Mantle

Just like that Jesse made a beautiful Mantle in our home. Wanna know the coolest part? The top piece of wood comes from the same tree that his grandfather had milled from his yard so many years ago and made a crib out of with it. That crib is the crib that Jesse slept in when he as a baby. Matter of fact, Mike and Heidi still have that crib and all three of my boys have taken their fair share of naps in that bed. Cool right?

I gave Jesse alot a heat for hanging on to these pieces of wood for so long because they looked like garbage to me. And he'd always say that one day he would make something really awesome with it. And he did. 

Of course Fynn had to help too. Haha. I die over how cute he is. Look at his little mouth all open too. He's got his daddy's concentrating face.

Great work Jesse! You are always amazing me with everything that you are capable of doing. There is no end to your talents. 

Utah Collage of Massage Therapy Graduate!!!

Friday night we got together with my family over dinner to celebrate Chantel Graduating from Utah Collage of Massage Therapy. I arranged for everyone to meet at Mimi's Café in Murray at 7pm to have dinner together in honor of her.

We met in Murray because Tyler works in Murray and it was close to his work and thought it would be easy for him to hop on over to the restaurant when he got off at 7pm. But he ended up getting stuck selling a car right as he needed to leave so he didn't make it there until 8ish. So the poor thing had an audience while we watched him ate. Haha. No not really. We were all just happy to chill and talk with each other.

Cyrus was especially happy to order a Banana Chocolate Chip muffin as his dessert. I got a kick out of him going to town over this large muffin.

Never can pass up a good opportunity for a family photo.

I can remember when she came to me back in July telling me that she was going to start school. She had been nannying for me over the summer and we had grown super close. I was excited for her that she was starting school but also sad not to see her as much. Little did I know that she would be getting married and pregnant pretty soon and moving into our basement. So I really do get to see a lot of her still.

I love this baby sister of mine so much. Super proud of her! It's still so weird to me that she's going to be a mom because I still think of her as my baby sister. But lets face it, I'm not 11 anymore and she's not a newborn. It'll be fun to watch her be a mom and I'm excited to have a new nephew coming to the family.

Our family is all dressed in our HARMSTRONG shirts since it's Friday. My dear close friend, Harmoni was diagnosed with Stage 4 HER+ Breast Cancer with a 5% chance of beating it at the start of this year. I haven't made a post about it yet since it's been overwhelming and a lot of information. I will next time for sure to fill in the details about it all. But for now we wear pink and/or our HARMSTRONG shirts every Friday because that is her chemo days. I will not miss a Friday. She's going to be doing chemo like this until June and then they'll reassess and see how things are looking. But she'll have to do it for a whole year for now. So sucky. It's been emotional to see her go through this. But it's given me a whole new outlook on life. She's quite the faithful woman and keeps me believing in miracles.

Silly Boy

Never a dull moment with this child. I learned today that he now knows how to open my bedroom door. Heaven help all my stuff in there. He goes through my drawers and night stand emptying and dumping. Reeking havoc on any possible organization I strife for. But I can't get mad at that sweet grin.  

He is always making me laugh. Epsecially when the camera comes out. He's the funniest thing.

Last night I made Chicken Fajitas for dinner. On the side I had some lime wedges to squeeze onto the taco. I was in the kitchen when this happened, but I guess he ate a lime and made the funniest sour face. So with my attempt to try and catch it a second time didn't work out so great. but I did get some cute pictures of him.

I mentioned this in his milemarker post, but he sees a selfie camera and knows exactly what to do. He puts his hand right up to get it to take a picture. Or he's just plain silly.

Sunday night we had Grandma Heidi and Grandpa Mike over for dinner. After dinner we chilled and watched a movie with (of course) popcorn. You see. Fynn is very protective over the bowl of popcorn. So this night I came him his own personal bowl and he was in heaven. We were all laughing at him getting up and down from the couch to the floor testing out all the comfy spots. And managed NOT to spill his bowl of popcorn. He's such a goober. I love him.

Cy & Fynn's Check-up

Since Fynn and Cy share each others half birthdays it's worked out this year and last, that we went to there check-ups at the same time. That wont be the case next year. I think once Fynn turns 2 he will be going once a year. Which is so weird that we are even close to that point. Wasn't he just born last month? Ugh. He's growing up far too quickly.

While we were in the doctors waiting room, I got a kick out of Fynn walking over to the chair, climbing up and sitting there like such a big boy.  

We finally get called back and they took Cy's vitals first.  Then the Assistant Nurse took care of Fynn's. Fynn wasn't too happy to have him check he out. But I finally got him to realize she was nice. Stranger Danger?

Dr. Sabey eventually came in and was relieved when he did because Fynn was ping-ponging all over the room. He really cant sit still unless he's strapped in somewhere.

Dr Sabey said they both are healthy and look great! Cy didn't have to get any shots, and Fynn only had to get one. Now Fynn is done until his Kindergarten shots! Hooray for that!

On the way home I rolled the windows down because it was such a warm spring day and Fynn was giggling with the wind in his face. I snapped this picture of him with the selfie camera. That grin kills me. He's so cute!

Cyrus' Stats:
BMI: 16.1
Height: 3' 10" (61%)
Weight: 48lbs 12oz (67%)

Fynnick's Stats:
Head Circ: 19.4in (92%)
Height: 32in (31%)
Weight: 27lbs 12oz (89%)

I didn't realize he was that short. No wonder he has the most yummy chunky legs because he's one solid kid. I hope he didn't get my short genes. If so I'm sorry little man.

Blessing my Birthday Niece

It was such a beautiful Sunday today! And it was great to spend time with family today as we all got together for the blessing of the newest addition to my side of the family. Little Mary Ann Goodrich. The baby girl who shares a birthday with me. She will forever be called my little birthday niece.

I really needed a Sunday to not think about anything but family. The past few days there has been some hurtful drama at the salon and it was weighing me down. I was so happy to step into a chapel and sing hymns about our Lord and Savior and to hear and feel the testimonies born. I needed the spiritual uplifting. 

Jesse was scheduled to work today, but was so great to find someone to hold over for him until he got there. So before he left I wanted to grab a family picture of us in our Sunday Best! It's been since Jan that I recall us getting together for a picture. It's spring, so it needed to be done. 

Tyson gave her such a beautiful blessing today too. Bummed I never got around to getting a picture with him and his family. But I got to snag my birthday niece for a picture with her.

After the sacraent service everyone actually headed over to our house. We offered because the other alternative was going to my parents and it seemed silly to have the blessing in Bountiful and then make people drive all the way up to Layton.

By this point Jesse was gone, so I was a single host. But that's ok. Everything went smoothly.

We feel blessed we have the space to provide a party place and fit everyone comfortably. It turned out great. It really was an awesome day!

Cy's Birthday Weekend

What a week is has been with Cy. I'll be honest, it didn't start out too great. He has been so sassy and having a really tough attitude that I dont even know how to parent. Then to boot, we got a call from the school that he had thrown a snowball at girls head and had kicked her.  Ugh. As a parent I really don't want that to ever be my kid. But it is really him that threw the snowball. Dang it. 

Trying to come up with a punishment for him was tricky because he didn't really seem to care. And as the week progressed it got harder dealing with this new attitude. He was grounded from xbox for several days, but the way that his attitude was progressing and nothing seemed to help, we had to make a change on what he was doing for his birthday party. He wanted to go to DartSide like Ryker did. But Jesse and I decided we better downgrade it a bit so that he could understand what he was doing and how he was acting was not ok.

Oh but when I had to tell him what we had decided he was so sad. And then I just felt like a big fat jerk. Oh the joys of parenting. 

Friday night though was really nice. We took him to dinner. Just the 3 of us. Again, he wanted to do what Ryker did. So we took him to Mikado. In hind-sight we think he would have been jsut as happy if not happier if we went to Chik-fil-a. But that's ok. It was still fun to take him to some place special. 

I really do love having the one-on-one times with my boys. It makes for moments for bonding. 

He went to town on the edamame.

Saturday I took the day off so we could celebrate with Cy and his friends. We decided to take him to Kangaroo Zoo. Even though it wasn't DartSide he was still excited.

Cy invited friends from our neighborhood, his class, from our old neighborhood or family. His number one pick to be there is his classmate Kamden. But Kam came down with an ear infection or something and couldn't make it. But thankfull he still had several friends to make him feel loved.
Back Row: (left to right) Tanner and Bailey Bement, Ryker, Sterling and Sunny Snow
Front Row (left to right): Trent Mercer, Hailee Seaman, Jocie Snow, Cy and Kruz Jenkins

They all had a great time getting sweaty, thirsty, hot, hungry and tired together. It was interesting to see that the boys would stick together and the girls would stick together.

Mom and Dad were tending Sterling and Evie this weekend while Andrew and Emily were in Vegas with some friends. So we were so excited to get the cousins together. It was cute to watch Fynn and Evie play together in the bounce houses.

After an hour of craziness we took the kiddos across the street to a pizza cafe for lunch. While we were waiting for the pizza to cook we opened gifts. Jocie and Sunny had to leave early so they couldn't come so I didn't get any pictures of them at the pizza cafe.

He is kinda cute. Haha I think I keep him and all his trouble.

Tonight we had the whole family over for dinner, dessert and gifts. Cy requested Spaghetti, Ceaser Salad (he calls it Little Ceaser's Salad haha) and garlic bread. It was easy and a hit with everyone.

We opened gifts...

Took pictures...

And sang Happy Birthday! Cy wanted Peach dessert with whip cream. So Heidi made him a pound cake and brought her peach jam that didn't set up. So it's a perfect sauce to go on top of the cake.

Even though the week started out rough it most definitely ended great! Cy really is a great kid and we love him so much. I may not know how to parent him at times, but his personality will serve him well when he's an adult.
Happy birthday my sweet Cy. You make me so happy and so crazy! Thank you for stretching my parenting skills so that I can learn how to be a better mother.

Things about Cy at his age right now are...
-Loves Legos
-Enjoys playing with the Rubix cube with Ryker
-Loves his birthday
-Thrives with structure
-Could have a serious addiction to Xbox if we didn't keep it under control
-Flag Football Season is coming up and he's excited about it.
-Very picky with how his clothes feel on him. I actually had to take him shopping for his birthday to have him try on stuff so he wouldn't complain about them.
-When he's in a good mood he is the sweetest little boy
-When Fynn is sad Cy is always there giving him a toy or something to try and cheer him up.
-Loves being with his family. When we took him to dinner for his birthday he was actually kinda sad that Ryker and Fynn weren't coming.
-Picking up on his reading quite nicely
-Wets the bed (pullup) every night
-Requests Spaghetti for almost every meal.
-Can be very giving when he wants to be.
-Loves spending time with his grandparents. When I have to pick him up from their house and I've been gone, he actually gives me a sad face because he doesn't want to leave. I won't take offense to that. I'm happy that he loves being with them.
-Surprisingly likes cleaning toilets.

18 months old

This baby boy of mine has transitioned into a little boy now. My heart kinda breaks every time a milestone is passed with him. Is it because he's my last and its sad to think that I wont get to experience those milestones again? It's tough to know. 

I've said this from the day he was born that Fynn is suck a joy to have in our family. So many times we all laugh so hard at what he does. It's moments like those that I wish I could bottle them up and experience them over and over again. 

As you may tell from this picture is that he is a BIG lover of his blanket, binki and elephant. Now that he's 18 months old I really have been trying to be more strict with it only being in the crib for naps and bedtime. But it's really hard. I see how the youngest get away with more because I find myself giving in to him way more than I did with his older 2 brothers, If he wasn't so darn cute I think it would be easier. 

I found him like this the other day and got a kick out of him pretending to play the piano. He seee Ryker doing it, so why can't he do it? Right? You can tell he's so proud of himself too.

Like I said earlier, he's always making us laugh. I've caught him a few times now walking around the house with one q-tip in his ear. He had gotten into my bathroom drawer and came out looking like this. I sent this picture to Jesse because I thought it was so funny!

I get a kick out of him when he puts Jesse's hat on and walks around like he is big stuff. He's funny because it seems like he knows when he is being cute.

Along with how freaking adorable he is, comes the "busy" stage. It's quite incredible how quickly he can create such a mess around the house. He is in need of constant watch. I turn my head for 0.5 seconds to grab something and he's into something. Like the fridge or the cupboards or the drawers... emptying all of the contents. This is another perfect example... Getting into the dishwasher to "help" me put the clean dishes away.

Lately he has become quite the little Daddy's Boy. I can't decide yet if I like it or am just jealous. Both actually. I love seeing Fynn all snuggled up to Jesse. Anytime Jesse happens to be on the floor, Fynn will run over to him and back into him until he's cozy up in Jesse's business. Haha. But he really does love his dad and it really is so sweet. I know Jesse loves it but doesn't dare say anything to the woman who carried, birthed and nursed Fynn.

He's such a little mimicker too. A few weeks ago when Jesse started to build a mantle around our fireplace Fynn kept grabbing the drill and hammer when Jesse wasn't using them. He'd go right over to the wood and do exactly what Jesse was doing. It was so cute.

More things about Fynn's current stage:
-Signs "more", "please" and the occasional "thank you", "drink" and "milk".
-Gives high fives and bones. And he'll do it to just about anyone. My favorite is when he gives bones to the guys at the gym.
-Goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes up around 7:00
-Takes 2 naps a day. Mostly.
-Smarter than his own good. Especially with electronics. He knows that to take a selfie on my phone you put your hand up and it'll take the picture.
-Says..."Hhhhhhotttt", "Daddy","Mommy"  "Mama", "Papa" "Baaa"(for ball) and lots of gyberish
-So fast where ever he goes.
-Climbing is a new thing.
-Gets into the boys toothpaste.
-No longer plays in the toilets, but he gets into other things that cause messes.
-Has sensitive skin right now. I think it's eczema. His belly and back get irritated really easy.
-Loves popcorn.
-Every day at the gym either coming or going he has to swing this one pound kettle bell Neil (the gym owner) has at the front desk.
-Pretends to jump rope.
-He's at the gym with me everyday and he watches everything that we do, so sometimes he'll play with the equipment. Jesse and I just laugh as we watch him try to pick up a Bar Bell. Or pull on the bands. Or play with the jump ropes.

Annual Ogden Firefighter Awards Banquette

This night is one night that I look forward to every year. It's the 3rd time going for us and I was even more excited to go this year for 2 reasons. 1. I wasn't pregnant or postpartum like I was like past 2 years. And 2. We have made more friends so I know who we will be sitting with and can really enjoy conversation with people I know. 

I decided to buy a new dress for this year. I have actually worn the same dress for the past 2 years, but it was time for a new one. Besides I got lucky and found this one on Amazon for $25. Can't beat that right?

This year Jesse didn't have to work which made it nice. The last 2 times I've had to meet him at work and then drive over to the venue with him. This time he picked me up at the salon. I worked until about 4pm and I just got ready at work. I did my own hair but I had one of the girls there (Bria) do my makeup for me because she's really good at it. 

We made it to the venue just in time to snap one picture before they ceremony started.

They always have a cool presentation with the color guard.

We saved this table for our group.The firemen that Jesse works with on this table (and are his closer friends that he works with) is Kris, Nate and Patrick. While we waited for dinner to be served we watched the video presentation made to honor and look back on the past year.

I do love getting the opportunity to get all dressed up and be his plus one. So proud of this firefighter-husband.

The night was very pleasant. I did tell Jesse that he needs to get on the nomination list next year for Paramedic of the year. 1) becasue it was just be super cool and 2) the trophies are so AWESOME and we need one on our firefighter collage at home. Haha.

Kris and Keya are always ones that we enjoy being with. So we had to get a classic picture like we did last year together.

And of course we needed a girls picture. We didn't spend all this time getting dolled up without us getting a picture of it. Right?

Once the party was over I wasn't feeling ready to go home yet. I wanted to draw out the night as long as possible. It's not very often I get an evening with my one and only. We invited Kris and Keya to join us to get a treat, but they had to get back to their kiddos. Which we understood. So Jesse and I went to Chik-fil-a for a post party snack. We enjoyed simple conversation with each other until we decided we better get home.

I got looking through pictures from last year and couldn't believe how much Jesse and I have changed. Especially Jesse. I knew he had lost some weight and made some physical changes but its significantly different. He looks way good. So proud of him. It motivates me to keep working hard too.