited long enough and went ahead and put my shoes on (after 10 minutes of drying) and my toes and my pretty design totally got ruined!! I was so bummed, so basically it took 2 1/2 hours an then my toes were ruined in the end anyway...boo!

Me and Christa representing! haha, i think my hand looks huge in this picture...

We had such a great time in Utah, we had a full week there so it was a nice little family vacation. In addition to the pictures I have here we also visited my good friend Brittney and her family, ate at cafe rio way too many times, I went out to dinner with good friends I used to work with at the bank, and had a great time seeing friends and family at the wedding.

Ezra aka El Guapo :)

2011-02-09T04:42:00.001-08:00

So the potato head continues!!! Isn't he so funny?! I laughed pretty hard when I saw what he did while in the car and then insisted that we use real potatoes for a potato head. Although he has taken a break from Mr. Potato head we are going on 2 weeks now...now he back to loving letters! I just love Ezra and he makes me laugh so much, and I know i'm biased but I just think he is so handsome! He is doing soo good these days, the extra hours of therapy are really paying off and he is making such great progress. We have an awesome team working with him, and we feel very lucky to be were we are right now to receive the services we are for him. I love when he tells me, "mommy, i love you" or "OK mommy" those two phrases just make me smile every time. He is so good at his letters. He spells his name, stop, open, red, mommy, and daddy. Those are what he spells out, but he can actually read quite a bit of words too..he amazes me the things he picks up at school and what he can memorize.

the many faces of rylie

2011-02-09T04:28:00.001-08:00

Rylie is officially 2!! I will admit that we haven't really celebrated her birthday yet. January was such a busy month, then both Rylie and I got sick so it kinda just came and went. But I am planing a fun little "play date" for her and her friends, we will make sure to have cupcakes with her friends. (its just a couple weeks away still b/c of scheduling!) Luckily for me she doesn't really know the difference at this age :)
We really just can't get enough of Rylie and her beautiful smile. When she smiles it just kinda takes up her whole face, and then the dimple comes out and well it melts my heart every time.
She is a busy little girl. She loves playing outside, jumping on the trampoline, playing in the sand, COLORING!, playing with Guapo (the cat), wearing a purse and shiny shoes, eating peaches and bananas, being tickled, dancing, and spinning in circles. She is all about the fun but is still timid with new things. She isn't very vocal but she is using her baby sign better and better every day.
You hear it all the time that we need to cherish these moments with the kids because they grow so quickly, and honestly I can't believe that she is already 2 and not my little baby anymore. (although one of the words she does say is baby as I rock her in the glider) She really is our sunshine!

Christmas

2010-12-29T20:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas was awesome this year! It was so much fun having the kids be old enough to start really catching on to a lot of the things and also being able to include them in on more activities. This year I had to make 21 goody plates!!! Isn't that insane? Yeah, I think it is. I had 21 goody plates to make, an Activity's day activity at my house with eight 10-11 year old girls at my house, and a preschool party to go to on top of all my other day to day things. Seems like there was a lot more, but I can't think of anything else off hand. Needless to say December went by very quickly.
I admit that we spoiled the kids quite a bit this year, and honestly their favorite toys are the $10 or less toys...lesson learned for us. :) We had a nice dinner with our friends next door and just really enjoyed our day. The kids and I also went down to Tucson to celebrate Christmas Eve at my Grandma's. I love that we have that tradition in our family and that we have such a nice gathering place. (Thanks grandma for all your hard work! We love you and that you do that for us!!!) Christmas morning we got to talk to Elder Hine, open more presents, and have a brunch with my Dad, step mom, and Aunt Anita..and again open more presents! I love spending Christmas with family. I love driving by lights on people's houses or taking the kids to see the Temple lights and having Ezra sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" every time we see Christmas Lights. I love showing pictures of Jesus to the kids and them knowing who He is. I love giving to people and knowing they appreciate it. I love Christmas! Most importantly though, I am so thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ and the blessings I have in my life through Him.

Ezra

2010-12-29T19:59:00.000-08:00

Ezra, Ezra...where do I start? Ezra is my little man, my sidekick, mi amigo. Ezra is doing sooo good these days, we are very happy with his progress. We have increased our therapy in the home to about 20 hrs a week and preschool has helped a lot with communication too. Some of my favorite things he tells me now are; "one more time", "do you see him" (this is usually said while looking for a piece of mr. potato head), "I love you", "Sissy, where are you", and "ABC song please". I hear these phrases a lot through out the day, and I love it. I love hearing him talk and communicating with me. My absolute favorite thing he does these days though is when he prays. One day when we sat down to eat dinner we folded our arms and I was about to pray, but Ezra busted out in prayer. He even says his nightly prayer too. Its so cute, it really made me happy to know that all those stressful Sundays were paying off. I have to do church a lot by myself and it is not an easy task. I remember about 2 months ago I was struggling with the kids and the speaker from the High Council was talking, and I honestly don't know what he was talking about because I was battling 2 toddlers. But half way through his talk he looked at me and I looked at him and he said, "you know what I am talking about, don't you? Believe me you are doing the right thing coming to church with your kids even when you don't feel like you are getting anything out of it and you don't think they are either, they are. They are learning that going to church is important, that it was and is important to you, and one day you will realize that it is impacting their lives." I was red as he was saying this. Ezra then pretended burp and said "esus me" really loud. Everyone I felt was looking at me and I wanted to cry, but i didn't. He said exactly wanted I need to hear, at the time I needed to hear it the most. Well I can now see the impact that church is having on my little ones, and it really makes my heart happy.

Ezra is also obsessed with Mr. Potato head. Ever since Toy Story 3 we have had to take Mr. Potato head with us everywhere we go and we also have to turn everything into a potato head. We have done tortillas (he gets 1 a day to do a tortilla head), play dough, rocks, bread, a real potato, and basically anything that is round and you can stick pieces of potato head into. I need to snap more pictures of his creativity, its quite impressive I think. He also is a fix it man. He loves tools and he goes around the house with a screw driver fixing everything...literally!

He is such a happy boy and I love his sweet spirit.

Ms. Rylie Jane

2010-12-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

Pictures for your enjoyment!

Ms. Rylie Cont.

2010-12-29T19:31:00.000-08:00

This video is Rylie playing with her speech therapist. This gives you a pretty good idea of her personality. Robin, the therapist, puts a necklace on like Rylie so of course Rylie has to take hers off b/c now she is not original.

I'm not really sure why we call Rylie; Rylie Jane. Her middle name is actually Dianne, but she just acts like a Rylie Jane sometimes.

Rylie is getting so big so fast! I can't believe she will be 2 in a month. We love our little girl to pieces. I will say she is one stubborn cookie though! We have been trying to get her to not go to bed with milk now for awhile, and well, we are not doing so good with that goal. One night she cried for 3 1/2 hours until we finally gave in and gave her milk. She LOVES animals, Ezra, playing outside, getting dirty, Woody and Buzz, her "baba" (baby), acting like she is a baby, my shoes, necklaces, baths, bubbles, Princess and the Frog, high fives and "rocks", and peaches. She is starting to pick up on some words, but her favorite is 'please' while rubbing her chest and looking super cute, so I always give in. She also loves to color in nursery and her nursery teachers have mentioned to me that they love all her dresses...so do I!

some crafts and an early Christmas present.

2010-12-29T19:15:00.000-08:00

Because my husband rocks; he got me a Silhouette for Christmas (OK so I may have ordered it myself, but he said yes..) And he also said yes to letting me open it early because he could understand the logic of that when I told him I could make a lot of really fun, cute, and inexpensive Christmas gifts...I told you, he rocks!

So these are the projects I worked on. The 6 Be mirror project is probably my favorite, that is why it is staying in my house :)

I got the idea for the wall hanging project for a super Saturday thing that my mother in law did. The plates with the Nativity scene I think I came up on that on my own, but I don't know if I did see it somewhere on a blog before and that is why the idea came so easily. So if someone posted it on a blog and I just don't remember, sorry I did not give you credit. The Blessing Block I got the idea from this blog, its one of my favorites to follow.

I'm so excited for the things I can do with my silhouette machine, I will keep posting more crafts that I do...so stay tuned :)

some updates

2010-11-30T23:05:00.000-08:00

OK, OK it has been forever since I have actually updated with good pictures. We have been really busy the last couple of weeks that I don't know where to start. The kids and I have made many cookies, mostly for teachers and therapist. It has become one of our most favorite things to do together.

The week before Thanksgiving Devin's dad flew into Phoenix and we picked him up at the airport and went straight to California. In California we met his Grandpa Baker and Uncle Ammon and visited with his Great Grandpa Wilkerson. We were able to get a 5 generation picture with Ezra, Devin, Ben, Grandpa Baker, and Great Grandpa Wilkerson. Pretty cool stuff, unfortunately Ezra was not in the picture taking mood and we didn't really get a good one of him looking at the camera..oh well! It will be proof to him later on in life how hard it was to get him to look at the camera! Ha! Devin's dad was also super cool and let Devin and I have a fun date at Disneyland while he watched the kids. I don't have pictures of that because they are all on Devin's phone...so maybe if I ever get around to it I will post those too.

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house for Devin's family. We had such a great time and I'm so glad we could do it. Everyone was there except for Woody and Laura, we missed them but totally understand why they couldn't make it. Christa and I were also brave and faced the Black Friday crowds, I was determined to get a trampoline. After our house was broken into in Casa Grande and they took the trampoline I knew I had to replace it..and I did! We also enjoyed playing Rook and singing karaoke. All in all it was a great week!

a giveaway

2010-11-08T17:48:00.001-08:00

hey everyone here is a new giveaway that i really want to win...but my chances honestly aren't that great so maybe santa will have to consider this :)

the pumpkin patch

2010-10-24T23:41:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time at the pumpkin patch this year. Ezra has been a little obsessed with pumpkins so I knew he would love it. Rylie LOVES animals, she would have fed the cow the whole time if we would have let her. It was a great day, the weather was beautiful, and it was nice to get out and do something different together.

Things on my mind

2010-10-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

My sister Tannis was married last month. I don't know if I have ever seen a happier bride. I am so happy for her and Clayton. They are so cute and fun together that I know that they will always be happy and always love each other.

It has been a little over a year now since Grandma Vance passed away. I still feel so blessed to have known her. She was such an amazing woman with such amazing faith. I will always look up to her as a woman of faith and of someone that I want to be like. She kept amazing journals and always made people smile.

Elder Hine!! I can't believe he has been out for almost 18 months. I love reading his emails and love to hear that he loves his mission so much. He is such a great missionary and loves the people of Panama, and we love him.

Yay! Finally I can do cute things with Rylie's hair. It has taken awhile but it is finally long enough to do some creative hair styles.

My mom came up this past weekend and helped us potty train Ezra. He has done so well, I am so proud of him! Like my mom says though, potty training is really about training the parent to remind the child to go to the bathroom on the potty.

This is what happens when you turn your back for 2 minutes in my house!

So There you go! Also I want to give a little shout out to my friend Janice who has an etsy shop full of cute felt items. I actually bought some of the preschool games and hair clips and LOVE them, and the kids do too. This is her link to her shop! I highly recommend checking her out. :)

lucky

2010-10-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

sometimes I feel like the luckiest person because I am Ezra and Rylie's mom. How did I get so lucky to have such cute and loving kids?

Voice of the Spirit

2010-09-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ezra's birthday

2010-09-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

Ezra turned 3 today. His birthday is easy to remember, 09-08-07... We kept it pretty low key and celebrated on Monday when devin was home. Breakfast was delicious and as you can see the cupcakes were too!

These are some of my favorite pictures taken of Ezra over the last 3 years. Its hard to limit my favorite pictures. I know i'm biased but I just think Ezra is such a handsome boy and has such a contagious smile.

These are the birthday pictures for the last 3 years..you can see his eating habits haven't changed much!

Ezra is seriously my buddy. Some days I think I'm going to go crazy because he is such a busy boy but honestly he makes me laugh and smile daily and I wouldn't change him for anything! He has such a sweet spirit about him and I know he is going do amazing things. Not everyone knows this, but Ezra was diagnosed with autism earlier this year. It has been a struggle, but we are blessed with so many people that support us and lead us in the right direction. He is making tons of progress and I know his future is bright. We are so hopeful for him and are willing to do whatever it takes to pull him through this! To learn more about autism I suggest this site.
We love you Ezra!!!

furniture revamp

2010-09-04T14:46:00.001-07:00

Before:

After:

We got an older dresser from some friends when we moved here and right away I decided I wanted to make it into a TV stand. So we took out the first 2 rows of dressers then laid wood on the bottom to make it a shelf. We painted it this ungly brown, because it was the only color of oops paint that we liked and felt like we could do anything with. The TV stand has done us well, but the last couple of months-OK really year- I have wanted to repaint it and do something much more fun with it. So this is the results. The hardest part was sanding it, that was a pain. Overall i'm very pleased with the results I just want to distress it more.

The outfit!

2010-08-31T14:59:00.000-07:00

This is the outfit he ended up wearing after we changed his clothes..isn't he a ham!! how can you not just think he is the cutest thing ever? :)

Ezra's first day of school

2010-08-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

Ezra started preschool today, this is going to be great for him..and me! It is 3x a week and the his teacher is awesome. This is his original outfit today, but then he got peanut butter and jelly all over it so we had to change.
It's amazing how easy one child is. Rylie and I were able to get a tire fixed, grocery shop, get water, send a fax, and rent movies. Easy peasy! I'm excited to volunteer and help out witht he parties and make the teachers fun gifts. I'm a dork i know!

Family Update

2010-08-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

Rylie is officially in nursery now!! She had a hard time at first, a very hard time. But we have awesome nursery leaders and she is doing so much better now. It's crazy to me that I have two kids in nursery. She is so cute, she still loves to kiss everything. Infact when i put her in time out the other day she kissed the wall. We are really working on getting her to talk..she just doesn't want to. She is starting to love letters as much as brother, probably because thats all we do these days is letters!

Ezra my man. He is making so much progress, some days he talks too much! No, we do't understand most of it but its so fun to hear him talk and communicate with us. We had a very busy month for the month of August. We were going into phoenix 2x a week for an awesome therapy program we had him enrolled in. It was 4 hours each day, but it is night and day difference what it has done for him..and us!

Devin has been issued orders from the Guard Unit to go down to Tucson to secure the border. This means that he will be living in Tucson for 4 days out of the week and coming home for 3 days. It will be a challenge, it will last at least 9 months, but we are very excited about the oppurtunities it brings. So before he started his job we decided to go down to Tucson ourselves to check it out and where he will be staying exactly. Then we went to the Tucson Zoo. Seriously one of my favorite zoos yet. We were able to get really close to the animals, it was very clean, well shaded, and not so huge that you felt like you couldn't see everything.

what I am looking forward to...

2010-08-25T14:30:00.001-07:00

Today was an awesome mail day. A box of sample foods, free food is always good, along with coupons. Our new netflix video...yay! A new ped-egg, seriously these things work wonders and are really cheap on amazon. And my favorite thing I received today was my Mocking Jay book..ahhh, I've been waiting for it.

These are the books that I am currently reading. Can someone please tell my instructors that I am too busy reading to be in class and that I would appreciate it if they didn't lower my grade for it :) kthanxbye!

P.S. Midnight Omen Deja Vu was written by a family friend, you should be able to find it at your local bookstore here is her website I highly reccomend her book. Very easy and fun read.

I heart coupons

2010-07-31T16:10:00.000-07:00

So I have been able to get some amazing deals this weekend! Yesterday at Target I scored pretty big in the toy isle for the kids saving 75% off of everything. Christmas is going to be fun this year :) I think I got like 10-12 toys and paid about $4 a toy average. Then I got tons of clothes for rylie at Old Navy and Target. Iwas able to get her 7 bottoms, 8 shirts, 2 pairs of shoes, and 3 ballerina/tumbling class outfits. For all of her stuff I paid $38..not bad. A lot of the clothes are a size up or two.
I really have a love hate relationsip with coupons. I love that I can get soo many things for sooo cheap or free. I love that I never pay for toiletries anymore. I love that it has helped me make friends and that I can share my knowledge with others. I don't like on the other had how much it consumes my life. Couponing is my favorite thing to do now. I love when I can save 80-90% off my grocery bills, but I don't like all the time it takes me to get organized to do so. I don't like how our office is just piles of newspapers and coupons. So just when I think maybe I should just go back to shopping generic and on a very strict budget and menu I have a day like today when I saved over 93% total. Before coupons and savings my bill would have been $233, but out of pocket I paid $31. At walgreens I got the best deal, I got 3 packages of pull-ups and 6 packages of gum for 98 cents!! Crazy, right?!
I know I have hardly any food in these pictures, the truth is I didn't go to shop for food because I have accumulated a decent stock pile of food and I really only shop for that stuff when it's free or practically free...or i'm all out and desperate. We have gotten our groceries down to about $150-$200 a month and that includes baby supplies and cleaning supplies as well.

Honduras

2010-07-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked 5 years from coming home from my mission for my church . Seriously not a day goes by with out thinking about Honduras or someone from my mission. I have a great friend who is also an awesome writer. She has captured Honduras so well that you should just click here if you want to have an ideas what a mission is like in Honduras and what the culture is really like. She really captures it perfectly. Thanks Torgerson..I mean Carly :)
The truth is I will never be the same after serving the Lord. I really found out who I am. I learned to love greater than I ever imagined. I learned to work hard and to serve others. In my Missionary Handbook I have a quote by Ezra Taft Benson that says, "When Obedience becomes my quest and not an irritation, at that moment I am endowed from on high." I can not express in words how much I was blessed for being obedient as a missionary. I can honestly say that I gave my best to the Lord and I know that He accepted my work.
There are so many people that made my mission great that I will never forget. I had amazing companions and a family that supported me so well. There were so many missionaries that I learned from just by their example. Breana, you were the best mom anyone could ever ask for. Janice, I learned so much in the time that we were together, memories that I will never forget. Carly, you know I love your guts and even though we didn't serve as a companionship you taught me so much. Mom, thank you for writing me every single week with out falter you made hard weeks better with your encouraging words. The list could really go on.
The testimony I have today is simple, but helps me to be the person I am today. I know that the Church is true without a Shadow of doubt. I know that our Savior Jesus Christ atoned for our sins and that we can overcome anything through Him. I know that Heavenly Father knows us and our needs and is very mindful of our current situations. I am thankful for the restoration of the gospel and priesthood, because of it I know my family can be together forever.

grammy was in town..

2010-07-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

My mom came to visit us this week. The kids love when she comes (for obvious reasons) and so do I. She taught me how to use my sewing machine and I am very excited to post pictures of projects that I am working on. Here are some pictures we took of the kids. For whatever reason Ezra decided that he needed glasses everyday. It was cute. Rylie eventually decided it was OK for my mom to sing to her and play with her. What a diva! Can you believe she will be in nurserey in like 2 weeks?!
I hope to post soon with pictures of finished projects..so stay tuned :)

The kids playing

2010-06-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about this house is the empty front room. We have been going back and forth whether or not we want to buy used furniture for it but honestly I love that its wide open and the kids can have fun in it. Another one of my favorite things is when I hear the two of them playing together. Seriously its the best sound ever to hear Rylie giggle as she follows her big brother around. This isn't the best video, seems like they know when the camera is on.

Ezra loves to count and say his ABCs

2010-06-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

Ezra has always loved numbers and letters. When he was 18 months old he started to make the sound of almost every letter. Now he is so facinated with them that wits hard to get him away from them. I will try to post a video of him when he writes his own letters. He actually does really well, some letters look perfect. It is very impressive I think. We love that he is talking and really communicating so much these days. My favorite is when he says "seven" and "W". Enjoy!

coupons

2010-06-19T21:31:00.000-07:00

I know not everyone likes to coupon, and I totally get that. Infact, I didn't think that I would enjoy it, but I found out that I do. It has become a hobby for me. I have been able to save at least 65% every time I go shopping now. Before I used to be happy if for example my total was $120 but I saved $40. Lately my totals have been more like $75 and savings $210. That is what my bill was tonight infact. Its amazing how much you can get for you dollar with coupons. I get this high when I watch the numbers drop. I love when people stop me in the store and ask me to look at my coupon binder. I love to tell people what I get for free. Not only am I buying things we need but I am getting extra stuff too and I am finally finding a way to have a 3 month supply and not feel like its going to kill our budget. Tonight I am pretty sure I bought my year supply of men's body wash.
I paid for this group of stuff $4! yeah it was pretty awesome. here is what I got for $4
3 Sunny Delights
Pace specialty salsa
8 Gillete hair/body wash (men)
2 whole grain pasta
4 OLay body wash effects
6 scotch brite
3 hand wash
2 toothbrushes
4 Ivory Soap body wash and bar
2 Dial hair/body wash (men)
2 Gillette extra strength deoderant

The way I look at couponing is that even though it can be time consuming, its a way for me to help contribute to our funds available in our budget. I actually really do enjoy it too.

to blog or not to blog...

2010-05-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

Of course I will blog!
I just want to jot down some thoughts I have had recently.

Things we learned while moving:
we don't enjoy it
don't wait until the week before to start
people are always there to help when you really need them
its easier to move cross country then across town

What we love about the move:
the house
saving money
being closer to phoenix
our new ward seems like its going to be an awesome ward

We really do like the new house and town. We will certainly miss Casa Grande, but luckily we are only 30 minutes away so we can still visit old friends. The kids love the bigger house and a nice kid friendly backyard. We love that we found such and amazing deal and its always fun to start new..new goals, declutter everything, new ward, new friends, and new experiences.

We feel really blessed these days for Devin's job. The economy is tough these days, but he has a good job and enjoys it too.
We are both going to school full time. This term has not been as easy as the last for me, but I still really enjoy it.
I've been making more goals to have more play time with the kids and less computer time-i love it. Being off the computer not only has helped me to realize how fun it is to play with my kids more, but I am able to clean better and have dinner ready.
Ezra is talking so much more these days. I love it. He is my special little man, I love him so much. He sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" so cute! He is playing with Rylie a lot more and is just really catching up to his age. He qualified for preschool so starting the new school year my little guy will be off to school. I'm sad, but they say that him being exposed to kids his age will really help him catch up speech wise.
Rylie is a diva! She has such a high pitched squeel, I need to record it- she won't believe me other wise when she is older. She is using baby sign pretty well. She can sign more, please, open, and eat. She says please, bath, light, Hi (her favorite word) and hello. She loves to be held and tickled and played with. Ezra is still her favorite person. She also loves animals. Our poor cat puts up with a lot with the kids. Rylie was talking to a fly the other day, it was really cute.
On a positive mom note, I have successfully been able to introduce 2 new vegtables the kids will eat and they now will eat almost any fruit I put in front of them. This is huge! Although tonight Ezra immediately picked the green beans off his plate. I will continue to just offering, one day I know he will try them. It took me 21 years to finally realize I like green beans, maybe he will be the same :)
All is well in the baker house. We really are blessed. I am so thankful for the Gospel in my life and my Savior, Jesus Christ. Just remember, "The future is as bright as your faith." -Thomas S. Monson.
I love this quote!

living in the moment

2010-04-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

Ann Quindlen wrote, "The biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make...I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of my three children sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on the the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less".

lots and lots of pictures.

2010-04-08T19:41:00.001-07:00

2010-04-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

Helaman 5:12

2010-03-13T11:31:00.000-08:00

12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Devin and I were reading our scriptures the other night and we read this particular verse.. it happens to be one of my favorites. I'm so thankful for the foundation we have and our testimonies of Jesus Christ. I think that Satan has tried to drag us down but b/c of the gospel in our lives we are still standing and loving live.
Last night we were talking about what we have done since we have known each other a little over 4 years(mind you we were married 3 months after knowing each other) so here is the list.. brace yourselves!

Lived in 7 different houses (and one more come April after our house sells)
8 different jobs (every time Devin started a new job it was always better, we have finally found one that will be long term)
2 kids
1 cat
more debt than i am willing to share (thank goodness for tax money that has helped us almost pay it off)
5 different schools
5 different cars
gained more weight than i am willing to share (we are working on it!)
moved from one extreme state to another, weather wise anyway
been to NM, UT, ID, Rocky Point Mexico, NV, and CA
bought a house and sold a house (well we have an offer on the house that is)

I know there were more when we were talking. It just goes to show how blessed we really are. I'm so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father that knows our needs and what we can handle.

An update on the Family
Devin- today he went before the board for his staf (E5) i still haven't heard from him but i know he will do great, going to school full time with university of Phoenix online, works at U. of Phoenix for the military department, was released from YMs and put in as the pack committee chair for the cubs.
Tanya-I'm going to school full time now with the university of phoenix online, playing hard with the kids, trying to learn how to use my new sewing machine, and thinking of ways of how i want to decorate the house we found to move into..we found a steel!
Ezra- talking tons more! yesterday he was saying "oh my gosh" it was funny, still runs and runs and never stops, will be staring preschool soon :( i can't believe my little boy is going to go to school
Rylie-She really is a princess. waves bye bye, says bubbles, bath, and will baby sign more. She loves her brother and loves to be tickled. she has such an personality!

Family Trip

2010-02-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

We had such a great time this weekend. We decided to go to California for the long weekend and just get away from all the stresses we've been feeling lately.
The first day we went to San Diego Sea World. We LOVED it! We sat in the first row to see Shamu, i'm not sure if Rylie enjoyed that but Ezra sure did! I don't have pictures up of that yet because it was on our waterproof disposable..so once i develop that film i will scan some in. The kids loved the Sesame Place the best. They even got to see Elmo dance and sing. Rylie was even big enough to go on some rides. The funny part is they had a toddler area and that was their favorite area, you know those areas that you can go to for free in the mall!!! But it was still fun and Ezra got to fly a flying Elmo. (pictures of that are on the cell phone, so i will post those later too)
Sunday we got up and got ready for church and just followed a guy on a motorcycle that looked like he was going to church. Well he was and we found a building, but it was a spanish ward. Of course i didn't mind! I loved it. There is something about spanish wards and singing spanish hymns and touches my heart and I feel the spirit so strong. We made our way up to Santa Ana and visisted with Devin's Aunt Tammi and Great Grandpa Wilkerson. He is 93 years old very alert still! (pictures again on the other computer.. i will post them soon too) The kids got to meet their Great Great Grandpa and take pictures. I thought it was funny that the first thing he noticed about Rylie was that her ears are pierced. I don't think he liked that so much, hes a little old fashion :) I'm so thankful we got to visit with them and see grandpa.
We also went to the Santa Ana Zoo before we left because we didn't get to go to the San Diego Zoo. As you can see Ezra got to ride the elephant.. he was laughing the whole time.
It was a great trip. I wish we could've made it out to the ocean but we didn't get it in. next time!

On a side note, Devin and I are both going to school full time now so if I don't update as much or you don't see me on facebook as much you know why!also remember that if you click on the collage it makes it bigger!

mr. potatoe head

2010-02-16T10:24:00.000-08:00

this just cracks me up. this is the world according to Ezra :) i think we will have to work on body parts a little more...

1 2 &3 = FUN

2010-02-09T07:08:00.000-08:00

Rylie's birthday happens to fall on the same day as 2 other little girls in our ward. So we thought it would be fun to do a play date/party for them. Rylie turned 1, Audrey 2, Maysa 3. They were so excited about their special birthday party. Audrey even said in the car before we got there "party all day long"... well it wasn't all day, but it was a couple hours of fun and toddlers. Our ward has so many little children it was hard not to just invite everyone, but we had to be realistic. We had a playdo area, craft area for their take home bags, bean bag toss, an awesome outside to play in, movies, snacks, cupcakes..basically a toddlers dream day. :)

cute kids

2010-02-07T17:53:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have those days where you think your kids are basically the cutest ever? I did today. They both wore new outfits and just looked so cute and well yeah just that..cute. i couldn't help but snap a couple pictures. Of course it would be impossible to get them to take a picture together. Don't you love the one of Ezra picking his nose, yeah thats his new favorite thing to do. Good times!

happy birthday Rylie dear...

2010-02-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby is 1 already! she is such a ray of sunshine in our lives. She waives bye bye, does itsy bitsy spider, claps her hands to if your happy and you know it, is starting to walk (like 10 baby steps at a time), loves to be tickled, loves her kitty guapo, LOVES her big brother Ezra and follows him everywhere, says Dada, and loves to be attached to her mom's hip :)
she is so funny, seriously she is a princess, and knows it!
We had a great birthday weekend with my mom and sister coming to celebrate and Shea and her family and my brother Jayson. we kept it low key because we have another special party for her in a week with lots of friends. She got lots of cute clothes, books, DVDs, and some fun toys.

Home, Home on the Ranch!

2009-12-30T07:42:00.000-08:00

We went to the ranch for Christmas and the kids LOVED it.. by loved it i mean Ezra didn't want to leave b/c he could run wild there and Rylie liked the attention. We decided to take them down to the coral and see horses for the first time. OK so i was a nervous wreck, i was certain the horse wanted to bite my fingers off or Ezra's. He had no fear of course and loved them.. we fed them hay and carrots. Rylie was impartial. Devin really loved it too. seriously though after only being there for 10 minutes my allergies were driving me insane!!!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T07:32:00.000-08:00

We had such a wonderful Christmas. It started off by spending Christmas Eve with my friend Shea and her family. We had awesome food, white elephant, talent shows, read from Luke, singing Christmas songs, and really just great company. For the white elephant Devin insisted we give a live fish, and we did... I'm not sure the person who got it was too thrilled.
Christmas Morning we got up our usual time of 7am and Santa had the living room stet up with all the toys and gifts. Ezra was so excited to see his toys, Rylie i think just wanted to play with whatever Ezra was. The kids were pretty spoiled this year. Ezra got 2 different buzz toys and p.j.s to match, stacking blocks, puzzles, cars and trucks.. all the fun boy stuff. Rylie got some stuffed animals, books, a grocery cart, and a leap frog farm animal toy. Santa brought both of them a tent with a fun tunnel. Devin got work clothes, a rubix cube, Star Trek, and a homemade date night book/coupon book thing I made for him. I got some really nice clothes and some money to shop some more! We also got a super nice mattress topper, i love my bed again :)
After we opened presents we went to Tucson to spend time with my Dad and Terri. We had a nice time and had an awesome dinner! Then we decided to go and visit GG and Papa down at the ranch. I am making a whole different collage of that b/c we went down to the coral and petted the horses, good times!
All in all we had a great Christmas, a great 2009 and look forward to 2010 with hope and with a determination to make it as great as 2009.

*the hat Rylie is wearing with the pink flower Devin crochet and made a matching scarf for me.. super cute.

put a smile on your face

2009-12-22T10:11:00.000-08:00

Please laugh with me and enjoy the video!

Parade of lights

2009-12-06T09:51:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to the Light parade here in town. Ezra really enjoyed it.

And you know Rylie had a smile on her face, she always does when she is is being held :)pretty sure the wagon has been the best investment for the kids thus far.

We then did what every good parent would do.. we took the kids to wendys to dunk french fries into frostys.

winters in Arizona

2009-12-04T13:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was pretty much the best weather all year! And this is why I love Arizona. Kids and I decided to pack up and go for a picnic. We had so much fun and were out for 2 hours! The best part was when we got home they crashed, they both took like 3 hour naps :) I think we need to do the park more often.

Its begining to look a lot like Christmas

2009-12-04T13:03:00.000-08:00

I Love Christmas! Don't be jealous of our little Christmas tree. Actually I love our little tree, its the perfect size for our little family. And one day when we are bigger we will have the fun family crazy tree, and one day when the kids are out of the house I will have my Martha Stewart tree.. but until now, i will enjoy our little 3 foot tree. :)

vaseline and a 2 year old

2009-12-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

dear blogspot,

today i want to go back to bed and stay there!

Turkey Day in New Mexico

2009-12-01T23:57:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving. We went to New Mexico and included in our dinner party was Tori and kids! Colin and Chloe are the funniest little kids I know. George was also there to play with and hang out with. Tannis and George are pretty funny together. Dinner was fabulous of course, and of course I ate too much and wanted to sleep afterwards. (and i did, thanks mom)

That night Tannis, George, Devin and I all went to go see New Moon. Loved it! I thought it was 100 times better than the first movie. I can also see if you haven't read the book how the movies would be super lame though. But I personally love me some sparkling vampires :)

Friday we took family pictures with mom's camera. Good times. The rest of the time we really just hung out and played games. Sunday it started snowing so we left earlier then intended.

All in all it was a great weekend.

Thanks family for the memories!

Things I am thankful for:

The Savior

My Family

A husband that works hard and plays hard

Healthy Kids

my country

my scriptures

a good hair day

root booster

my health

a clean house

laughing so hard it hurts

modern technology

Glee-it makes me happy

music

pictures

missionary work

Elder Hine

Honduras

memories

cafe rio

the smell of rain

hot chocolate

These are a few of my favorite things....there really are many many more... I am so blessed and I am so grateful to know that I have a loving Heavenly Father who knows me and my needs.

Devin's Birthday

2009-11-20T23:02:00.000-08:00

I'm not really sure how this one didn't make the other bunch of collages. This was Devin's birthday weekend. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton in downtown Phoenix, dressed up all nice (2 different waitresses complimented us on how good we looked) and just had a really nice weekend. My mom came down and stayed with the kids and his parents helped pay for the room.. We had a great time!

Updates

2009-11-20T22:40:00.000-08:00

did we mention that we love these two and just can't get enough of them!

In this collage we have pictures of us having a picnic in our back yard, a play group with all 6 kids being within weeks of each other, Ezra dipping french fries and chicken nuggets into a frosty (thanks GG and Papa), and of course our favorite aunti Tanni has to be int he collage too!

This one is dedicated to Ezra. He is hilarious! Ezra's favorite things to do these days are climbing, running, singing, water, playing with Rylie, and he loves the outdoors and jumping. He has started talking a lot more, its fun to hear what comes out of his mouth and how he says things. He will also give you rocks..its very cute.

This is our pretty pretty princessa Rylie! She is a ham! Ok so here she took pictures in a dress that i bought that was way to big for her so i returned it, but it was sooo pretty, she is wearing her tutu i made her, the chocolate face picture is just classic, and her just being cute. She is becoming a lot more mobile and pulling herself up on a lot of things. She also loves to eat, she is a great eater. Her favorite thing to do is chase Ezra around.

While in Utah we went to Chucky Cheese, Ezra LOVED it. He seriously loves to play. Then on Veteran's day we went to an amusement park for toddlers in Phoenix and again he loved it. He wasn't even afraid to go on rides by himself.

just a side note- i do not have any halloween pictures, so yes i'm going to dress my kids up in their costumes again and post picturs soon.

Vance Family Reunion

2009-11-20T22:16:00.000-08:00

Back in July we had the chance to go to Salt Lake and be part of the Vance Family Reunion. We had such a great time and honestly fell in love with Utah. I forgot how pretty it was. Most importantly we got to spend time with Grandma Vance who had been fighting cancer. We love Grandma Vance so much and what an amazing women she was and an example she will always be for me. She passed away Oct. 11, 2009.

The first time I met grandma was actually when we got married. I had talked to her on the phone before our wedding and always knew that she was a woman of faith. She loved and emulated the gospel in her life. She was such a great journal keeper and was adamit about family history. One of my favorite things about Grandma was her thoughtfulness. About once a month we would get a package in the mail from her and it honestly made our day. It usually wasn't much but just a note telling us she loved us and was thinking of us and an old book that reminded her of us for whatever reason. She gave Ezra the book Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson and Rylie was blessed in her mom's blessing dress. The legacy of grandma will always live on in our family. She taught us so much and loved the Savior so much, you couldn't help but be touched by knowing her. She really did make you want to be the best you.

Family pics

2009-10-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

Hey Hey, Look who's back!!! No seriously though, my sister came to visit us and we have had a great time with her! And while she was here we decided to do a little photo session with the kids. Can i just say I love my mom's camera and picasa.. it works wonders. so enjoy the pictures. these are Rylie's 8 month shots and Ezra's 25 month old pics.

Rylie 6 and 7 month pictures

2009-09-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

you would think with how much I'm on this silly computer i would've blogged about Rylie turning 6 months.. oh no, she is now 7 months and a week now!

These are a few of my favorite pictures of her from the last month or so. She truly is just a joy in our lives. One of the happiest babies. If you even but look at her she will be flashing you her big smile. And that big smile melts my heart! I love her!!

She has 2 bottom teeth now and is sitting quite well by herself these days. Yesterday she even started the first stages of crawling by rocking back and forth on her knees and hands. She LOVES Ezra. Seriously she could watch him all day and just giggle and play with him.

the birthday

2009-09-10T21:17:00.001-07:00

Ok so for Ezra's birthday we kept it real low key. We went into Phoenix a couple times last week and kinda celebrated there by doing splash pads, museums and bounceU. For his actual birthday we just hung out really, we got some cheap pizza from little caesers (his favorite) opened presents (thanks everyone for the gifts!) and then dug into the cupcakes. I made jello cupcakes with the best frosting ever, they were a hit!

Here are some things that makes Ezra so special to us:

His big cheesy smile

He is a very determined little boy

very happy

loves animals

Loves Rylie in his own special way :)

when he gives you a big wet kiss

he is known as the little escapee in nursery

i love how he pats my back when he gives me hugs

his favorite number is 3 (the only one he knows)

he is a climber

you can tell he is just taking everything in around him all the time

loves the water

loves to play and wrestle around

loves to sing, loves music

still loves dirt and mud

loves to watch movies.. like really loves to watch them

I'm so thankful to be his mom! At times I feel like I'm going to go insane because he is such a busy boy but i wouldn't have him any other way:)

Ezra is 2!

2009-09-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

Can you believe my little guy is 2? I know I can't! Ezra is my favorite little boy, I really just love him to pieces! At night before i go to bed, i can think of Ezra and he just makes me laugh because of the funny things he does during the day. So i was going to make a smaller collage of just a few pics of him the last 2 years but I couldn't pick a few. So I hope that some of these pictures put a smile on your face like they do for me.

2009-09-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

This is a collage of a bunch of pictures we took off our cell phone. there are some really cute pictures on it and i wanted to be able to blog the. did you guys know you can make a book out of your blog? you can! that is why i am putting up every little thing! some of these pictures are older, like when Ezra was Rylie's age.

enjoy :)

an afternoon to myself!

2009-09-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

I decided I needed an afternoon to myself. So Wednesday I headed to the temple, ate at Cafe Rio and got a pedicure. It was a great day, a much needed me day. I love how I edited the picture of the Temple. I am making a goal to make it to the Temple at least 2x a month, that shouldn't be too hard, right? Well for me it kinda is, but I realized while i was there that I really need to make it a priority. I thought of the people I taught in Honduras and how they don't have a temple and the sacrifice some of them make to travel to Guatemala just to go. some of them only get to go once in a life time some only once every 5 years. I live 40 minutes away from a temple and don't go nearly as often as I should! Let us all take advantage of the temple and the blessings it brings to us by going.

Ezra's day

2009-09-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

OK, so last week we decided to have an Ezra day b/c he is turning 2 in a couple days and we wanted to celebrate while we could. We first went to BouncU and had a blast! I highly recommend it to anyone! Then we went to the Mesa children's museum. It was fun, however I think it was a little over his head. And for the price I don't know if it was worth it. Now in 2 years, totally worth it! We then went to the Tempe splash pads.. i actually think this was the most fun of all the activities we did, and it was free! Rylie enjoyed it too. We ended the day by going to IHOP b/c kids ate free and we wanted to try the Hawaiian pancakes, they get our approval! Ezra was pooped by the time the day was over. It was a great day, and made us realize we need to have more days like this and its not that expensive.

big boy bed

2009-09-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

After Ezra learned to climb out of his crib we decided it was time for a "big boy" bed. I found this bed on craigslist for $40! It looks great in his room. he is actually doing really well at night in it, naps are a different story. the picture of him sleeping with the stuffed animals and toys are a day that he just did not want to take a nap in his bed. i basically put him in his room for quiet time after an hour i went to check on him and found him sleeping in his toys. overall its been a pretty easy transition.

(the pictures are so blurry b/c they were taken with our phone too, we lost our camera!)

garage sale 8/29

2009-08-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

so this is kinda cheesy to post this on blogger.. but oh well.

Garage sale Saturday 6am til the heat says otherwise. First come first serve. Some of the items will be a 5.1 surround sound, a 27" TV, lots of baby and toddler stuff (toys, clothes, etc...) and even a CAR!!!! A Fully running driving CAR!!!! Come check it out on Saturday August 29, 2009 at 502 E Barrus PL, in Casa Grande. Major crossroads are Casa Grande and Cottonwood or click on this link!!!!!!! http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl We hope to see you there!!!!!

(devin has high hopes of selling the car... i'm just like whatever!) :)

Ramblings of a very tired Tanya

2009-08-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

I will warn you that this post my seem really random.. its just a bunch of ramblings going on in my head. I guess you can say I always have acted like i thought the world revolved around me. In fact i think i even remember my mom telling me several times growing up that it didn't. I am a control freak. I need to be in control or i freak out. this is something that i would not consider a better quality of mine. I think this is were faith comes in to play. I need more faith in so many things. there are so many people I admire for their faith. I love the conference talk given by Elder Simmons, May 2004 titled 'But if Not'. I heard it on my mission and i think of it always. i will try this link for you but i don't know how to do it the fancy way. http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=6ba0d9cbdb01c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

There are so many things I want more control over. I wish we had more control over our finances, i wish that Devin was graduating now, i wish i had control over my weight... but in the end i do have control i believe. this life is a life of choices. We can chose to do the best we can in any situation we are put in. We chose to be happy. We chose to take control of what we can and then have faith that the Lord will provide the way.
So tonight i was thinking of EVERY single thing i wish i did better. i don't know why i do this, it usually makes me feel so inadequate. I decided then that i just need to go back to what i felt like was a great time in my life and when i felt like i truly was working hand and hand with the Lord and didn't need "control" over everything. Yes, i need to live a missionary life again. I need order and i need goals and i need agendas... not only do i need this but my family does too. so to start off my new way of living i am making a "I WILL" list. this list is what i will do from here on out no questions asked no excuses anymore.. these are the things that if i do them i know i will be happier.

~I will read and really STUDY my scriptures everyday 20 minutes.
~I will begin and end my day with prayer
~I will listen to more uplifting music more often
~I will be a 100% Visiting Teacher every month
~I will not go to bed with a dirty kitchen
~I will keep up with laundry better
~I will play with my kids more and spend less time on the computer
~I will do a new craft once a month
~I will make a monthly budget and live by it
~I will water our yard and trees every other day
~I will eat healthy
~I will exercise
~I will serve in my calling happily
~I will serve others
~I will spend more quality time with Devin
~I will read to the kids everyday
~I will attend the temple more regularly.
~I will have FHE every week
~I will have family prayers everyday
~I will remember to brush Ezra's teeth everyday ( i don't know why this one is hard for me)
~I will not eat out more than 2x a month
~I will be happy
~I will develop a new talent (preferably in music..like the guitar)
~I will love my self better
~I will make a to do list every night and follow it
~I will be a better wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend
~I will pray for more missionary opportunities
~I will not act out in anger
~I will not criticize
~I will trust
~I will be obedient
~I will Love

These are things i should be doing already, but I don't. Not as consistently as i would like anyway. So I am starting New. What better time than now, right?! Some of them probably seem really silly too, but they are things that need to be done and if i have to write a post it note to remind myself to brush Ezra's teeth or water the yard.. then i will!
I have to stop and remind myself too there is a time and season for everything. I just need to be patient and have faith.

Let me tell you 'bout my best friend

2009-07-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Ezra LOVES animals. We have a cat, Guapo, that Devin gave to me as my Christmas present our first Christmas together. Guapo is still with us and now our kids get to enjoy him. Guapo actually loves Ezra too. Wherever Ezra goes Guapo is when they are outside. Ezra's new thing is to give him "loves" and Guapo doesn't seem to mind too much. This morning it was really cute, we put Ez out in his swim trunks to play in the water but instead he decided to play with Guapo. He was putting cat food in his hand, giving some to Guapo then he would eat some, then give some to Guapo.. and so on. Then Guapo starting drinking water and this is what Ezra started to do, yes that is him drinking the water with Guapo!
Note: all the chalk on my walls again! luckily its just the AZ room and not my house!

Road Trip

2009-07-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time going to Utah and seeing family and friends. Too bad we can't just always be on vacation :)

I did a really bad job remembering to take pictures, but here is a little piece of what we got to do.

The drive itself was not too bad. We left Monday after noon and stayed the night in Kanab. Then Tuesday morning we woke up nice and early and drove to Cedar City to visit a friend of mine. Carly and I served in the same mission but were never companions, we did share an area and house at one time however. I admire this girl so much, she is amazing. She was an awesome missionary and she is one of those people when you are around her you just want to be a better person. She just had a baby, Raymond, he is a doll! After our nice visit with her and her cute family we went on our way and stopped in Santiquin. Devin's mission president owns the Big Red Barn out there with all the yummy treats and probably the best homemade ice cream i have ever tasted. It was really nice to be able to see them. (if you ever go out that way, I highly reccomend you stop for ice cream )

Finally we made it to SL and we got to see Grandma Vance.. I think I will have to do a whole separate post on Grandma and how speacial she is to us. We saw Devin's sister, Christa, and our nephew, Wesley, for the first time in almost 2 years too. I got to meet more of Devin's cousins and family. We pretty much decided that Utah is so pretty and want to move there. I loved all the green and mountains and trees.. and the houses were all different and unique.. Very nice place to live.

I was able to see some more friends. I visited my good buddy Brittney, we were roommates in Utah. Good memories! I had dinner with 'the girls' (pictures to come) These girls were the best living in Utah. We all worked together and got a long so well! we would have American Idol parties together, go the the AI concerts, best birthday parties together.. again, good times :)

As the week came to an end we spent the rest of the time with family. We did family pictures and played outside a lot and ate too much food. Sunday night we had a talent show, that was a lot of fun, I will try to post some videos of the acts.

By Monday it was time to leave again :( so off we went. We decided to go through St. George because that is where Devin's grandpa lives. We had a nice time visiting him and also my Mission president and his wife came over for awhile. I love those guys!

We left St. George Tuesday ready to be home and in our own beds. What do you know, Ezra got sick on the way between St. George and Vegas. We couldn't keep driving with him throwing up so we ended up staying the night on the Air Force base in Vegas and took showers, naps, and cleaned the car seat and car. Vegas was actually a really nice day b/c it was so relaxed.

Like i said we had a great time! I wish we could stayed a little longer and see more people but our purpose was to see Grandma as she is getting older and more sick.

We love our Family and Friends!

sweet potatoes

2009-07-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Rylie's first foods... enough said :)

Let Freedom Ring

2009-07-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

I love the 4th of July. I love the decorations, I love the meaning behind it, I love my country, I love the food, the weather, the fireworks... I love it all!

This 4th I am especially thankful for a husband that serves in the military and plans to make a career out of it, I am thankful for a brother who is currently serving in the military and has and is currently serving overseas, for a cousin that is away serving his country in Afghanistan... I am grateful to come from a military family and for all the men and women that serve our country. Thank you to all of them, and may God bless America!

I love these pictures of Rylie, she is so cute!! I am happy to report she is doing well adjusting to her own bed. Ezra is sick today :( and Devin is working 2 shifts so unfortunately we are not doing anything too fancy today. I did make 4th of July pancakes if that counts for anything :)

Ezra

2009-07-01T15:07:00.001-07:00

I hate when i do the pictures backwards, this was supposed to be the last one.. This is Ezra happy, watching a movie and eating popcorn.
again happy, he loves ketchup.. i wish i had a better picture of him and the mess he had with the ketchup, it was pretty cute.

so this is where it starts.. ezra is turning 2 in two months and i can tell! there are a lot more tantrums and "no no's" . this is him screaming at me b/c he got the hanger stuck over his head.

eating food(of his choice of course) = happiness for Ezra

Giving Rylie a binky... hey, if he can do it i will take it.. she still will not take one from me.

Ezra climb up on the desk found a sharpie and decided that he need to draw on the wall that mommy and daddy draw on... i guess i couldn't be too mad about this one. This is our measuring wall.

He really likes to climb these days. While in Rocky Point i could not get him to stop climbing out of his pack-n-play. Now that we are home, he has figured out how to climb into his crib just not out.. its only a matter of days i'm sure.

Kinda a goofy picture of his face.. I'm sure he is watching a cartoon. I love this picture. If you look closely you will see one of Rylie's pink headbands around his neck and he also is putting his shoes on by himself. He is very independent these days and would prefer to dress himself.

I love this little guy... sure some days i think I'm going to go crazy b/c I've said No 100 times and every time has resulted in a tantrum from him, but that is what being 2 is all about isn't it? I guess i just need to pick my battles with him better and let him grow.

disclosure: i do dress my son everyday contrary to what the pictures seem to be displaying

5 months

2009-07-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

taken about 2 weeks ago.. isn't she cute! (note the Mohawk hair)
I want to just say that this is why you should not co-sleep with your children... she kicked me out of bed! ezra slept with us too but he actually preferred to sleep in his own bed, so i thought rylie would be the same way.. not so much. we are really trying to get her out! This picture doesn't even show how much space she can really take up either.

She fell asleep in her bouncer.. it was really cute. taken 3 nights ago.

Taken today for her 5 month mark.. notice the hawk is gone! While in Rocky Point with my mom she went to town on rylie getting rid of her cradle cap.. it looks SO much better!

Rylie is 5 Months today!

Its amazing how big they get so quickly. We pierced her ears last week, she did so good. I was the one freaking out, but she hardly gave a little cry and i think i might have seen one tear drop. She is such a joy in our lives, she loves to talk and talk, smile and laugh, she loves the "little Piggy's" game, she rolls all over the place now and is even trying to sit on her own. I just can't picture our lives without her. I thank Heavenly Father every night for my kids, it truly is a blessing to be their mom.

i love these guys!

2009-06-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

i love how both of them don't want to take the picture and have their hands in their mouth!

ok, ok.. .i am terrible about putting away laundry after i wash it.. this is rylie in her crib with all the laundry i need to catch up on... ahhhh!!!

Rylie is officially 4 months old now..isn't she a cutie.. and i just want to add this dress cost me $2.73!

well at least devin is happy to take a picture!

ezra is trying to pick my mole off... rylie likes the attention!

oh what do you do in the summer time....

2009-06-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

eating smores for breakfast... daddy's idea! thanks dad!
Rylie was not a fan of the swimming pool, infact she cried the whole time and slept... she even fell asleep looking mad

Colin passed the swim test!! he did such a good job and got to go down the slide.

Ms. Chloe or as she likes to be called Princess Chloe. When they were leaving this morning she asked me if I will just call her princess from now on.. these two are a hoot!

devin brushing up on his diving skills.

me and my little buddy

Ezra(21 months) Colin (almost 8) Chloe (5) Rylie (4 months)... good times!

apparently bunny was hot and needing to go swimming with ezra.

improvising with our toys.. he loves his new 'water slide'

we have had such a fun couple of days. the weather is starting to get a little on the hot side.. which i love because its not cold :) my cousin Tori and her kids came to visit. We have had a blast with them. Colin and Chloe are some of the funniest kids i've heard.. the things they come up with. We invited our friends the Newmans over with their kids and had hotdogs, yummy salad, chips, watermelon, and smores. That night Devin and Colin camped out on the trampoline and played video games. Chole and I painted her nails like a princess. and we went to the city pool and wore the kids out that way too. We love this family, they are the reason we met. Good time, good times!

summer lovin

2009-05-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

Thought you all might want to see some pics i snapped today.. I know i know we have the cutest kids, you don't have to tell me twice :)

They sure are growing fast. Ezra LOVES being outside all day and as you an see has made a masterpiece in my backyard. Rylie is turning 4 months in just a couple days, i can hardly believe it!

If you all want to follow a fun blog of a cool missionary ( my brother) check out www.elderhine.blogspot.com He is in the MTC right now and is going to Panama City, Panama.

busy bees

2009-05-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow, has it really been a month since i last blogged? i guess so b/c I'm last on all my friends updated blog lists. I really don't know where the month of April went.

Rylie is getting soo cute and fun, she is very interactive these days and loves to talk and smile and giggle at you. I can't believe she is 3 months old

Ezra, is still busy running from one place to the next. He loves being outside and coloring. He is very vocal but not very verbal still... what do you do? I wish he would talk, i know he can b/c he has then he just stops and never says the word again. He also got his first haircut 2 weeks ago ( after looking at the Easter pictures i realized his hair was a little out of control)

Devin is still really busy with school and work.. and now his new calling being in the YM's presidency and assistant scout master.. i can not wait until we are done with school!

We were able to go to NM to see my brother Ethan off before he left for his mission to Panama City, Panama. We are so proud of him and know he will be an awesome missionary. Ezra will miss Uncle E.
Other than that, its the same ol' same ol'. here are some Easter Pictures, i will try to get some more recent ones up soon.

Love ,

The Bakers

Ezra loves bunnies... the one in his hand is the one he has to have everynight before he goes to bed.

the best we could do with 2 cranky kids...

warning..LOTS OF PICTURES

2009-03-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the zoo on Monday with the kids, Aunt Tannis, Grandma Vance and Neva and Lynn. Rylie slept 90% of the time except when she wanted to eat.
Devin loved the string ray part of the day

of course we had to do a little rock climbing... Devin climbed it in 6.3 seconds.. Go Devin!

Ezra's favorite part was the water. We didn't know there was water to play in so he got to play in his diaper!

Tannis deserves the Best Aunt Award.. she loves our kids almost as much as we do.

would've been a cute picture of both of us, but of course Devin has to do his face.. but i love anyway :)

Grandma and Ezra in the play house

i love these pictures of Ezra and Dad.. they are best buds.

This weekend was Great! I wish i could have weekends like this every week.

Blessing Day

2009-03-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

So i might be a little biased.. but i have some dang cute kids!

Today was Rylie's blessing day. The weather was beautiful, we had lots of family and friends come, and Rylie looked beautiful in her white dress that was worn by her great, great grandma. Devin's mom and husband came along with sweet Grandma Vance, on my side we had my mom and dad come, uncle Ethan, aunt Tannis, uncle Jayson and aunt Erica and of course Grandma and grandpa Trowbridge, and the ever so fabulous Aunt Anita. After the blessing we had a nice little lunch in and had lots of good food.

I love weekends like this where we can be by loved ones.

I'm thankful for families and that my husband was able to give a beautiful blessing. We have had a great weekend.

Mommy wow, I'm a big boy Now!

2009-03-12T11:00:00.001-07:00

Playing in the blowup toys during family day for the Guard this last weekend.

My little boy is now a big boy.. yes Ezra is now in nursery! I can not believe it. I'm not going to lie we have looked forward to this Sunday for awhile now. He did great, not a tear shed. Infact they said he was sharing toys with the other kids. When I went to pick him up he had crayon in his mouth so obviously we need to work on that. I hope he always enjoys nursery. He is so cute and still just makes me laugh everynight before i go to bed, all i have to do is think of something he did during the day.

First Sunday

2009-03-12T10:49:00.001-07:00

Rylie's first sunday outfit. She looked very cute and i think she enjoyed her first Sunday at church.
I love her face in this picture!

I decided not to go with the beanie and shoes(the shoes were too big) and opted for the flower in the end. But she sure did have lots of admirers, and slept almost the whole time. Ezra never slept through church. I was so worried about going too because Devin had drill so not only was it my first sunday back but it was me by myself with the kiddos.. i had tons of help and it was a very relaxing sunday in the end.

Ezra's Room

2009-03-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

I tried taking a picture of where Ezra drew on his walls but it didn't turn out so i decided since his room was fairly clean to take pics of it and post it so everyone can see his cute little room. He was born to fly like his grandpa and dad. I will post pictures of Rylies room when i get it cleaned up a little better and with more pictures on the wall. but back to Ezra drawing on his walls.. apparently this is his new thing, he has successfully drawn on our new couch set, his room and Rylie's. I wonder which room is next!

Homemade Giveaway

2009-03-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

OK so my friend June posted this on her blog a couple weeks ago and I won!! woohoo!! About a week ago I recieved my package, an awesome head bow for Rylie ( i seriously need to learn how to make them) and she also sent matching braclets for me and Rylie. So now its my turn to pay it forward! good luck!!

The first 2 people to respond to this post will get something made entirely by me! Whatever I want! HOWEVER! This offer does have some restrictions and limitations-
1. I make no guarantees that you will like/ enjoy/ want what I make!
2. What I create will be especially for you
3. It'll be done this year.
4. You will have no clue what it's going to be.
5. I reserve the right to make something extremely strange, should my heart desire it.
The catch is that you must re post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 2 people who do the same on your blog. So win an AMAZING homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure you post a picture of your amazing homemade awesomeness when you get it from yours truly! Who's in?

1 month older and wiser too!

2009-03-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

just a couple hours old
one month old

Ms Rylie is a Month!! This is the outfit we probably wouldve worn to church if we she was feeling better.. i took it this morning, you can really see how much she has grown.

change is good.

2009-03-01T09:37:00.000-08:00

Here is how life has changed for us and some updates.

Devin: He is now working days- Hooray!! school is getting more demanding but he is determined to get it done. This week is finals then he gets 1 week off then we start again with another 9 week 12 hr credit term. I keep telling myself..'1 more year, you can do it Tanya, just 1 more year' and i keep telling him the same thing but i think i need it more than he does! As a reward for his hard work he was able to buy and handgun with some of our tax money. He has wanted one forever. He did have a shotgun but was stolen up in AK.

Me: I wake up 5x in the middle of the night to feed Rylie sometimes its only 4x, then at 6:30 Ezra, Rylie and I are all up getting all new diapers, sippy cup for Ezra, feed Rylie, dispense medicine, breathing treatment with Rylie. Rylie is usually asleep again by 8:30 so Ezra and I play around and get that one on one time that he needs, then I try to get them both to take a nap around 12ish so that i can take a nap or get chores done., usually i just take a nap and do chores later that night. Devin gets home at 2 and then we all play and have fun.

Ezra: He can now sing and do the hand motions to Itzy Bitzy Spider (very cute) says 'Thank you' or dan uhh and 'There he is' but is sounds more like der he esss. This is a very fun stage. He loves the outdoors and he loves animals. He hasn't given his sister or sisss as he tries to say much attention. He has been a little under the weather so i took him in to the Doc and he has an ear infection in both ears right now. Next week will be the first week of nursery for him!! i know he will love it.

Rylie: Little Missy is now a month, time has gone by soo fast. She too has been sick, she has RSV but is doing a lot better. The breathing treatments seem to be working really well for her. the other day when i took her to the doctors she weighed 9.5 so she is a good little eater even when she is sick. She is getting strong, holds her head up a lot better and will push up on my hand with her little feet to stand up straight.

So that is our little family update. We feel so blessed to have such cute, fun little kids. Just on a side note my brother Ethan got his mission call!! Panama City, Panama. I am so excited for him. Shaun went to Mexico, I went to Central America and he is going South. how cool is that?!

For your viewing pleasure

2009-03-01T09:19:00.000-08:00

Thought I should update with some pictures.. so here you go!
taking the kids on a walk to a park.. Rylie slept the whole time and Ezra got some wiggles out

Because Rylie has been sick I still haven't gone to church still and she has out grown 2 dresses, Duh! you don't have to go to church just to wear a dress.. so here is a dress she got from Grandma Baker.. more to come

Ezra is certain that he is to climb into everything and to get into everything. This pot is one of his favorites to sit in while he plays

I just think these pictures are so cute when a baby is all snuggled up, especially a naked baby!

Tummy time! she is getting really strong and holding her head up really well

I put her in this after she fell asleep, it has a vibrator on it and i think think the vibrating motion made her move down..

This is the first hug Ezra gave her and we didn't even have to force him.. however since this picture 2 weeks ago he has yet to hug her again.

Not a cute picture of me but a cute one of Ezra.

And then there was four!

2009-02-07T15:20:00.000-08:00

Little Miss Rylie Dianne has arrived! She is soo sweet and precious, we love her to pieces. She is a very good baby, which makes me think maybe I can have more than 2 kids. Not to say we are planning number 3 right now. Ezra is adjusting... that's about all i can say about that, more post to come on that i'm sure.
I went in Sat. night to be induced, they started me at 9pm after 6 hrs i was dilated to a 3 and hadn't felt any real bad contractions and my cervix still was really high and not doing anything. After another 6 hrs or so my cervix was descending and i was at a 4 so my doctor broke my water and they gave me patosen(sp?). Contractions were pretty light for about 2 hrs then they started to hurt so i asked for my epidural. Right at that same time Rylie's heart rate dropped down to the 50s scaring everyone so all of a sudden there was like 4 nurses in my room and at the same moment my mom came in. I'm not going to lie i was starting to get scared myself. They started asking me if i had jewelry on or dental work that could fall out, luckily though we were able to find a position that she liked and her heart rate went back up. However because of that after i got the epidural i could only lie on my left side causing the epidural to only work on my left side (again!) so by this point i'm starting to feel a little better and calmed but then the contractions really came on hard (on my right side anyway). At 3pm Sunday my mom texted some people to let them know i was still at a 4 and only at 90%... at 4:16 our beautiful baby girl was born. 8lbs 5oz and 20 1/4 inches..we make big babies!
I feel so blessed to be a mom and hope that I can be as good of a mom as mine is to me. I feel so lucky to live closer to her and to have had her here for a week. She sure made adjusting easier. I miss her already!

3 years and counting!

2009-01-20T20:50:00.001-08:00

So i seriously debated if i would do this post or not, in the end i decided to do it because i like to look back on my own post for journal reasons.

Today is mine and Devin's anniversary!! 3 years baby! Here is how it all began....(my version of the story anyway)

As soon as I returned home from my mission my cousin had left for Iraq which left his wife and 2 kids in cold, dark Alaska for 18 months.. so I being the awkward RM that had no idea what i was going to do with my life decided to go live with Tori and the kids for a couple months and figure things out. Mind you, I do not tolerate cold weather at all, so I was only going to be there until it got cold and I was not going to date anyone because i did not want to trap myself in a state that i did not want to live in. That being said, here is the story.

Tori was the first to introduce me to this new thing I had never heard of, Myspace. So we searched around in the Fairbanks area for young single LDS guys and I think a total of 5 guys came up. I saw Devin's profile picture with a his cute cowboy hat on and jokingly said to Tori.. 'hey hes kinda cute lets write him.' Apparently it was not taken like a joke. Devin then received an email in his myspace account saying " hey I'm new in town, what to show me around?" Those of you that know me, know that I would never be that forward with a guy especially after only being home for 2 weeks. Devin liked what he saw though and wrote back, so i of course ignored him. A week later I was at FHE for the singles branch and low and behold there was Mr. Baker staring me down. He casually and very suavely asked me to play pool after the lesson. What was i to do?.. i wanted to run, i was so embarrassed. After the game of pool i quickly said my good byes. Devin continued to email me and i finally gave in and emailed him back. We had a great Internet relationship, but i was still the awkward RM and didn't want anyone to know that i had a crush on this guy. Finally after a month of emailing each other and avoiding each other at institute he asked me out on a real date. He made me dinner, portabella steak fajitas. Devin loves to cook and they were really good. Then we hung out and played games. I wont even go into the details for the good bye -AWKWARD! I really did like him at this point and loved getting an email everyday from him. The next week was the branch temple trip to Anchorage, we didn't drive down together but we left at the same time because there were 2 cars. It was a great trip but on the way back Devin's car he was riding in hit a patch of ice and rolled a couple times. It was the first accident i had ever eye witnessed and it FREAKED me out. Everyone was OK except Devin had a slight concussion so I opted to go to the hospital with him in the ambulance. While in the hospital and waiting for results he asked me to be his girlfriend. How do you say no to a boy that just got beat up from a car wreck. In my head I knew that I did not want to get serious with him because if I did I knew I could love him and that would mean having to stay in Alaska. So my plan was this. I said yes in the hospital but the next day i would take him cookies to make sure he was OK and let him know i could not be his girlfriend because i was moving down to the Lower 48 again. The next day came and I couldn't tell him that.. instead we held hands. I knew I loved him right away and that i wanted to be with him. We dated a very short time, then after Stake conference while sitting in the parking lot on my cousins house we started making future plans together and that's when he asked me to marry him. I said YES.

We were married in the Mesa Temple, it was beautiful. Devin had to leave almost immediately for basic training, that was really hard. We were separated a total of 5 months. Then in Jan. of 07 we found out we were pregnant with Ezra. We had Ezra then moved to Arizona. Here we are still in Arizona but now expecting baby number 2 (any day now might i add)

I love you Devin!

Ezra

2009-01-07T03:45:00.000-08:00

Daddy's little helper!

Ezra puts a huge smile on my face these days. We just love him to pieces. Lately he has been giving the biggest hugs and he will pat your back while he does it too and humm, i love it! As a baby he never cuddled or stayed still(which made nursing very frustrating at times) and even today he does not like to be held at all. But during the day i get about 3 big hugs and it melts my heart. The other day he ran up to me and said "mama" and hugged me and hummed in my ear. so cute. The other new thing he does which i find hilarious is when we tell him 'no' like to climbing on table, he gets so frustrated he runs like 5 steps then its like he looses all body function and just falls to the floor to whine/cry whatever it is..at first i was like "what are theses tantrums" but i find them really cute and funny now. I can't believe he is going to be a big brother in about 3 weeks now.. lets hope its 3 and not longer :) I know he will be a great big brother and I think he needs a little friend around the house.

I would post Christmas pictures but I am terrible and did not get any-ahh! my mom has one of him on santa's lap if you click on her blog. Also we pretty much let him open all his presents before Christmas, and ours...oops. They were under the tree and they were just too tempting for him and I just didn't stop him. Next year we will probably have to do a lot better at that for him b/c he should know the difference. As far as New Years went Devin's younger brothers JT and Macky came down from Alaska and we played games but I'm not going to lie, we were all in bed by 10:30 except for Devin. Poor guy stays up every year without me, he even poored himself his own cup of sparkling cider! One year he might get a new years kiss!

to stress or not to stress

2008-12-20T10:37:00.001-08:00

So those of you that know me pretty well know that I tend to stress and freak out about unnecessary things.. of course in my mind they are necessary. Yes I stress and think of every possible situation and scenario and try to figure them out..and of course I have to do it by myself. I may go to you for help but really I hardly listen because I am too stressed to hear what is being suggested and just stress out more.
This morning when Ezra woke up I found him lying in a bed of poop! It was everywhere-his hair, his back, his sheets, his arms..everywhere! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? So I gave him a bath and cleaned his bedding, then the stressing began. What am I going to do in less than 2 months when I have 2 babies that poop everywhere? Seriously how do people handle having more than one child. How do I go to the store, and where do I put them both in the grocery cart? What am I going to do at church when Devin has drill and is not there to help me? Do I bathe them together? How do I get them on the same sleeping schedule(this is important to me) or is it possible? What do I do when Ezra has a bad dream at night and can't relax and wakes Rylie up and all she will want to do is nurse? Assuming Devin is still working nights at this time, that is a scary thought for me. And when I am nursing and bonding with my new baby how do I continue to bond with Ezra?
AHHH! So I am asking all you fabulous moms out there that have more than one child for advice because I'm starting to wig out. I promise to listen too. Devin and I were certain Ezra would be at least 2 before we even tried having another child.. that obviously didn't work out. So what do I do, and is it nesisarry for me to stress?

Family Pics

2008-11-29T19:42:00.000-08:00

here is a collage of some of the Family pictures we took with my mom. We were in New Mexico for Thanksgiving and thought we should take advantage of some of the fun places to take pictures here. I still need to edit a lot of them, but here are some of my favorites. My mom did a great job! Thanks mom!

I love to see the Temple

2008-11-07T20:10:00.001-08:00

I love living by a temple again. It takes us only about 35 minutes to go to the Mesa Temple. Soon we will be going to the Gilbert Temple. They already have some Christmas lights up, I'm so excited.. if only I could make it snow here for the Holiday's too.

We are Family..

2008-11-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

My hermana and her husband where here this weekend and we had a great time..for the couple of hours we saw each other. They both adore Ezra, which is really nice because I take advantage of that and let them do everything! We went to stake conference, from the bits that I heard(while i wasn't chasing Ezra around the church building) it was a great conference. Even when I don't get much out of church because Ezra is a busy boy, I'm always so glad I went because there is always a spirit that is felt there and it helps me start my week off better.

Tannis also insisted that i take a profile shot of my growing belly... lovely isn't it? 3 more months!

Speaking of which, we are stumped on names...any suggestions?...... maybe your name will be the lucky winner, the prize, TBD. (remember we are having a girl)

Bat Boy

2008-11-06T08:51:00.000-08:00

That's right Ezra was a Bat for Halloween.. He was not wanting to take any pictures, he wanted to run and play with all the kids and make his mommy get a good work out!

Halloween was a lot of fun, it makes it more fun when you have kids to dress up. We went to the trunk or treat or ward had- that was fun except Devin had to work so I was running around the church parking lot with Ezra by myself and it was 90 degrees out still- i think i lost 5 lbs from sweating so much. Then we came home and we had tons of trick or treaters come to the house, I ran out of candy pretty early. next year I will be better prepared.

Boo!

2008-10-30T20:35:00.001-07:00

Devin's Creation! I know you're scared.
We went to the Greers to carve pumpkins, we had such a great time. There is still one more to be carved, however the kids were getting tired.

The gang. I have a goofy look on my face because Devin is tickling me-grrrr

I've Been Tagged

2008-10-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

7 Random Facts about Me

seven random facts you may not know about me

1. I can say the ABC's backwards really fast... I actually say them faster backwards then i can say just the ABC's. I learned it in Kindergarten and never forgot how.

2. I love Spanish too much... sometimes (a lot of times actually)

when I am around town and I hear people speaking Spanish, I follow them and answer back in my head things they are talking about, as if I am part of the conversation. One time I got busted- it was embarrassing, another time I lost track of time and realized that my 20 trip inside Walmart ended up being an hour, Devin was not happy.

3. I get really mean in my sleep...I hit Devin all the time and yell at him. I would not consider myself someone that cusses, but in my sleep it sure comes out. When I lived in Utah, my roommate Brittney was scared of me and had to lock me in the house, she also said I would just sit up and stare her down with a evil look.

4. I spend too much time online... I can spend hours on facebook and blogger just checking out all my friends new stuff..but what really gets me is when I spend hours looking at other peoples pages that I don't even know. Its bad.

5. I have a terrible memory... I'm sure pregnancy doesn't help, but I don't remember anything long term. My little sister will tell me things we used to do and I have no idea what she is talking about, so i just laugh and agree. Its not just her that tells me things I used to do either. Its sad really.

6. Devin and I have not been on a date for over a year.... this is not by choice. I think I would be fine calling a babysitter or having a good friend watch Ezra but we moved from Alaska when he was 6 weeks old, in Az City we didn't really get to know anyone too good and we were only in the ward for about 5 months then in Casa Grande we found out I was pregnant again right away and had really bad morning sickness. So now that I have friends and know people in my ward and am over the morning sickness date night is coming soon i can feel it.

7. I have a food problem... this is serious. I can not turn down good food even when I am soo full I want to pop. The bad part is too, when Devin leaves for work I get too excited cause then I can eat!! how sad is that. I guess that is why I am looking the way I am these days. After this baby I need some really good friends that keep me in check b/c I need to loose this 40lbs. Alaska really didn't help and getting pregnant back to back, but I would say it is mostly me.

I Tagg:

Tannis

Rebecca

June

Brandi

Janice

dont let me down girls!

I love Rocky point

2008-10-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

Devin, Macky and Ezra digging for clams in Choya Bay

Daddy and Ezra relaxing in the nice warm water at Sandy Beach
The Gang.
We ate out at the point, here he is singing La Bamba..Ezra laughed and danced a little
Devin and Ezra looking for clams. Ezra enjoyed eating the sand and little shells a little too much
We missed the best part of the sunset, but here is a shot of it right by my grandparent's cabin.

This week was Fall Vacation, so Devin's mom, brother, and her boyfriend came down from Salt Lake to visit us.. We had a really good time, my favorite part however was Rocky Point. I love rocky point I have been going here since I was a baby. The minute we cross over into the border I feel like I am in my element. I love the culture, the rhythm of Mexico, I love the sunsets, the smell, the tortillas, the huge sunglasses, when I go to church there- I love the spirit I feel, I love Spanish, basically I love everything. Some people cross the border and find it dirty and annoying, not me! I think having gone to Mexico my whole life, getting to know the culture made it really easy for me as a missionary in Honduras to love it so easily. I mean how could you not, right? Rocky Point will forever be one of my favorite places to visit and always hold a special place in my heart.