{January}

I know February is almost over and I am just now getting January on the blog..... How you keep your blog up to date when you have more than one kiddo and add working on top of that blows my mind. So props to those of you who can do it. I on the other hand am struggling with it. I started babysitting one of Brady's classmates babies who is a month younger than Gray and I still am watching Abby. So 1 or 2 days a week I have "twin" 2 1/2 year old's and 3 days a week I have "twin" newborns. We don't leave the house much anymore other than to playgroup {which we ALL LOVE} and story time at the library. This a new favorite activity that we all love. Ryker LOVES going with his new best buddies Emery and Braylin. They are so cute together. Ryker loves reading all of his "new" books every week. It is nice to have a switch up on the books we are reading also. And because of going to story time every week is WAY into reading books again. We probable read books for an hour a day if you add it all up. 

 Pillow forts. Ryker is WAY into forts and tents. 

 Future basketball coach. 

Making daddy proud. 

 Freezing at the zoo. But it was SO nice to get outside and enjoy some sunshine. 

 Daddy actually got to come on an adventure with us. Almost everyday when I get Ryker dressed he says "mommy where are we going? "Can we go on an adventure with our friends?" and sadly I have been a bit over whelmed with 3 kids that adventures are not happening as often as we like. 

 Abby and Ryker both had to bring their tigers along to see the real tigers. 

 Our first science experiment..... turned out to be WAY more work for me than fun for them I think....we will try again when Ryker gets a bit bigger. 

 Cartoon snuggling. Ryker LOVES Grayson. It is really sweet. 

 Monkey Joe's

Ryker, Braylin, and Emery had a BLAST here. I cant wait to take them back. We went at the perfect time of day and there were not many people there so the kids were brave much to our surprise. All three of them can be very timid. 

 Rebelling against naps. One day when Ryker was supposed to be napping this is what I came into. He is WAY into playing with his "friends" aka stuffed animals. I am just grateful he doesn't demand they leave the house with us. Ryker's imagination is just thriving these days and I LOVE it. 

Phew! We survived and only 3.5 more months of crazy babysitting and we will be back to fun adventures. 

{My Kind of Day}

Today was such an awesome day that I decided I needed to document it. It started out with Gray sleeping through the night {so not normal and I don't expect it to happen again for a while BUT it was MUCH needed}. Good morning snuggles, house cleaning, Abby playing,

Popsicle eating, Just Dance 3 playing {mostly just watching me but Ryker and Abby joining me a little they LOVE to do this - its a WIN WIN they are entertained and I get a workout in}, burning a sweat, toy sharing, lunch eating, house cleaning {Ryker helping},

laundry {I get to fold all 5 loads after I am done with this post}, golfing,

smiles and snuggles from this guy,

brother holding,

cup cake making party {we danced around the kitchen as a family singing "cup cake party" over and over and LOVE every minuet of it}. Ryker LOVES to help me in the kitchen ALWAYS. Tonight was a blast cooking together with our aprons on {I think it is time to make him a boy apron}. Poor kid was falling asleep waiting for the frosting to get made so he could eat one before bed. 

 making yummy things ='s loads of dirty dishes - if only I had a fairy who would come clean my kitchen after I was done cooking/baking delicious things. Wouldn't that be the life?!?!

Sleeping kind of day. This little guy napped like a champ all day and now my boys are in bed and I get to finish cleaning up our home after our fun day. Days like this remind me how much I really do LOVE being a stay at home mom. Even with all of the mess making, laundry doing, cleaning, meal making, bum changing, crying, fighting, giggling, playing, kissing, tickling, and snuggling. I know we all have bad/rough days but I have more good days then bad and I couldn't imagine doing anything else other than raising these handsome little guys of ours. Last week I was at a girls night and it was sad to me to hear some of my dear friends talk about motherhood/their lives the way they were. Most of us there are stay at home moms with 2 kids and they were all lamenting on how nice it would be without kids. They would have time to experience more culture, study, have more money, travel, and many other things. All I said was "how boring life would be without these sweet little ones".  And many responded that they have many boring days with their kids. Yes, we all do have boring days but you can turn any day into what ever kind of day you want to. I am happy where I am in my life and would not trade it for anything. I feel so blessed to be ABLE to stay at home and raise my babies.

A few months ago at a stake RS conference we had a sister shared this with us "through out the day when something good happens {usually small sometimes big}stop for a half of a second and thank Heavenly Father". I have been trying to do this right in the moment {other wise we forget - hey we are busy}and it has made such a difference in my life. You should try it out. It makes me remember all that I have to be thankful for. Hey I am SUPER thankful when Ryker is frustrating me when I speak kindly to him and not snap at him.  This does not always happen. Or when Ryker simply walks to our car without a melt down on the stairs. Small things add up. Here is to motherhood.

 Now I am off to fold laundry and clean my kitchen so I can get to bed before my baby wakes up. 

{Dinosaur Museum}

This was the first time Ryker has been old enough to actually enjoy going to a museum. He had SOOO much fun. He would just run from one exhibit to the next. He was so excited to see all of the HUGE dinosaurs. So cool for this little guy. 

 Ryker and Papa had a blast chasing each other through the dark tunnel. 

 My first bottle to feed Gray. Ha this is a HUGE mommy moment since Ryker didn't take bottles. I learned that I don't know how to hold a bottle. Silly I know. 

 The sand table was a BIG hit with my main man Ryker. We all had fun building and playing dinosaurs. I love interacting with Ryker at places like this. It is so fun and is one of many reasons why I love being a mom. 

 I wish my phone took better pictures... I forgot my camera on this adventure. 

Ryker was not such a fan of this HUGE shark.... it is pretty scary. We had such a blast here. Utah friends if you have not been - GO! If we lived in Utah we would totally have a pass here. We could play for hours here. 

{Phone Picts :: December}

 Quality Market, Delta Utah. This horse has been around since before daddy was a kid. It is awesome and only cost a dime to ride it. Ryker had so much fun riding it we put 3 dimes in it and each one went for at least 2 minuets. Ryker didn't want to get off he was having so much fun. 

 Cant get enough of this cute guys smiles.

 Visiting Grandpa at work and found a foot ball and helmets. Ryker is just like daddy and can pick up just about any sport with a ball and figure it out in seconds. 

 Papa and Ryker building/playing monster. This puppet is AWESOME! 

 AHHHHHHHHH don't eat me! 

 Ryker was so good on our first flight that he got to buy an ice cream with his money from Grammy and Grandpa while waiting at the airport. He was in heaven eating this. 

{Hogal Zoo}

The day we flew into Utah we arrived early in the morning and decided to head over to Hogal Zoo and have some fun with Colton, Carlee, Dave, and Savannah. It was stinking COLD to us southerners. Ryker got his first taste of Utah snow and was more into playing in the old yucky snow than the animals. 

Daddy taught Ryker how to throw snowballs at the chickens and that was AWESOME to Ryker. He chased the chicken around for at least 20 minuets when we got there and another 15 on our way out. He also had a blast throwing snowballs at EVERYONE! Such a silly boy. I cant believe I forgot to take some pictures of the polar bear - he was super cute and playful. We had so much fun watching him. They did an amazing job on the new bear exhibit. We love going to the zoo! 

{Grayson :: 4 Months}

Happy 4 months sweet angle baby. 

You are growing so fast and we are having so much fun with you. 

Grayson has learned how to giggle this past month and it is my favorite thing in the world right now. Ryker was NEVER a smiley or gigglie baby and Gray totally is and we are having SO much fun with him. 

Grayson Oliver at 4 months:

• Smiling like CRAZY. I wake up to him giggling in his bed. This is a million times better of a way to be woken up over a screaming/crying baby. He is so happy when he wakes up he wants to smile/play for 5-10 minuets and then eat a tiny bit and keep playing before he eats his real breakfast. 
• Giggles all the time. His most ticklish spot is right under his chin. I discovered this while giving him a bath one night. 
• Learned to blow bubbles.
• Loves to say Goo. Ryker and I love get get him to say it. 
• Is tolerating tummy time MUCH better. We have been practicing on the boppy. He will even do it for a few minuets on the floor all by himself. 
• He rolled over once today for the FIRST time!! I was so excited I scared the poor kid. Oops! 
• Your brother Ryker LOVES you a bit too much!  We are hoping he doesn't love you to death. You are starting to tolerate him better.
• You are an awesome sleeper. You can sleep anywhere and through anything. 
• You don't really like your car seat much any more but since we have attached your toy bar you tolerate it MUCH better. 
• You are a total snacker when it comes to eating. 
• You have started sucking on you hands/fingers and its so cute.
• You are super tall and full of squishy rolls that I LOVE to kiss. You have almost out grown your 3-6 month clothes. We have not had your doctors appointment yet to know your new stats yet. 
• You LOVE when I kiss your feet. 
• Your hair is growing longer and getting lighter. So we were all wrong. We thought you were going to keep the dark hair like daddy but its turning blonde. 
• Your eyes are still a blue/gray like mine. 
• You are looking more like Grayson and less like Baby Ryker. 
• You have discovered how much fun toys are. Your play mat keeps you entertained for a long time which is nice for the mama. 
• We think you might be a cyclist like Uncle Ben because you are always kick kick kicking your feet/legs.
• You usually have to be bounced to sleep. And when I say bounce I mean it. Like get your knees into it. I guess its a good way for me to burn some extra calories. Ha! 

Stats:

17.13 lbs {95%}

26 1/2" tall {95%}

You are one BIG happy baby! 

Love, Mama

{Sledding :: Jollies Ranch}

 While at Nana and Papa's we got to go sledding up the canyon. There was so much snow. Like 3 feet. We all had such a blast sledding. A much better experience for Ryker than his first time up here last February when he had a double ear infection and I didn't know it and all he did was cry the entire time. He was having so much fun he didn't want to leave even though the poor kids hands were Popsicle's. Nana was awesome and stay at home in the warm with Gray so we could go play. 

 Ryker didn't want to ride down the hill with anyone but Papa. That made Papa's day. They became quite good buddies on this trip. 

 Brady and I had a lot of fun going down this crazy hill with all kinds of jumps on the tube together. It was so painfully fun. I was sitting on Brady's lap and almost every run ended up flying off and face planting it or bounced around getting bruised like the Georgia Peach that I am now. 

The snow was so deep Ryker could not even walk in it where it was not packed down already. CRAZY! I have not seen this much snow in a VERY long time. It was heaven!