He wins the prize!

I know this post is rather tardy, but since our blog is basically our family journal, I didn't want to forget what Brannon did for me on Valentine's Day this year. We actually celebrated a day later since I was still in Las Vegas for my first official business trip. In our almost seven years of marriage this Valentine's Day Brannon really made an effort to plan something nice, something creative for me. In his defense, he never forgets the holidays, he just gets really nervous about planning things, so he usually reverts to the default dinner out on the town. This time he told me he had dinner taken care of and not to worry about cooking. I was glad because I was super tired from Vegas and I caught somebody's sickness from the plane ride I'm sure. Brannon came home that night with Texas Roadhouse bags in hand and he snuck outside for a bit. I honestly had no idea what he was doing until he told me to bring the kids and come outside. Our little camp trailer is parked by the house and he opened the door for me and I beheld white rose petals sprinkled all over, little candles glowing everywhere, a vase full of roses, our dinner set out on the table, and everything glowed under a soft, red light. He even put the roses in rose-scented potpourri, which I thought was super cute! Everything was lovely until I put our styrofoam container full of Roadhouse rolls too close to one of the candles. All of a sudden I heard a loud whoosh noise and I started screaming when I saw huge flames erupting from the container. Brannon had gone back in the house and without thinking I blew on the fire like I would a match and the flames only got higher. I screamed out the door for Brannon and he came running out. He took one look at the burning container and grabbed it with his bare hands and threw it out the door. Our dinner rolls skittered down the driveway and there was a horrible stench and black ash flying all around in the trailer. I think it scared Taj half to death, but Haiven didn't make a peep! Luckily, the only real damage was a small burn to the table and to Brannon's hand, and of course our dinner rolls were toast, literally! We had a good laugh about it later, but Taj kept wanting to know, "what happen?!" throughout the rest of the night, he was so concerned about the "scary fire!" I know that we will always remember this Valentine's Day celebration! I will remember the thoughtful planning that went into it and how I almost burned down our camp trailer and how Branon was our hero!

Haiven Four Months

She does not like oatmeal cereal after trying it for the first time, can you tell? We will keep trying though, because I want her to eat food, regardless of texture, unlike a certain big brother...
p.s. In case anyone was wondering, yes that is a Bumbo chair she is sitting in and no we don't ever leave her unattended or turn our backs on her for a second. Although, after I've seen all the reports of skull fractures from babies falling out of them on the floor, I will no longer be using it on countertops or raised surfaces. We are going to get out the trusty highchair!



Sweet little Haiven continues to grow and grow! At four months she weighs 14 lbs. (60%), is 24 in. long (60%), and her head is in the 94th percentile. What can I say? My kids have ginormous heads and hopefully they lots of brain power to go with it! Haiven continues to be such a little sweetheart. She is always good for a smile unless you are a strange man or are wearing a hat, then you get the pouty lip. She definitely smiles more for women than she does for men, but she sure loves her brother, daddy, grandpas, and uncles. It's weird because she seems to know who her family is because she usually cries when strangers talk to her, but when family talks to her that she hasn't seen in months, she gives them big smiles. We are starting to hit milestones now, which is very exciting, but sad at the same time because she is growing up so fast! She can roll from her back to her stomach, but not the other way around. She loves to coo and squawks like a parrot. She gets super excited when she's naked before her bath and loves to kick and splash. She already had her first haircut over a month ago. She had about 2 in. cut off the back and about 1 in. around her ears. She was growing a mullet, it had to go, so we gave her a cute little pixie cut at two months old! It is already growing out again, but we will let it grow. I can already put cute little piggy tails, barrettes, and things in her hair. I will have to take some pictures and post them! For the most part she continues to sleep through the night and naps throughout the day. She is a stinker to feed (like somebody else we know), but she is gaining weight and she is healthy, so I don't worry. Personally, I think she is ready for baby food and is sick of so much baba. She always watches us when we eat and gets excited. We already started rice cereal, so I think this weekend we will start her on some fruits and vegetables, don't worry, already cleared it with the pediatrician! I cannot believe we are already starting baby food! Time is really flying by, so this time around I am trying to live in the moment and enjoy both the good and bad of the baby stage! We are all still so in love with our sweet baby Haivi!

Blackmail

In his defense, he liked wearing my high heels because they make a loud "click clack" noise when he walks, but I do love his pose!
This day he picked out his own clothes. He obviously likes the layered look like his dad. That pose is high fashion!
I don't know why, but he loves my lipgloss and chapstick and somehow he always manages to find it and use it all up in one application.
He is mighty proud of those boots and he pretty much has to wear them everywhere.
My dad threatened to call DCFS. He said obviously Taj was getting too much exposure to the nursing world!

I think these photos may come in handy someday when Taj is misbehaving as a teenager. I'm sure they will carry a lot of leverage and I just might be able to keep him in line!

I know it has been a long time since I last posted so I thought I would give a little update on Taj. Preschool has been amazing for him! He is actually speaking sentences now and he actually wants to know what everything is and he will now repeat about everything we say (Which means I have to be especially careful what I say when I trip over his toys). His latest default reply to everything that he doesn't want to do is, "No! We don't hit, we don't hit!" He will usually say this when we tell him it's time for bed or for quiet time. He also says this to things like doors, toys, walls, etc. when he stubs his toe or runs into them. He is also really good at following classroom procedure and doing what the teachers ask him to do. He has awesome teachers and I'm so thankful for them! He is still as stubborn as ever and lately he has ended up in our bed every night at about 2 a.m. I hope that is a phase that will quickly work itself out! I can't get any sleep with that bony creature right in my back as he refuses to sleep anywhere else, BUT against my back and on my pillow. Haiven loves him more than ever and he is always guaranteed a smile from her. I'm sure I will have two very wild kids on my hands when she is able to walk! He calls her "Haivi" and "baby tister" and "booboos," and then he usually kisses her or tickles her feet or rubs her hair. As wild as Taj is, he does have a sweet side that loves hugs and kisses from momma and every time he hears baby Haivi crying, he will run to her rescue. I think he will do a great job protecting his little sister someday! We love Taj so much and there is not one day that goes by that he doesn't make us laugh!

Snow Day

The little stinker refuses to wear gloves outside and so he usually comes in about 15 min. after being out there because he's "cold." Here he is holding his hands out to me to blow on them and warm them up for him:)

We finally got our first snow storm last week and I was totally surprised at how much Taj loves to stomp around in the snow. He usually doesn't like to be cold, but he loves his snow boots and I think he like the "crunch" sound that the snow makes under his boots. I'm glad that he likes to play in the snow and be outside. I did when I was a kid and I love that he gets to get out and be active and get away from the TV!

Haiven

Me and Haiven with cousin JoJo and Auntie Lacey

Little Miss Haivi has definitely captured the hearts in our home. We are absolutely positively in love with her and can't get enough of her. Even Taj is enthralled with her and he's very protective of her still. He doesn't like other people touching her and he doesn't even like it when I put cute barrettes and bows or headbands in her hair. One of the first things he does every morning is to make sure baby sister is okay and to give her a kiss. Haiven is still such a good sleeper and continues to sleep through the night even though she naps during the day. She has such a sweet disposition and she is so smiley. She loves to coo and loves to be held and loved on, which we are more than happy to do. We are so thankful for our sweet little Haivi!

Cousin Livy

A little attitude from Livy at Temple Square

Taj has the attitude in this picture!

Taj and Alivia are so cute together. They play hard together and both are very stubborn, but they get along very well. In fact, I believe Taj even lets Livy boss him around, something that not even me or Brannon is successful at. Well, he should be well trained by the time he has a wife someday!

The Kawasaki

This and the following posts are more than belated! The holidays were a busy season for us as we traveled across the state to visit family. For Christmas this year we gave Taj a Kawasaki PowerWheels fourwheeler. As usual Brannon couldn't wait to give it to Taj for Christmas, so Taj got it a week before Christmas. At least he made it to a week before Christmas this year:) Taj cannot get enough of that fourwheeler and our backyard shows it! He's basically worn a track into our grass and there are bald spot everywhere where he's spun out. He is still too light to keep the wheels from spinning out. The scary thing is that he has no fear on it, just like his dad and I'm afraid that he will have to learn the hard way like his dad did. This was a pricey gift, but so worth it to not have Taj stuck inside all day with cabin fever! If you ever come over to watch him ride it, he will be sure to parade it around the yard for you, zigzagging in high speed and slamming it in reverse without ever taking his foot off the pedal, and if you're lucky, he might even stand up while he's riding it for you:)