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Pause the music down below, before you play the slideshow because it has it's own music

Valentine's Day

Unfortunately, we were all sick on Valentine's day, but we made the best of it. Cassidy and I made sugar cookies. Then Cassidy designed her very own Valentine gram for her daddy. It was so cute to watch her place her paper hearts upside down and stickers where ever. It was truly an original masterpiece. :)

Derek came home with beautiful Iris flowers and gave me a gift box to open. Inside, was a puzzle. I was so excited to put the puzzle together and read the sweet letter on the back. I'm so amazed by my talented husband. Even the knobs on each puzzle piece was heart-shaped. :)

Cassidy was so excited to give her daddy his Valentine card and cookies. I'm so grateful for such a wonderful, loving, husband and for a sweet, adorable, daughter.
I'm truly blessed!

Back to Texas...

Cassidy and I were in Houston, Texas this whole last week. See, my brother Derek planned a surprised Anniversary trip for my sister in law and asked if we could watch the kids. of course, we were happy to! Even though it was Cassidy's birthday, Derek was so understanding and said we could celebrate as a family when we got back. So this weekend we will be having a little party for our birthday girl.

Even though I went from one kid to four all week, it didn't seem like it. The kids were so good. Cassidy spent her time wrapping her cousins around her finger. She was so funny, she would giggle and throw her dolly on the floor then ask Max to pick it up for her. She knew how to flirt. She chased Sam all over the place calling his name. Phil would get her in the mornings and help her out of bed. Cassie enjoyed playing with their cat and dog too. It was cute to watch Cassie play with her own controller for the Xbox with the boys. She tried to do eveything they did. It was like, I didn't have to do anything. :)

During the day the boys had school so it was just Cassie and mommy most of the day to hang out. We would go shopping, eat out, do some pottery (daddy's surprise gift),walk around the neighborhood and play at the park, and of course had to play at the beach. It was Cassie's very first time at the beach, she was so amazed and we had a ball! How could you not take advantage of the beach when only 1/2 hour away. When the boys would get home we would do homework, have some quiet time, until Cassie woke up from her nap, eat dinner, and then go out. The first night we went to the elementary school for storytime and crafts. It's neat, Sam's teacher, and the rest of the kindergarten teachers plan an evening of fun, dressing up in character of the book they read and then doing a craft afterwards. They did some Valentine crafts. It was so sweet, Sam made Cassie and I a Valentine gram.

The next evening to celebrate Cassie's birthday we went to Chuck E Cheese for a night of games. We had a coupon and ended up having 85 tokens for free! The kids had no trouble going through the tokens. Cassidy loved it! She tried throwing the balls up the lane into the hole pockets,rode lots of little rides, challenged her cousins to a game of air hockey, and danced with Chuck E Cheese himself. Max took her on a rollercoaster ride too. Then we went home and had some cake and ice cream. Cassie tried to blow out her candles but the flame was stubborn so all 3 of the boys helped her out.

The next evening we went to their public library. It was such a nice library, I wish we had a library like theirs. It was so big with lots to do for all ages. Pretty cool.

Then Friday night we ordered pizza and just hung out, until I went to pick my brother and Lina up at the airport. Saturday was such a nice day we played outside at a park and then got to packing for our flight back home. Cassidy was so tired after a week full of excitement she slept the whole flight home. But right when we were about to touch ground she woke up and started puking. I couldn't believe it, and couldn't react quickly. Luckily I had her blanket. My poor baby. But she seemed to be fine after that. Daddy was waiting for us with some flowers and a little doggie for Cass. It was so sweet! Then when we got home, he had painted a Welcome Home sign for his girls. He's so wonderful! We sure missed him, and it seems like he missed us too. :)

It seems like yesterday...our family grew by 2 feet

Cassidy is 2 years old!

Cassidy turned 2 years old on February 6th! We can't believe how our sweet baby girl is now an amazing, active, little girl. Looking at pictures over the last two years has brought back so many memories. Being there at the birth was such an amazing experience and there was so much love in the room. Kaley we are eternally grateful!

I remember when we first brought her home, on Valentine's Day and feeling overwhelmed with excitement, and at the same time, terrified being a first time mom. But it has been a wonderful two years so far and I look forward to many more.

Happy Birthday Pumpkin, We love you!

Cuddle Time

Cassidy was never much of a cuddler as a baby, until now. She is our little cuddle bug! We love every minute of it!

What to do when it's cold outside...

 

Okay so it seems like all we do is play at Pump it Up. Well lately we have, since it's been cold outside and we can't go to the parks. We go to other indoor play areas and to the library but since Cassidy will soon be 2 years old, Pump it Up will not be free anymore. So we're trying to take advantage of it. Of course we'll continue to go but only a couple of times a month. It's such a fun place to meet our friends and play together. Cassidy was able to go two weeks in a row! She's playing with her friends Matteah, Alyson, and Hannah (unfortunately I didn't have my camera when she played with Hannah).

Cassidy for the first time climbed up the stairs all by herself and went down the slide. The slide is 20 feet tall! What a big girl! She's so brave!

President Hinckley

We're sure going to miss our Dear Prophet President Hinckley. But so happy he is now reunited with his sweetheart.

Date Night

For our date night last weekend Derek and I were able to enjoy some good entertainment from the BYU Living Legends. It's a dance group that performs different dance styles from around the world. Some of the cultures they represent are countries from South America, Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, Mexico, North America, New Zealand, Guatemala, and more.

It was pretty amazing. The talent was awesome! I really appreciate all the different cultures around the world. The dances from South America, hits me close to the heart, since my mother is from Peru and it's a part of me. It was hard to sit in our seats and not get up and dance along. After the show the dancers mingled with the audience. It was neat we were able to meet and talk with some of the dancers. We met and talked with dancers from Ecuador, Hawaii, and Peru. The costumes were pretty neat. Derek and I both really liked all the dances but a couple of our favorites was the Somoan slap dance and the Native American dance with hoola hoops. We highly recommend the show! I had a wonderful time with my sweetheart, thanks honey for a wonderful evening! I just wish I had my camera. :)

Our Little Angel

Cassidy is nearly 2 years old and we can't believe how much she's grown! She truly is our little angel! Cassidy has definitely increased her vocabulary! It's so fun to hear her talk. She loves to talk to her dolly, mama, dada, the moon,Odues (Oakley our dog), family, and to anyone else who will listen.

Some of her favorite words are: Applesauce, globe, mama sleeping, bye bye, ICE (as some family members know :),wata (water), night night, moon out, sun, ant, ball, bounce, fishy, camera, home, please, no tank-you, bath, potty, shoes, socks, gloves, hat, cousins, Annaleese (every little girl, is her friend Annalise),puzzle (knows her daddy's business), pillow, names of many animals but turtle is one of my favorites to hear her say, I can go on and on. If we ask her to say something she is pretty good at pronouncing the word. It's pretty amazing!

Cassidy also knows parts of her body very well of course eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, but also eyebrows, eyelashes, elbow, knee, bottom, tounge, neck, teeth, hair. She may start saying femur, cranium, fibula, humerus. :)

We haven't officially started our potty-training. Okay well, mommy hasn't. Cassidy has actually gone pee pee in the potty already once, (thanks to her cousins in Arizona) At this age they like to copy everything! Since then she is still very interested in sitting on the potty. So you think, that's great! Makes it easier on me, I know I need to get my butt in gear. Thank you Cassidy's cousins for your help. :) I guess I'm the only one that doesn't know what she's doing, and should just follow my daughter's lead. I'm open to any suggestions.

Cassidy loves to dance! We will turn on some music and immediately Cassie shakes her body. Sometimes she will tell us "come come" and get us dancing too. It's a fun family event!

We love to hear her say a prayer and it's so cute how she will now close her eyes and bow her head. And of course scream Amen with excitement at the end.

She's learning her ABC's and loves the letter "A" she'll point to every letter "A" that she sees on pictures or in her name. It's great! I think I'm going to need to give her some more challenges.

It's so much fun to be a part of her learning experiences, and to watch her grow. She's got such a sweet disposition and sillyness about her. She sure knows how to have fun and keep things light hearted. And she always wants to be part of the action, for example, for dinner tonight she insisted on helping daddy cook. It was so cute to watch Derek be so patient with her as she would find her own way of doing things. But together they made a great team, and the meal was a success!

Celebrating with Daddy

After a wonderful trip to Arizona we were excited to be back home with Daddy! Cassidy fell asleep as soon as we landed. I just pushed her in her stroller as she slept. She finally woke up as we were waiting for the luggage at the baggage claim. Daddy was the first thing she saw and had to be in his arms, as fast as she could get out of the stoller. It was so sweet.

The following day Derek took the day off from work and we just played! We went to Pump it Up (an indoor playground). And then after dinner we went out for dessert to a Fondue Restaurant, the Melting Pot. It was delicious! Everything is good dipped in chocolate. :) It was a fun day being together again!