New Dave Matthews Video

So, most of you know I am a Dave Matthews FANatic. He has a new album coming out on June 2nd. Below is a video talking about the new material, and the death of their sax player, LeRoi Moore.



Here is a link to the new song off the CD called "Funny How it is".

Happy Birthday Peyton!

My baby is 2. I know this post is a little late, but I figure since he can't read yet it won't be too traumatizing. Peyton is such a joy to have in our family. He cracks us up everyday and is always full of smiles. He has started pretending that he is another character... it is super cute. Right now we have a few different personas...

1) The Imagination Movers... (A Disney show)- he is Mover Dave, or Mover Rich- it depends... Dylan is Mover Scott... PJ is Uncle Knit Knots... and I get to be Nina.

2) The Magic Treehouse... we have been reading the series to the boys (we are almost done... any suggestions for a new series?) Peyton is Jack, Dylan is Teddy, I am Annie, and PJ is Merlin.
3) The Incredibles... Peyton and Dylan both like to be Dash... for whatever reason Peyton has decided that I am Jack Jack (the baby) and PJ is Mr Incredible... or "Bob"

4) Signing Times... Today while Dylan was at Preschool Peyton decided that we were Alex and Leah from Signing Times. Every week we get new signing time DVDs from the Library (which is totally LOVES) so all around the library he was calling me Leah... I called him Peyton and he said... "I mean- Alex" I responded, "of course, I'm sorry Alex" and he giggled. I love these DVDs -- it has been amazing for his vocab and I am super impressed at how quickly Dylan and Peyton have picked up all of their signs.

There might be more... but that is all I can remember at the moment. It is pretty crazy though, because he'll remember all day and is pretty consistent in calling me "Nina" or whatever character he deems me to be. Dylan did the same thing at this age- just different characters, maybe it is a standard development thing, but it is pretty adorable.

He also LOVES music and is pretty particular about what we listen to. You know he likes a song because after it plays he says "again, again" and when he doesn't like a song, he says, "no, not this one." Sometimes it makes PJ a little crazy because Peyton can listen to the same song 10 times in a row and still want more. Luckily Dylan and I don't mind so much and PJ isn't in the car with us very often :) He sings with the songs that he likes and learns the words super fast. I have been borrowing CDs from the library and he fell in love with the Imagination Movers CDs... so for his birthday we got him one and he was so excited to have his own copy that he didn't have to say goodbye to at the library! He also just discovered the band "Milkshake" and they have a song about baseball that he loves and one about superheros. It is so much fun for me to watch him discover new music and form opinions about songs so quickly. He definitely has some of PJ's blood in him.

He loves drums-- and plays multiple times a day. He counts off with the drumsticks... one, two, three four... and then starts pounding on the drums, and always finishes with the symbol.

He loves sports... any kind and we play a lot of football, baseball, soccer, toss... I am so glad we have a big play room!

But most of all, he LOVES his big brother Dylan. He always wants to be with him and wants to do whatever Dylan is doing. He can keep up pretty well, and it always makes my heart melt to watch them play together. Dylan is such an amazing big brother and I am so grateful to have both of these special spirits in our home. I love watching them hold hands, play in the tub, wrestle, and work together. Yes, they do have their moments of frustration-- but they are far out shined by the moments of kindness.

His Birthday Cake. He was so excited when he saw buzz that he pulled the bar stool up to the counter and just started chatting with buzz for about five minutes. "Hi, how you Buzz?" Then, it was lunch time, so Peyton insisted on saying prayer, "by self"... he blessed buzz and said thank you for buzz about 4 times in his prayer- I thought it was pretty sweet.

I could go on... but he'll be waking from his nap soon :)

We have had a great time celebrating his birthday with family and friends!

A little of why I've been so absent...

It's official... I have my own website. It is amazing what you can learn in such a short time. A few months ago there was a baby shower at PJ's work. He asked if I would do a cake for the party. I decided it would be fun to practice some of my fondant skills and took it on. Well, one of his co-workers loved the cake so much she had me make one for a baby shower in her law department at Boeing.... from there she has ordered a few cakes and has referred a few friends... I've already had to turn down a few orders... I really enjoy making the cakes, but they take an incredible amount of time... so I have to balance taking on orders and making sure that it doesn't negatively impact my boys. Anyways... thanks to my loving husband, I have my own website-- I've gone through a couple names, and a couple websites, but this one is here to stay.

http://www.amorecake.com/

Enjoy :)

Kids say the sweetest things...

Today Dylan and I made cinnamon rolls while Peyton napped.... well, technically I made them while he played with some dough. It was so much fun to just chat with him. We talked about all sorts of things, and then he gave me the ultimate compliment... "Mommy, I want to marry you when I get older" I told him I thought he would be an awesome husband... and he said, "to you?" I told him that I was kind of already taken... but I knew he would find a wife that would be perfect for him. I asked him if he would marry someone who loved me too... and he said... "who wouldn't love you mom!" For a moment, I thought about telling him that unfortunately sometimes in life people don't love you-- but then I thought better of it and decided to relish in the moment. I know that there is the slight ;) chance that he won't always feel that way about me-- so I am loving that right now, in his eyes I can do no wrong. And instead of telling him of the harsh reality of the world I just told him how sweet he was and how lucky I am to be him Mom. I asked him how I got to be so lucky, and he told me... "In heaven mom." Moments like these remind me why I LOVE that I get to stay home and take care of my boys!

On the flip side... today one of Peyton's best buds came over to play and he was soooo excited to see him, until it got time to actually play with the toys. Anytime poor Caleb would pick up a toy, Peyton would say... "No Caleb play with _____ that is my _____." Granted he was a little sleep deprieved, but :( it made me feel real sad because we love Caleb and his family. I'm crossing my fingers next time will be better--- normally they play amazing together, so I'm going to convince myself that this is just a one time phase :). Normally he is a real crack up though... in the morning he wakes up and says, "How you Mama", "Ove you too" he talks all the time. The other day in the car he said... "My tummy is not good- I need more Fruit Snacks" It is amazing to me how well he is able to communicate. What is even more amazing is that my baby is almost 2! It seems a bit unreal. The last two years have gone by so quickly.

Random December Fun

SnowFlake Lane

Last year we went to snowflake lane 3 different times... this year we went twice, but didn't get to see the entire parade either time. I had thought about taking the boys for the opening night, but then thought it would be crazy and we decided not to go. Then, forgetting it was opening night we went over to Bell Square to get Peyton's Christmas stocking (when the kids are close to 2 we let them pick out their own stocking-Peyton picked a Santa one). Turns out, opening night at snowflake lane is the ONLY way to go. We were stopped at the light watching firetrucks and police on motorcycles then Santa in his sleigh pulled by horses... after sitting in the car at the light forever... we finally decided to have me hop out of the car with the boys so that they could get a closer look. I wish we hadn't of waited so long. Lesson learned, opening night is worth it and the craziness of all the people just adds to the experience. We didn't have a camera with opening night, but were able to take a few pictures the next time we went while waiting for a table at Cheesecake factory.

Meeting Santa/ Ward Christmas Party

Okay, so I am playing a little catch up--- better late than never :)

We had a great Christmas program at Church. The Primary kids did the nativity and Dylan got to be an Angel. One of the women in the ward used some of her fabric "scraps" from home and handmade costumes for all of the primary kids. So much work! Luckily our primary isn't too huge. Dylan didn't love being an angel because he said his costume was too big :( But he was a trooper. I'll spare you a picture though because the lighting was Terrible :(

The boys were so excited to visit with Santa. We didn't know how Peyton would react, but he walked right over to Santa and climbed up on his lap. We knew Dylan would be great... and he loved it. Luckily he didn't recognize the man behind the beard :)

Peyton loving seeing Santa, he left quite the impression... Peyton's favorite thing to tell everyone about Santa was that, "Anta gave me andy-DaDa andy too, Mama, Papa andy too" Which in translation was that Santa gave me CANDY, Dylan too, Mama, Papa candy too.

Dylan giving a big GRIN!