May

Once again we have gone too long without a post. I kept waiting for Kristee to post something, but she has been pretty busy so I thought if I didn't post something today, we wouldn't have a single post for May. May has been a pretty busy month. I finished up our backyard project and got a swingset built and installed (with my nephew Jacob's help). If anyone is thinking of building one of these, be warned it's a pretty big pain. But Kenzie is outside every day playing on it and absolutely loves it, so it's worth it. We put the playground bark around it with a little sandbox underneath the fort, and I think Kenzie's favorite part is the sand box, and she is also really good at tracking the sand in the house. Kristee and I debated about whether to put sand in or not, but we decided we both loved having a sand box when we were little, so we didn't want to deprive our kids of it, but we may change our mind as the sand builds up in our house.

Kenzie also loves to push Linzie in the swing, and Linzie loves it too. Linzie pretty much loves having Kenzie around any time, she is always laughing at her. Kenzie has also gotten into wearing her sunglasses this summer. She'll come in the house and tell us it's bright and needs sunglasses and her hat.

It was also my birthday this month and Kristee made me an amazing BYU football field cake and I had a great birthday. Kristee got me some nice presents and I got to go see the new Star Trek movie, which I thought was really good.

Linzie is growing fast. She has moved up to the next size diapers, so she and Kenzie wear the same diapers now. It's kind of nice so we don't have to carry two different sizes. Kenzie better watch out because Linzie might be bigger than her soon.

Here are some random pictures from our Memorial Day weekend. We spent half the weekend with the Adams clan and had a fun time eating smores around the camp fire, easter egg hunting (there was still snow on the ground in April so we had to wait until May), and visiting the Morgan cemetaries. Then we spent the second half of the weekend with the Christensen clan and went to the Salt Lake cemetaries and hiked to Timpanogas Cave. Most of these pictures have Kenzie wearing a headband she got from Grandma A at the easter egg hunt, which she is pretty much obsessed with now and wears it about every day.

And finally, Kenzie is getting to be quite independent these days, and likes to do everything herself. This morning she insisted on picking out her own clothes and accessories to wear, and this is what we got:

Two Years Old

Kenzie turned two this past week. I still can't believe it. I am loving watching her grow and learn, but I am a little sad to see my baby go from a baby to a big girl. BabyCenter now calls her a "preschooler". It is still way to early for that! It is amazing what changes in two years. She still, however, makes the ultra sad face that you see in the baby picture. That hasn't changed! I don't think the response she gets from mom and dad when she makes that face has changed either.


I think Kenzie had the perfect day on her birthday. She and I and Linzie had a tea party for lunch (she made sure Linzie was a part of it), then Jared took a half day off and he and his mom showed up just in time for her to wake up from her nap. We all went to Salem Pond to play at the playground, feed the ducks, and play in the sand. She loved it. We then went to her next favorite place, the library, and got a few books. We came home and met up with Grandpa Christensen and then went to McDonalds for dinner. To finish it all off, we had cake and ice cream at home and some of the cousins were able to come have "pink princess take (cake) with tandles (candles) in it" with us and open presents. Kenzie loves candles since she blew them out a few weeks ago at Grandma and Grandpa Adams'. When she was asked what she wanted for her birthday, she would say, "with tandles in it." and then blow to practice blowing them out. Pretty funny. Here are a few pictures of her perfect day.





Yesterday Kenz had her two year check up. She did so well. She is still perfect the doctor says! She was finally back on the charts for weight at a whopping 22 pounds. Yeah, that is the 3rd percentile. She is in the 50th percentile for height. I promise we feed her!

I'm sure every parent feels this way, but I swear, she is so smart for a two year old. We learn something from her everyday and are reminded how truly simple and magnificent the world is and that a little love and compassion go a long way. We love you, Kenzie!

Linzie

This blog post is dedicated to Linzie. She is almost 3 months old now...yeah, I know, I didn't post a thing about her at two months. At her doctor appointment, she weighed 10 lbs 9 oz and was 22 1/2 inches tall. She is right in the 50th percentile. As you can see below, she has an amazing smile and loves to show it off (except on her blessing day). She is mesmerized when Kenzie talks or sings to her. She loves to be held out so she can see the world and see what is going on. If she has a full belly, a clean diaper, and has been burped, she is a happy girl. We love you, Linzie. This picture was Linzie's first time in a dress and first time to any kind of church meeting. Two weeks ago, we got to go to Stake Conference as a family and hear Elder Holland speak. So amazing!

Sunday was Linzie's blessing. It was a special day. The blessing Jared gave her was beautiful. What a humbling experience to see everyone in the circle who is worthy to give a priesthood blessing and who will be there to love and support Linzie throughout her life.

Thank you to all of our family who made this day so great. We love you!

Temples, Hair Cuts, Dentists, a Good Nights Sleep...

The last few days have been pretty eventful...especially for Kenzie. On Thursday, we met aunt Cathy in Salt Lake and went to the Draper Temple open house. When you go, you park at a church and they bus you to the temple. This was Kenzie's first bus ride and she was very excited. She kept saying "bus" over and over and we had to sing the Wheels on Bus song. She had also been talking about the temple all day and was totally thrilled to get to the temple. She was a little impatient to have to wait behind people the few times that we had to wait, but other than that, did really well. I'm a little sad that she probably won't remember this experience, but she did learn that in temples we learn about Jesus and that families can be forever. During the movie that was shown prior to going to the temple, there was a clip of Pres. Monson. I think the people at the front of the chapel could hear Kenzie yell "Monson" when she saw him. It is fun to see her recognize the prophet. I am always amazed at how observant she is and how good of a memory she has. The temple is beautiful and it was neat for us to be there with Kenzie and Cathy (Linzie stayed with Wendy, Grandpa, and Becky...thanks guys!). Oh, one other highlight of the temple trip...Aunt Cathy gave Kenzie "lips" (lip gloss) before we left. She wouldn't let go of it! Here is a shot of Kenzie on her first bus ride with "lips". The next picture is with Cathy in front of the church where we had to catch the bus back to our car. Why do we not have a picture in front of the temple, you ask. There is nowhere on the tour to actually take a picture with the temple in the background, so the church is the best you get.

After our temple trip, we went back to Grandpa and Grandmas house where Aunt Becky gave Kenzie her first haircut. It was mostly just a trim, but was long over due. It looks great! Thanks, Becky. Kenzie started with the cape on and kept calling it a bib. She couldn't understand why she couldn't see her arms and legs, so she kept pulling it up to get her limbs out. Eventually it was just easier without the cape. At one point during the haircut, Becky asked me if I wanted to do bangs. Kenzie pipes up, "NO bangs". I guess the girl already knows what she wants and isn't afraid to voice it!

I think Kenzie's day ended perfectly for her--she got to play with cousin Brinley and have a tea party with Uncle Brian. What more could a girl ask for out of a day.

My day ended perfectly also because Linzie slept the longest she has yet. She made it the whole night--10 pm to 6 am. Yeah!!! It felt great to get an uninterrupted night's sleep. That made for smiles all around!

Today, Linzie is two months old. I can't believe how fast it has gone! She is growing and changing so much. I have already had to put away the newborn clothes. We go to her dr. appointment on Monday and I think she will actually be on the charts (Kenzie really hasn't been). Linzie is a fun baby. I could sit and listen to her coo all day. She loves her swing and gets so happy when Kenzie talks and sings to her.

This post is getting extra long, but two more notes. Kenzie had her first visit to the dentist today--mostly a chance to see how she will handle things when it is for real. She got to sit in the chair (made her a little nervous when they laid it back) and have her teeth brushed by the dental assistant. The dentist then came in and counted her teeth. She was really excited to be able to get a prize and to go home with a princess tooth brush. She is such a thoughtful girl that when she went to get a prize, she wanted to get one to take out to daddy. Her mean mom told her she could only take one. The nice assistant told her she could have two. Lucky for her, the assistant won out.

The second note---while I am writing this, Jared and a great neighbor/friend are down framing our basement. I am so excited! We have actually started on the basement. Thankfully, the girls are sleeping through all the racket and I can do things like update the blog.