Family Fun Night

I love when we have spontaneous family nights that turn out better than the planned ones! Andy has been a little sick this week and this afternoon started feeling a little bit better (thank you zofran!). So after naps we all got dressed and headed to dinner. My cute Aunt got us a gift card to Outback for Christmas so we decided tonight to cash it in. Both kids were so pleasant and enjoyed being at the restaurant, making the dinner experience fun. Lucas ordered a grilled cheese a roo, a Bruce family favorite.

Afterwards Lucas was begging for ice cream. Our last experience at Baskin Robbins was horrible (one too many hairs) so we opted to go to Provo Beach Resort. Lucas was so so so excited to show Andy all his favorite slides so we headed upstairs. Since Andy has had knee surgery I was the lucky one to climb and play. It really is fun once you get past the germs that are most likely crawling around.

Anyway... We had fun, ate mint ice cream, had baths and went to bed!

Like I said... I love spontaneous family dates :)

Nap time

So many of my friends tease me that my kids are asleep more than they are awake :) Which is sometimes true... I depend on my nap schedule probably a little too much. For the past couple months neither Jane or Lucas were taking their afternoon naps as they should be. To say I was flustered would be an understatement.

Since Jane was born she napped in my room in a mini crib and Lucas napped in his bed. But every time I would put him down he would beg for Jane to sleep in his room. So finally last week I caved. I thought it couldn't be worse than what has been happening. That day changed my life! Both kids napped for 3 hours!

They both talk and laugh for a few minutes and then usually Jane falls asleep first... Then a few minutes will go by and Lucas is out. I just love how much they love each other. I sometimes get sad that Lucas won't have a brother or Jane won't have a sister... But listening to them before naps reminds me they have each other. And for that I am eternally grateful for.

Date Night!

For Christmas my grandparents gave us a date as our gift. We were so excited because we seldom go out without the kids. We had a cute girl from our ward watch the kids while we went to a dinner and a movie. We went to Goodwood for dinner, a local BBQ place and it did not disappoint! We both had so much fun and I didn't even think of the kids until halfway through Andy asked if I thought they were ok :)

I only took three pictures and Andy is going to be mad that I am posting this one, but in my defense I asked him to smile :)

The onion rings were huge and the Texas sheet cake for dessert was to die for!

We saw Les Mis and it was of course, wonderful.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Honey!!

Scheels

A couple weekends ago we headed to Scheels to see what all the hype was about. We didn't plan very well and by the time we got out the door and to Draper we were all starving. So we went to Chipotle first for some lunch.

Lucas and I rode the Ferris wheel and had fun... Although I had a death grip on him the entire time. I think as I get older I am developing a fear of heights.

Overall we thought Scheels was pretty fun. Lucas loved the animals, play place and mini bowling. The fish tank was pretty impressive and we has a fun Saturday exploring and trying to stay warm :)

We had cooties!

I bragged about not getting sick over the holidays. And then the holidays ended and our world came crumbling down! Jane got hit the hardest.... Cough, runny nose, double ear infection... The whole works. We made three visits to the doctors, got a steroid shot, and some amoxicillin. Only to find out at Jane is allergic to amoxicillin! Her rash was intense, and the pictures don't do it justice. And it would clear up in one place, and show up elsewhere.

We are finally on the mend, but the darn cough is still lingering.

Sports Class

In December we had Lucas' 3 year well check with his pediatrician (which on a sidenote, we LOVE him. Best Pediatrician Ever. Even rivals the beloved Dr. Carruth. Another topic for another day :) ) Anyway, at the yearly well checks the doctor gives the patients tests for gross motor, fine motor, physical development, and social development. It is a really interesting where they are asked to draw certain things, follow simple commands, etc... At his check up the doctor was a little concerned with Lucas' social development. He didn't seem too concerned, until I brought up other concerns I had with him starting preschool in the fall. In short, when Lucas is in a group environment, he gets extremely shy and doesn't participate with the group. Between the Well check test, and my concerns it gave my pediatrician more worry than normal. Dr Anderson is pretty confident that his behavior is due to the stress of the last year and he will eventually grow out of it. But at the same time he doesn't want Lucas to be behind the curve when school starts next fall.

So he recommended a few classes that would help Lucas with his social development. After going to try them out we decided on the Little Gym Mini Jacks Sports Class. It is for 3-4 year old boys and focus's on taking turns, listening to instructions, and playing sports will fellow classmates. You can imagine Lucas' face on Day 1. He was so nervous, especially because mom's are behind a glass wall and are not allowed in the room.

This week we had our first showcase where the parents sit in the room and show us what they have learned. Since Lucas just joined he was a little fuzzy on what he was supposed to do. But I took hundreds of pictures anyway :)

At the very beginning they had a fun song playing when and they introduced all the children and they were supposed to run in an stand on their circle. When it was Lucas' turn he took a bow. I was rolling.

 He of course didn't want to stand on his circle so he came and sat by mom. 

But eventually he warmed up to the idea.

 First skill was soccer. Awesome form!

 He loves the rings!

Then it was on to golf

 Showing off his balancing skills

The second week in class he did a little bit better. My hope is in a few months he will be much better at the group portions of the class. Fingers crossed he will be fully ready for preschool this fall!

2012 ~ A Reflection

2012 was a big year for our family. One that we will most certainly never forget. We sold our house that we built and loved, moved away from our cherished family and friends, our sweetest angel baby Jane was born, moved to a new state, Andy started a new job and went back to school. All those things would be cause for a significant year, but even more so than that, Andy's battle with cancer tops the list. 

As I reflect back on the year part of me wants to forget it ever happened and just move forward; but at the same time I am so grateful for everything I have learned this past year. I like to think I have changed and matured and grown in my Testimony of the Gospel, of our Heavenly Father's plan for us, but mostly having faith in His plan. Throughout the past 7 months I have looked at this picture more times then I can count.

This picture was taken on the morning of July 12, 2012. I even instagramed it, with the caption ""Lazy morning in moms bed. Just enjoying these sweet babes while they are little. #stopgrowing" I remember we had plans on going to Seven Peaks. Andy got up and went to an early doctors appointment where they were going to do an ultrasound and determine where his ulcer was. He even wore his bathing suit so as soon as he came home we could leave. I was so exhausted because Jane hadn't slept well the night before and so I brought her into my bed, gave Lucas my iPad and went back to sleep for just 5 more minutes. I snapped the picture and that was that. This was the last picture I took before our life changing news. Soon after I received a text from Andy saying that the doctor couldn't quite determine what he was seeing on the ultrasound and he wanted him to get a CT scan immediately. We were both nervous, but trying to not jump to conclusions. 

Immediately I texted my sister and told her what was going on. She reassured me that everything would be fine. When the CT scan was done Andy texted me and said he was headed to meet with the doctor. I waited on pins and needles for an answer. Knowing he couldn't answer I texted him telling me to just send me a smiley face if everything was OK. Nothing. So I then began to panic. I called him multiple times when he finally sent me a text, "I am almost home".

The next few days are a blur as we went from surgeon, to oncologist and figured out the severity of Andy's condition. We cried many tears and were on our knees countless times. Now that we are a on a "pause" so to speak because we are free from treatment for a few months, I look back and am so grateful for this experience. As a family we are so much closer, we truly cherish every single moment together. We do not take for granted the small and simple things. Our marriage has been tested and strengthened as we have grown together more in love and leaned on one another throughout every high and low. 

Mostly, I am so grateful for our sweet children. We honestly could not have gotten through it without them. They gave us reason to be happy! Their smiling faces each and everyday helped me as somedays all I wanted to do was stay in bed. Our sweet Jane has had a busy first year of life, but we were so richly blessed with her sweet, strong spirit in our home. I like to believe she knew she was coming to our family and she was up for the task! 

As we move into 2013 we are excited for Jane to turn 1, we are looking forward for Andy to resume school, but we are just grateful for the new perspective on life. To not take it for granted, to laugh more,  be quick to say sorry and just enjoy our little ones while they are young. 

So Hello 2013!

Mollie + Levi

Our cute niece Mollie was married today in the Draper Temple. They are the cutest lovebirds and we are so excited to have Levi as a Nephew! (I think it is funny to say that because they are only a few years younger than me... :)) All the girl cousins wore matching dresses, but the smallest size didn't fit Jane and cute cousin Avery. So we got the two girls these darling matching Janie and Jack dresses. Avery was so excited to match Janie girl.

 Best Family Picture... Sorry Andy... He is taking the car out of Lucas' hand.

 My cute boys :)

 Caught Red Handed with her hand in the cookie jar 

 The "Jane's"

 The Darling Couple!!

 Cheeser!

 Three Musketeers... Lucas, Avery and Bea.

 Lucas giving the cake a Thumbs up!

 Lucas was loving the dance floor! He was totally getting down! I wish I had my video camera to record the cutest little dancer. 

Even though it was freezing, we all had a great time! I need more pictures from everyone's camera... hint hint :)

Sledding

Our Niece Mollie got married this week so we have been SO lucky to have all our Coons Family Cousins in town to play!!! The other day we braved the -2 degree weather and took the kids sledding. We were shocked we lasted 1 hour! Everyone had fun!

Bostyn and Lucas

 Cari and Avery

 Bay Jane chillin in her stroller

 Cari and Jax... I love the smile under the binky!

 Bostyn drove home in our car and Lucas was SO excited that "his" Bosty got to sit next to him. So of course we went to Kneaders and got some Sugar Cookies to make the drive a little bit longer!

New Years

We have been waiting for 2013 for a few weeks now. We could not wait to ring in the New Year!!! Fortunately for us, the Larsen family surprised us and came up to Utah! So we got to celebrate with them!

We started the night off at Malawi's Pizza!

 Then Headed to Provo Beach Resort to let the kids run wild!

 Bowled to our hearts content!

We put the babies to bed, and Andy and I watched a movie and kissed at midnight! It was a great night filled with laughter and fun! Welcome 2013!