Things that have nothing to do with kids

Millie and Max kind of dominate this blog, and rightfully so! They're the cutest. Here are some things going on outside of them:

 Before and after a little organizing in our bathroom closet

Read this in 2 days and can't wait to see the movie!

Our poor hibiscus bushes froze this winter! So they had to come out.

I felt so funny grabbing the twine from my craft stash to tie up these branches.

Cleaning out the craft closet. Think we have enough tissue paper?

Our youth activity last week was a Texas snowball fight! They had tons of fun and I want to remember it for the future. We cut up old nylons and filled them up with flour, tying both ends to make a little ball. The flour stayed in longer than we expected and they had fun for a long time! Messy fun.

My first run since Max's birth! Between being reeeeeaalllly out of shape and pushing the double stroller it was very slow, but it felt great!

I had a cyst in my finger drained yesterday. It was the size of 2 peas! I'm hoping it doesn't come back. It's nice to have met our insurance deductible- we're trying to fit in little things like this before our plan starts over in July!

Sibling love

Millie loves to talk to Max when he has tummy time! He is getting more interactive all the time and loves to look at her. I have a feeling they're going to be the best of friends!

Tyler: 27

Tyler's birthday fell on Mother's Day this year! Poor guy. Not that he's the kind of guy who likes a whole day to be about him-- it just meant that we were both trying to make the day special for the other person. "I will make you breakfast." "No, I will make you breakfast!" You get it. 

We did some celebrating on Saturday. It was definitely our first date since Max was born, and who knows how long before that! My parents watched the kids while we went to the temple and Olive Garden. It was so nice to get away and be together! I'd missed my man.

We came home to find Millie giving Cinderella a shower. Monka always teaches her fun things!

On Sunday I woke up later than I'd planned and was rushing to get Tyler's birthday cake made and to get myself and the kids ready for church. When Millie got up we brought Tyler his present- a blue sport coat with gold buttons! He looks really handsome in it but it's a tad big, hopefully we will exchange it tonight.

Monka helped Millie make a sign for Daddy on Saturday

Tyler couldn't decide between a yellow cake and a chocolate cake, so I tried my hand at a layer cake and did one of each! It didn't turn out pretty so I didn't take a picture but it was yummy anyway. It's hard to mess up a cake mix. Tyler chose pink frosting because Millie would like it and it'd be a little more Mother's Day friendly. 

Taste-testing the frosting... at 8 am. Lovely!

We got to talk with Tim before church too! He is doing so well and seems so happy. It's so great to be able to see him and all my other siblings at once.

Trying to show Uncle Tim her necklace

After church we went to Gigi and Poppy's for lunch. Nana, Botz, Grammy, Mom, Dad, Sarah, and of course Heidi and James were there too! It was a party. We got to talk with AJ too and it was so great. He is so happy and excited to be where he is! Both our missionary brothers got to see Max. There's just such a special Spirit around when we get to talk to these boys! We miss them tons but are so proud of them.

Then we switched to birthday mode. Tyler opened gifts and we had cake and ice cream. Max had an awesome blowout- it's just not Mother's Day without one! We went home and spent the evening relaxing.

The "who can get Max to smile?" game. I love this picture.

Tyler is the best husband and dad and we love him so! Happy happy birthday!!

Little things this week

Just pondering life 

Pretty wary of this turtle

Millie and Delilah are getting the pool ready for swim season!

Pictures don't show how cold the water was... crazy girls

Dancing with Daddy on a Sunday evening

Poor Mason was forced to act out "Let It Go" with Millie

Enjoying otter pops on the porch

When you go potty on your own, crazy stuff happens

Walked in the bathroom to find this... almost died laughing

Blue otter pop tongue

I took this boy to my 6-week checkup and no one could believe how big he is

Holding his bottle all by himself! Too bad it was an accident.

Hopefully Uncle Mitchell doesn't mind her playing... she's obsessed with his guitar!

My little helper.  Say the words "banana chocolate chip muffins" and suddenly she'll do anything you want!

A gift from Tyler's work team

Millie's job is to bring us the scriptures each night. She always says "I be strong!"

Potty talk

We are down to one kid in diapers! Millie put on her princess panties last Monday and we haven't looked back. She is amazing and handled it all really well! I'm glad we did it when we were already at home a lot since Max is so young still. She was ready to officially be a big girl!

She had been talking about having a princess potty for weeks, but when we went to the store to get it, she chose a froggy potty instead. We didn't mind- it was $12 less! Millie also got to pick out some treats for rewards each time she used the potty and a princess water bottle for when she went a whole day without any accidents.

The first day I pushed lots of fluids so she would need to go to the bathroom often. She didn't like having accidents so we spent a lot of the day on the toilet! Millie was wearing minimal clothing for a lot of the week. Also notice that Tyler "potty-proofed" the house- rolled up the rug, put towels and blankets over the couch, etc. It was funny but I was so glad!

Gummy ring pops were a hit

She has only had three accidents since that first day! We told her when she pooped on the potty she could have a donut date with Daddy. When he was on his way home from work on Friday, Millie just plopped herself down (no pun intended) and did it all by herself! I was feeding Max at the time so I didn't know right away. She said, "I go poo-poo!" It wasn't the first time she had said that, so I didn't believe her until she looked in the toilet and said, "It wooks wike chocowate. I no eat it!" I took a picture because I was so proud. But I won't include that, you're welcome.

"I want a pink one and a bwack one!"

I was anticipating a long and frustrating process, but I should know by now that Millie is great at handling transitions. She took my biggest parenting fear (at least for young kids) and turned it into no big deal! I just love that girl. She did great at church- Tyler and I traded off and took her to the bathroom every 20ish minutes so the nursery leaders wouldn't have to worry about it. Today we had our first multi-errand adventure without diapers and she did great. Actually, it was my first time running errands with both kids by myself! Hooray!! We are finding our new routines with a new baby and a few less diapers. Love it!