Makiyah is 15 months...er I mean 17 months old.

Ok ok so this post was supposed to be done 2 MONTHS ago. I wanted to do a post in honor of his 15 months.

So here is that update for Makiyah at 15 months to be followed by one of 17 months below:

15 months:
Mak loves climbing on the couch
He has 2 molars and 4 upper and 4 lower teeth
He loves my phone
He knows when he is in trouble and will run away from me

His words at 15 months:
meow
moo
turkey
oink
duck
apple
ball
boon (balloon)

Recognizes:
cow, cat, pig, dog, duck, monkey

Gives:
Hugs, kisses

Loves playing with his big sister Amaya.
He throws tantrums by stiffening his body and stomping his feet...it's pretty hilarious..when I'm not too stressed. =)
One of my favorite things he knows: how to spin. He will spin, make himself dizzy then try to walk.  It's pretty cute.

At 17 months:
He obviously knows all the above and more.

He talks so much...much of it is just babble language but he can tell you a whole story and look at you like "what do you think about that?"

Right now his absolute favorite thing is: "bubbles"...no not those floaty things..."bubble" are bugs.  He has a great eye and will play with the smallest of ants until it goes out of sight. He loves to play with a daddy long legs spider....can I say YUCK!

He has started to respond better to no but still has his little tantrums.

He has a mouth full of teeth now including two of his I teeth...the most painful ones to come in..I think.

He has a total of 12 teeth (I think). Since he is currently asleep I cannot confirm that.

He loves to climb on things..anything in fact. I've found him standing on the stove door several times (don't worry it wasn't on...but still scary).
He climbs on beds, couches, little chairs (not adult table chairs yet)...he keeps trying and trying something until he finally gets it.
He's climbed in the dryer when I left the door open.
He climbs on Chad or I when we are laying on the floor...(he learned that from Amaya)..she loves a good horse ride. =)
He still has not had his first haircut but I have to do it...it's in his eyes for pete's sake. I just don't want to mess up that pretty red hair and get rid of the little baby look.

words:
I believe his favorite word is Mommy...he now wakes up saying "mommy...mommy...mommy"
He clearly says Reggie
He mimics almost anything...the other day we were asking "where's reggie"...and he clearly repeated it.
He's not as quick to repeat things as Amaya was at this age but he takes in everything!
He loves...loves his Poppy (great-grandfather)...his eyes light up and he drops whatever he is doing and runs to him every time he comes to our house (love it...it's a really sweet thing to see and I think it makes Poppy feel really good) =)
He's finally started to say milk (at times) but still grunts for just about everything....he's not very patient.
He's learned how to navigate our porch steps without help...I think he falls halfway down each one but he's not very patient and doesn't want to wait till I can help him. =)
He's very curious and has many spills but has a way of holding his head so that he never falls on that.

So this post is getting really long...that's it for now...here's a picture of him meeting his cousin for the first time since she's gotten bigger. He's a loving little boy. =)  Love this picture. Look at his little curls...I mean if you were me you wouldn't want to cut them either..would you? Isn't my niece super cute?...she's in a house full of boys too so she's the princess.

5 Years!!!!!

So my last full post had pictures through our time together.  For our 5 year anniversary Chad and I headed to downtown Bloomington to eat at Chipotle..then we walked around for a bit and got some yogurt at Campus Candy.  We had a lot of fun just being together...it was actually kinda funny but when you don't spend a whole lot of time together without the kids it's hard to find stuff to do.

Sean and Samaria had offered to watch our kids for a date night...umm several months ago and we hadn't taken them up on our offer so what better time to do it then our anniversary.  It was even short notice...and they still agreed. =)  Thank you for that!!  We love and appreciate you both very much!! Samaria also took these pictures of us...didn't she do a great job?

So I have a question for you all:  I really like all of these pictures...I edited them all a bit differently and I can't decide which one is my favorite since I like all of them.  I really want to put one of them on my living room wall so can you help please? =) (I apologize about the quality...I can't stand what it does to the quality when I upload them.) =(

Let me know which one you like the best in the comment section. Ok trying to number them is not working sooo...just number them from 1-4 starting with the top one.

Thank you to all!!

I have so many more blogging stories to post...I gotta get caught up...Memorial Day, Mak's milestones, a fun recipe, Amaya...etc..whew..I'm gonna do it soon!!

I'm still alive!!

Just wanted ya'll to know I'm still alive...just been on vacation and been a bit more busy since it's summer. Still no excuse to not blog for a MONTH!! Yikes...please stay tuned!! Samaria took some awesome pictures of Chad and I on our 5 yr anniversary.  They are frame-worthy. =) I will post later. The images are on the other computer.

Our Life....it's been 5 Years!!

Happy Anniversary to us!  5 years ago today I married my best friend. It was a special day!  The ceremony was absolutely perfect...NOTHING could have ruined that day..not tuxes coming in late..not a few tears early that morning..NOTHING!!  God had designed that day and it was perfect!

Our ceremony was exactly as we wanted it...the praise team singing a few songs...the dance team dancing...then the fun part started. =)

We had a bridal party of 7...woohoo!!  Loved that all my special friends were a part.

I love music so I had 3 songs...I'm a big fan of people that I know singing them so my sis-in-law LoraLee with her beautiful voice sang two...Pastor Renee sang along with her in one and then Patrick Harris and Katrina (Gilbert) at the time sang in another one....awwww...I can still remember. =)

Then we did our own vows that we had written...I wish I had them memorized still.  I know I have them in a special notebook but don't know where that is at the moment. =) Something about love submission...blah blah...LOL  haha...it was a big deal and Samaria helped make sure I had them memorized...I love that I have a picture of that in my wedding album...I will never forget how we practiced that day. (I held her hands and everything) haha

Then we had our first kiss....it was really special. (big smile!!)

All in all it was a super special day!!  But the best part of everything was being able to finally go "home" with my husband...now that was a big deal.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MY LOVE!!

a few pictures of us dating and married - check out all my different hairstyles...I don't think of myself as having many different ones but it's a little different in each picture..=)

This is the day we got engaged...in our old church parking lot...see I'm showing off my ring. =)

The next one (brown tone) is at Bonneyville Mill Park (I think this was the weekend Chad asked my dad if he could marry me)

The one where we are all bundled up is at the firetower where he took me to show me the "helicopter" seeds that fall off a tree...he had a whole bag of em and he dumped the out so we could watch them fall.
The next one was after we were married we were at Niagra Falls...I would soon find out I had my first teaching job at Cloverdale Elementary.
The next one was on our honeymoon.
The last one was on the cruise boat on our way to the Bahamas (my all-time favorite picture of us).

Then you ask why I have no wedding pictures...well simply cause I have none...they are all in an album.  I guess I could take pictures of the album....maybe someday.

My Little Girl is 3!!

My Dearest Amaya....I can't believe you are 3 already!  You have been such a joy and blessing to Daddy and I.  The past 3 years have not always been easy. At times it was even a bit scary when things were happening to your body that were out of our control. I am truly thankful that you are now a strong healthy little girl and that the only thing you have on your body is a scar to show what you've been through.  
Amaya...you are always ready to learn and listen.  I love how you take the things Daddy and I teach you and use them...just tonight you said, "Daddy let's go downstairs...vamonos". (You read Dora for your naptime book..enough said). 
I cannot say enough how truly proud I am of you. Some of the things you like to do:  
when I am praying in tongues in the car, you always want me to pray for you, Daddy and Mak...and you usually remind me to pray for me too. =)  Sometimes you even "pray in tongues" too.  
You love putting on the "full armor of God" (Ephesians 6).  You can finish all the parts of the armor yourself...plus the few other things I add to that confession.  You remember so much that I teach you sometimes I am amazed! 
You know your numbers up to 11..after that it gets a bit hazy...
You know ALL your capital letters and 90% of your lowercase letters
You know about 70% of the sounds of the letters...something that makes me smile every time as you sound out letters. =)
You've started drawing our family on your doodle pro and you still include Teresa (something that also makes me smile). I love watching you draw and making the "stick figures".
You are beginning to color the items on a coloring page but still prefer to color with just one color and you don't care too much about staying in the line.  
You love playing with playdoh and playing in sand can keep you occupied for a long time.
You love feeding the turkeys, deer and crows with Daddy and I love watching you two throw the corn..so sweet!!
You know the road signs and what a stoplight is for and usually tell me when ..."red means stop, green means go and yellow means slow down."
You also recognize when you see a bicyclist with a helmet on...and one that doesn't and of course we always talk about safety after that.
Your favorite songs: "This Old Man," "Jesus Loves Me," Jesus Loves the Little Children," and "Oh Come Let us Adore Him".
When I sing Jesus Loves the Little Children..I add a verse like this: 
"Jesus Loves Miss Amaya
How He loves Amaya Kaylan
He died and rose again
So that she might have life
Jesus loves Miss Amaya Kaylan"
(As I am singing this the smile on your face is so precious...you look completely at peace and I can tell you feel so safe...the absolute best look for a parent to see.)
You understand how to calm yourself by taking some deep breaths.  This is especially helpful before naptime and bedtime.
I could go on and on with all that you have filled our lives with but for now I will stop.  You are our precious firstborn. We will NEVER stop thanking Jesus for you!  We love you dearly!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS AMAYA KAYLAN!

I love you my daughter...love, Mommy

Beneath My Heart

...is doing another giveaway. You've got to check it out.  I've posted about it before....it's a giveaway from
LISA LEONARD DESIGNS....

HEAD ON OVER TO BENEATH MY HEART TO SEE HOW TO ENTER.

ONE OF THESE DAYS I MAY HAVE TO GET THIS PARTICULAR NECKLACE FOR AMAYA...SUMER ALWAYS CALLS HER "LITTLE LADY."  IT'S SO CUTE.

Baking