STEVE ~ LIANNA ~ XAVIER ~ HARPER

Thinking of making the switch!

2011-04-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, as most of you know I am not good at updating my blog. No surprise there! The main reason I dread doing it is because it takes forever to download my pictures! Over the past year I have been working a lot with WordPress for my Firefighters Wives website and I LOVE WordPress! So...I think I am going to make the switch from blogspot to WordPress. The only problem is I didn't know how to do this, until now!

I came across this book and it's so step by step that I think it's going to be simple. I am not a tech wizard, so step by step and visual is important to me. WordPress is so much easier, faster and just over all BETTER! I will let you know what my new blog is once the process is complete, but in the mean time, if you are thinking of switching to a much better blog platform and you don't want to pay someone hundreds of dollars to do it for you, then I suggest investing $35.00 into this ebook! Here's the link!

Click here to see the book.

SNOW!

2011-02-21T06:14:00.000-08:00

I absolutely LOVE the snow. When we get a lot of snow I usually get to stay home with my kiddos and play because the roads are too bad to drive on. This winter I was really hoping for some big snow storms and we got a few. Since buying our 4 wheelers, sledding has taken on a whole new meaning! Xavier loves to be pulled behind the quad and could probably do it for hours, if his face didn't get so cold.

The only problem with these random snow storms is that I am never prepared with snow gear. This year was no different, but we managed and we had lots of hot chocolate ready when our play was over!

Helmet on and ready to go sledding

Father-Daughter 4 wheeling in the snow!
Mommy pulling Xavier with Harper riding along!

February 23, 2011

Ok, I wrote the above a couple of days ago and today, what happened.....MORE SNOW! This time we are getting about a foot of snow. Holy smokes! This is just crazy, but I got a snow day from work and the kids had fun playing at the neighbors building snowmen! Here's a little video of the snow that fell during the day and then it started back up at 5pm.

Ice Skating

2011-02-08T06:34:00.000-08:00

My step sister Amanda got to come home from Iraq for a couple of weeks! While she was here, we decided to take Xavier ice skating for the first time. Ever since he borrowed a skateboarding movie from our neighbor, all he could talk about was skateboarding, roller skating and snowboarding. I think he's still too little for skateboarding and snowboarding, so I decided to take him ice skating!

When I was 13 and 14, I took ice skating lessons. I LOVED it! I still love to go now, but I get frustrated because I can't do all the fancy tricks anymore and I don't have my own skates. The skates you rent are far from glamorous!

The first hour we were there Xavier wanted to hold our hands the entire time and skate around. This got old real quick! They have these buckets at the rink for the little kids to hold on to and push around the ice to help them learn to skate. Those didn't help much because Xavier was too tall. FINALLY, he started trying it by himself. By the end of the 2 hour skate session he was doing turns, like spins, all by himself! He is a quick learner, but sometimes needs to be talked into doing something.

All in all it was a great time! Xavier wants to now be a hockey player!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-04T06:59:00.001-08:00

My first blog back. It has taken me a week to finish downloading these pictures and writing this! You see, that is why my 2011 resolution is to only do one post a month! So here it is, Christmas 2010.

We had 4 Christmas celebrations. The first one on the 23rd with my mom and Tim, the second with just us 4 Christmas morning, the third at Steve's parents Christmas day/night and the fourth with Steve's mom's side of the family on the 26th. Whew...it was a whirlwind and here's what it looked like.

Burlington Mall Santa pictures 2010.....wait for it....
HO HO HO...wait for it...
there it is...the best Santa picture to date! I love it!

The LIVE tree. We have started getting live trees every year and planting them on our property. I DISLIKE decorating Christmas trees...
....so this year we started a new tradition. Lights, train around the bottom and the cards people send us on the tree. That's it!!

Round 1: Dec. 23rd-Mom & Tim Christmas
I just love this dress...she looks so grown up. Sniff Sniff...
My mom told them to grab a seat and we'd start opening presents, so they both went and grabbed their chairs!

"IT'S CHRISTMAS!!"

Ok, ok...I know the pictures of Harper in her Santa hat are over kill, but she was so cute!

MINNIE MOUSE!! Her favorite!
looking at all of the awesome pictures Xavier took with his new digital camera
Her trike!
Making sugar cookies Christmas Eve. Steve had to work so my mom came over to "help!" ;-)

This picture sums up the whole month of December! What you don't see is the smoke alarm, aka the Santa Cam, above them that they are looking at. Santa is ALWAYS watching. We managed to convince Xavier that every smoke alarm was a Santa Cam, so wherever we went Santa was watching. I also put a picture of Santa on my phone so when Steve would call the picture would come up. If Xavier was not behaving, Steve (Santa), would call my phone and I would talk to Santa about Xavier! I think it was brilliant!!
trying to get a nice pic of the two of them in their Christmas jammies
Admiring the cookies we are leaving for Santa one last time before bed.
Santa came!

Round 2: The 4 of us-Christmas morning
Discovering all that Santa brought
future volleyball player....you bet!

Marshmallow gun!

Round 3-Neyens Christmas
A little lesson from Grandma about Baby Jesus
I see you...
She LOVES her Jeep!
I pretty much dove across the floor at Toys R Us to get this last pair of Buzz wings in the whole store! We will save these for when he is older and I will tell him that story. He will thank me later!
To infinity and beyond!
Watch out Buzz...I will run you and your wings over with my pink jeep!
This has become a favorite in our house....Steve's favorite!
Classic...trying to get a nice picture with the Great Grandparents...we tried!
Harper still was having nothing to do with pictures, but I love this one because GG is cracking up!
4 generations of Neyens men. I think this was the 15th picture we took....still not the greatest!
and this is how it all ended...

Round 4 was too crazy to have a camera around, so I don't have any pictures!

RESOLUTION 2011

2010-12-21T06:57:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have made a resolution to do at least one blog post a month in 2011! I know I will look back when the kids are grown up and out of the house and wish that I had done more blogging. Plus, shockingly enough, I have heard that people actually read my blog....so I can't let the fans down!

See you in 2011!

HARPER'S FIRST BIRTHDAY

2010-06-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's been 2.5 months since I've done a blog post and it's been 1.5 months since Harper's first birthday, but here it is....better late than never!

The theme of Harper's birthday was LOOK WHOOO'S TURNING ONE. I did it in pinks and browns and owls! We kept it small, only inviting family & a few friends. Harper fell asleep right as her party was starting! Right when she woke up we fed her dinner and then her cake! She loved the frosting! She dove right in licking her fingers the entire time. She didn't really eat the cake part of it until we forced her to! She sat with me while we opened all of her presents and then she got to play with the kids. It was such a fun day!

Her One Year Sats

Weight: 20.2lbs 50%

Height: 30.5 inches 95%

Head: BIG

This is how her afternoon started....falling asleep in her chair!
The birthday table all ready for the party
Harper's first birthday cake!
My co-worker Sue paints custom rocks and she did this one for me! Isn't it AMAZING!
mini cupcakes of course
The table of Harper over the last 12 months...I can't believe how little she was
putting on her tutu for the first time! She loved playing with it!
Grandma Rhona made her a number one shirt
singing happy birthday and getting ready to dive into the cake!
ok there was no diving...she really just wanted to lick off the frosting!

opening all of her presents with the help of her friends
Aaron put balloons in Ty & Xavier's shirts so they looked prego! So funny! I think Kelsey and I have a picture where we look like them, but they were actually the ones in our bellies!
3 generations of girlies!
She was hungry and confused!
Sorry Harper...I wish they were that big!

The cute bummers Grandma made her!

My sweet ONE year old!

MARINERS 2010

2010-04-18T18:23:00.000-07:00

I Think it is our new tradition to go the the Mariners opening day game! I had the opportunity to go last year and be in the company suite, but this year since we are season ticket holders, we got first crack at opening day tickets. We went to opening day with DJ, Lindsey & Jared and we had great seats! Usually when I go to the M's games, they lose! Opening day 2010 was no different...they lost, but we had tickets for the following Saturday's game...and they WON! There is a lot of hype around this years team and we have a lot of tickets so I hope they do well! Even if they don't I still love going to the games for the food, the Mariner's team store(I can always find a new shirt for the season for me & the kids) and the overall experience!

Opening day 2009...Harper's "first" game! I won the rally fries!
Opening day 2010!

Kyle Wolden(a local Mount Vernon kid) got to run the bases on opening day!

Randy Johnson threw out the first pitch...
...and then was reunited with a few of his former teammates
We sat next to Dave "Softy" Mahler from KJR AM Radio!
Jared took Xavier to see the Moose. He did much better this year. I think by the end of the season he will be able to get a picture taken by himself!
This was our good luck charm! On our way to Saturday's game there was a full rainbow over Seattle...and sure enough the Mariner's won breaking my jinx!
Harper is a new fan of milkshakes!

I told Xavier to strike a pose and the next 5 pictures is what I got....
cheese...

goofy face...
serious pouty lip face.....
yeah model pose with the hand on the hip! I think we have a model on our hands!
3 generations of Mariner's fans!
Harper's first pic this year with the Moose...she was scared to death! Notice how she is not taking her eye off of him!

TULIP TOWN!

2010-04-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

We live in Tulip Town! Mount Vernon grows, I don't know the percentage, but a huge number of the world's tulips! No joke...every April our traffic sucks, but the views across the fields are AMAZING! This year we are even hosting the World Tulip Summit! Ok...whatever that is, but it's big! We love taking advantage of these beautiful views and we only have to drive 5 minutes to get there! On Friday, Megan was watching Harper and Rhona came down and they went to Roozengarde(one of the tulip companies). Today my mom came up and we went to Tulip Town! It was a beautiful day! Blue skies, no wind and good kids made the day perfect! We got a couple good pictures, rode a tractor and Xavier got his face painted! Phew...visiting the tulips in April...check!

Don't be fooled by the date on the pictures...it was not 4/13/2008!
Harper & Grandma matching in their brown sweaters!

The tulips look bigger than Harper!
I love this one!

Tulip Town!!
snuggle time with Nana

tulip angel!
Pretty in Pink!
eating the tulips...I have a picture of her brother doing the same thing!
smelling the flower
these were my favorite...
can you tell...
I took a lot of pictures of these!

Joe Cool in the Tulips!
Nana with the babes. Her favorite are the yellow ones!

stomping in the mud puddles!

all Xavier wanted to do was ride the tractor...he did not want to hold Harper's hand in the tulips!
this tulip was all by itself! :-(
World Tulip Summit globe thingy!

eskimo kisses!
riding the tractor!
family photo on the tractor ride!
don't be fooled by the look on his face...the paint brush did not have needles in it!
geez Xavier...it's not that bad is it! Trust me...it will be worth the $10 in the end!
AMAZING! They only charge $100 per hour with a 2 hour minimum for birthday parties! Ha!

HARPER'S NEW BOYFRIEND...

2010-04-11T22:01:00.001-07:00

We were invited to DJ & Lindsey's house warming party! They just bought their first home in Lake Stevens and it is perfect for them! I was really looking forward to the party because Lindsey's sister, Sayeh(we graduated together) has a son, Grayson, who is 4 months older than Harper and I was just thinking the other day about how we don't know too many people with kids Harper's age. So to say the least I was curious how Harper would react to another baby her age....let's just say...she now has a new boyfriend...sorry Camden!

The first meeting...she would not let him go! Grayson was a little overwhelmed with the amount of PDA she was giving him...she's very forward!
She was going in for the kill....he hesitated at first...
then he gave into her! I love a girl who knows what she wants and asks for it!
Then she decided some snuggling was in order!
and she just wouldn't let go!
don't they make a cute couple!!
Oh finally...here's Xavier playing with their dog Riley!
Harper loved Renee, Lindsey's mom!
Xavier trying to be helpful!!
Playing ball at the end of the evening! She definitely knows the way to a man's heart!

DADDY'S 32nd BIRTHDAY

2010-04-11T21:41:00.001-07:00

It seems like for the past couple of years, Steve has had to work on his birthday...so we bring the birthday celebration to him! Now if you know anything about my husband you know that he HATES unnecessary attention...especially when it's all about him! So what do we do...we make sure he has lots of attention directed at him! I go out of my way to make a big deal out of his birthday and I do my best to embarrass him in front of the "brothas!" He tells me that since he gives and gets so much crap at work, anything I do or say doesn't even phase him! So I just keep trying and one of these days I will get him good!!

This year we showed up at the station(after talking to the brothas and finding out that he had moved stations during the day...thanks for telling me!) for dinner. Of course Steve didn't know we were coming, but I had talked to Dean Shelton and arranged for us to join them for dinner. Xavier wore his fire helmet hat and I made fire helmet cookies along with a ladder truck cookie just for Stevie! I brought ice cream, candles & presents and made sure that we sang Happy Birthday just for him! I don't think he really wanted us there, but Xavier was excited to celebrate his Daddy's birthday, so that is all that matters! Happy Birthday Stevie...he is off next year on his birthday, so I need to start planning something special!! hehe!

644 is his number
"his" ladder truck!

EASTER!

2010-04-11T08:09:00.001-07:00

With my new found love of baking, I decided to try to be creative with the Easter dessert I was bringing to the Neyens Easter potluck. I will admit...I found the idea in a book, but I did alter it to my liking! The Easter Bunny came and brought lots of candy, toys and eggs. Harper was also sporting her new Easter dress that Nana bought her and she was practicing her walking skills!! Yes...Harper took her first steps on March 31st!! It was such a fun day and I think it's safe to say both of my children were on sugar highs the entire day!

Here's my Easter basket cupcakes...

make cookie dough into balls (I made peanut butter) freeze it.
fill the cups 2/3 full...I made dark chocolate cake mix
add the cookie dough (still frozen) into the center of the mix
bake as directed
once cooled, stick the chocolate twizzlers into the cupcakes
I piped green frosting around the sides to make it like green grass, then put a little frosting in the middle so the coconut will stick.
put coconut in a bag, add some green food coloring and a little water and mix
add something on top...I chose peanut m&ms to go with the peanut butter chocolate cupcake
the finished product!! So yummy and fun!
The bunny came!

look at the look on his face...he was so giddy!
she had no clue what was going on!
opening the eggs he found that the bunny brought
she's walking!!
so pretty in her 1st Easter dress!
cracking the eggs on his head that he found at Laurie's house!
and cracking them on Laurie's head!
Harper getting in on the egg action...much to her brothers dismay!
we celebrated Stevie's birthday too.
blowing out the candles
yum...dessert! I think we had more dessert than food!!
Harper is a kissing fool...she gave Grandma kisses
& Papa kisses
a tired Harper
Xavier loves to play the trumpet...and he's pretty good too!

T-BALL

2010-04-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

We signed Xavier up for t-ball this year because he LOVES baseball! The team is for 3-5 year olds. The first 2 times we were suppose to have practice it got cancelled due to weather, so Xavier was pretty bummed. When we finally went to practice it was freezing cold! There are 10 kids on his team and there is even another boy named Xavier! Xavier made friends with him right away and they were partners playing catch! We bought Xavier a left handed mitt because he bats left and sometimes throws left, but he definitely throws right handed, so we got him a new mitt...he still bats left! He insists on wearing his sunglasses all the time so we told him that the baseball players wear them on their hat! We can't wait for games to start!! Pure entertainment!

this was his NO, don't take my picture face
playing catch with the other Xavier

I love this picture! The coach would put the ball on the tee and before he could get out of the way Xavier would swing!

WHILE THE PARENTS ARE AWAY....

2010-04-10T09:40:00.000-07:00

THE CHILDREN WILL PLAY!

Steve and I took our first vacation by ourselves in two years! I had won a travel voucher at work a year ago while I was pregnant for $1500 and we had to book a trip by January, so we chose a quick trip to VEGAS! Since we had $1500 to spend and it's pretty cheap to stay in Vegas we flew out of Bellingham and stayed at the Bellagio for 3 nights. The only reason we were able to do this is because Steve's sisters came up and watched our kids and our dog! So did our kids miss us while we were gone? Of course NOT! Here's why...

They played on the play set...

They took a bath together in pink water.......
they colored Easter Eggs....

they ate spaghetti....with sunglasses on.....
and she ate spaghetti.....

and more spaghetti....

They played the trumpet...with sunglasses on...

One stylin' chick!

Here's what the parents did...

The gardens inside Bellagio

infront of Serendipity's at Ceasar's Palace

Serendipity's famous frozen hot chocolate! Sooo Yummy!
Any time I go to Vegas I HAVE to go see the lions at MGM. I have probably held one of these lions when there were a cub. I just love watching them...so fascinating, but this was the first time I have seen a male lion!

Steve saw Sponge Bob and just had to take a picture with him for Xavier!

A FUN FILLED DAY

2010-04-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

Awhile back...yes awhile back since I am overdue on blogging....March 20th or something like that, we had a fun day down in Everett. First of all we looked out our window at our house and there was a hot air balloon flying over!

Next we ventured down to my Mom's house and took the kids to the Children's Museum in Everett. This museum is THE BEST!! It is like 5 stories of fun! We took our lunch there and had a little picnic and then played on everything imaginable!

After the Children's Museum, we met up with my cousin Erin for her daughter Amber's birthday dinner at Olive Garden! YUM! Then after Olive Garden we went over to the mall to do a little shopping at Old Navy and thanks to my cousin Jared, we had a friends and family discount card!! Woohoo...love getting the deals!

It was such a fun day and the kids went to bed early!

What a beautiful day for a balloon ride!
Right by our house
The Elvis lip on the airplane
Nana and Miss Harper
The huge train set!
ready...set...
GO!

going down the slide for the first time by herself!

we tried to get them to go down the slide together, but they ended up just crashing into each other at the bottom!
Future firefighter?
shooting the water guns
digging for dinosaurs
sliding
Harper with Erin at Olive Garden have a great time!

ST. PATRICK'S DAY

2010-04-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

We aren't Irish, but we do enjoy a good beer and the color green and rainbows and pots of gold! We also enjoy wearing green on St. Patrick's day so that we don't get pinched. Oh and the best part of St. Patrick's Day...corned beef and cabbage! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!

Checking out her rainbow tights!

My little leprechaun!

COOKIES, SWAPP NIGHT & BAKING

2010-03-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to my friend Jenny's cookie class to learn how to make and decorate beautiful cookies! Jenny has her own business, Jenny Cookies, and needless to say they are the best! So we ventured down to Lake Stevens and now I am addicted to making cookies, cupcakes, whatever I can bake! I even went to Michael's and bought a bunch of cookie/cake decorating stuff!

On Friday night we had the Swapp's over for dinner and a little Husky basketball, but it ended up that we tried to distract the kids so that Kelsey and I could make cookies and practice our decorating skills!! Xavier LOVES playing with Ty...he says he is his best friend!

On Saturday Steve had to work so I decided to try my hand at mini cupcakes! I made white cupcakes and did a lemon frosting...yummy! I am now addicted to making mini cupcakes! What have I gotten myself into! I am destined to gain 10lbs in no time! Good thing I started another Quest yesterday!

Cookie class!
The finished master pieces
Harper checking out Tatum
Kelsey & Harper
The Wii...a perfect distraction for our boys!
Mario Cart Racing!
writing their letters
Our practice run!
The ice cream cone I made for Kelsey
The tulip Kelsey made for me
The mini lemon cupcakes...do they look yummy?...
She seems to think so!!
Want some of mine?

THE KIDDOS

2010-03-13T18:07:00.000-08:00

I haven't been very good about posting just plain ole pics of the kids and talking about what they are doing now...so here it goes(hopefully I can remember everything)!

XAVIER

As he approaches 3.5 on April 29th he is doing the following:

Weighs 40 pounds(with his clothes and shoes)

Is about 42 inches (3'6")

Is becoming a pro at Mario Cart on the Wii

LOVES driving his gator on the track that Steve made him in the field

Still doesn't like his sister

Loves to be my little helper when cooking or baking

Is fully potty trained(except for the occasional mishap in the middle of the night)

Is kind of a picky eater, but his favorites are:

- OATMEAL(for every meal)

-Mac & cheese

-cookies

-cupcakes

-candy

-apples

-oranges

-peaches

-tomato soup

-ravioli

-spaghetti

-meatballs

He loves to race anything and everything

He has a HUGE collection of CARS from the movie CARS

He tells me that his best friends are Ty, Quinn, Mason & Landon

He loves to sing and hold dance parties

He loves playing baseball and right now he throws right and bats left

He can hit the ball off a pitch pretty good!

We just signed him up for Tee Ball

And maybe the most important thing of all that Xavier is doing...after 3 years 4 months and 6 days, on March 7th, Xavier finally is sleeping in his own bed!!!

playing the piano...I think he is pretty musical!
dressing himself...his pants are on inside out and backwards
making green eggs and ham
rockin' out with the guitar
his mad face
he got a hold of Steve's shaver and shaved his face like Daddy and then he took a nice chunk out of his hair!

LITTLE MISS HARPER

We missed Harper's 9 month check up so this is what she is doing:

She weighs about 18.5 lbs(my little peanut)

I have no idea how long she is

She says:

Mama

Dadda

Doggie

claps

Waves hi and bye

signs milk & more

blows kisses

gives HI-5

plays patty cake

she finally crawls the "right" way

She will pull herself up on things and walk around them

Her latest trick is to stand up in the middle of the room and sometimes she will clap, but she hasn't taken any steps yet...if she is going to move she will drop down and crawl!

She is eating EVERYTHING!! Her favorite at the moment is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches(I know...peanut butter before she is 1, but she's the second...and she's not allergic)!

She has her two bottom teeth and her two top teeth

She LOVES her brother and his toys!

She loves to dance and she will do it on command (Mama's girl)

She will turn 1 on May 2nd and it makes me sad to know that she is getting older so quickly.

She falls asleep in her high chair...just like her brother did!
My little eater
This is her happy face...
This is her mad face!
Bath time...she's not the biggest fan, but I guess I caught her on a good day!

10 months old/young

Pretty in Pink!

NEYENS FAMILY FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS

2010-03-13T17:25:00.001-08:00

The Neyens family gets together every few months to celebrate the birthdays that have either gone by or are about to happen around that time. In February however we have 6 birthdays that we celebrate! It is crazy how many of us were born in February! It's always a lot of food, a lot of fun and well, you'll see!

Harper sporting Auntie's Olympic hat

USA was playing CANADA in the GOLD medal men's hockey game, so I made gold medal cookies for everyone. The game was soooo intense! It went into "overtime" (I don't know hockey lingo, so I think they call it overtime) at the last second, so I decided it was a good idea to hand out the gold medal cookies I made for everyone!!
DJ says, "Team USA is number 1!"
Lindsey can taste the GOLD
I think the GOLD is as good as ours...and then...we lost. Boo and everyone blamed it on me handing out the gold medal cookies...whatever!
Laurie decided to make play dough with Xavier!
Ok...Xavier had a great idea to take off his little wheels(training wheels). So instead of tell him no, we said OK!! This is how it went!
The first fall...he didn't even make it out of the drive-way!
Let's try again!
Here we go....
He kept falling with Steve helping so naturally he thought it was all Steve's fault, so Lindsey & Jared gave it a try...
This is his pouting face after he couldn't get the bike to "work!"
So we put the wheels back on and we all went for a walk!
She finally crashed with Daddy...
Hard...
Xavier helping Big Poppa open his birthday presents!
Harper & Papa
The group in our Olympic Gear! The only one who didn't really go was Steve's Dad & Jared who is in the window giving us a thumbs down because he was bitter that we didn't invite him! Again...Xavier was obsessed with this umbrella!
Twins!

THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS

2010-02-28T19:26:00.000-08:00

On February 27th, one day before the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver B.C., we made our once in a lifetime trip up to experience the Olympic Ambiance! Since Vancouver is only an hour and a half away from our house, I felt like if we didn't take the time to go up there during the Olympics, then I would be missing out! When else will the Olympics be this close? So we started our trip at 7:30am with 8 people in our car, Me, Steve, Rhona, Erin, Xavier, Harper, DJ & Lindsey. We parked in Surrey BC and took the SkyTrain into Vancouver. Vancouver has done an amazing job with their SkyTrain transportation system. There are 3 lines that go all over the Vancouver area, so you don't have to drive into the city! We went to the waterfront to see the torch and the rings, we went to Robson St. and walked down through all of the Olympic happenings, we went to the O Zone in a rain storm, we went to Granville Island where they have a Public Market (indoors) that puts Pike Place Market to shame, we braved the LARGE Hudson Bay Company Store with all of the official Olympic merchandise and we ate lunch at the largest restaurant in Vancouver, Steamworks Brewery! It was such an amazing 15 hour adventure and at the end of the day we even had to pull over at the USA Border because our lanes computer system went down right when we pulled up...we still blame it on Lindsey, our Persian cousin with dark skin, dark hair and a passport that stills has Azarpay as her last name! We are for sure going to go back and visit soon!

Where it all started...on the SkyTrain!
Lindsey & DJ

HEEYY...dancing in the street!
in front of something!
paper lanterns hanging in downtown made by children
Xavier was stopping people who were walking by him....kind of like red light, green light!

The Neyens bobsled team!
The zip liners coming down across the street
Lindsey doing a grab...or is she trying to stay on?!
Yeah doing some jibbin and bonkin on the snowboard! Watch out Shawn White!
Walking down Robson St.
Here Mom, want a bite of my cheerio?
Way down at the bottom of the street we spotted the torch...so we started walking towards it!

Family torch photo...minus the sleeping Harper
Harper's picture in front of the torch since she was sleeping...I don't know what Xavier is doing!
The rings out on the barge. They would have been beautiful all lit up at night
AAAHHH...finally got close to the torch...just wish there weren't fences around it!
This is the tent you always see in the background when the reporters are reporting live from the Olympics!
Our view from Steamworks Brewery
Getting all bundled up for our walk in the rain
After lunch...so ready for a nap...but he actually never took one!
The Hudson Bay Company Building! HUGE
Walking...Xavier was obsessed with the UMBRELLA!
The side of a building in downtown Vancouver
CUTE! Harper and Grandma!
I know it looks like their engagement picture, but Lindsey wanted to show off the sleeve of her shirt!
On the street car on our way to Granville Island
Waiting...on the street car
Granville Island...Home of the most amazing Public Market!
Huge TV screens were all around Vancouver so you could watch that days events
The O Zone in Richmond
We finally made it to the Holland House, but the line was so long to get in, even the cop told us that the people were waiting there for no reason...they weren't getting in....so Rhona had to settle for a picture in front of it!
Erin in front of the Holland House
Steve was making his mommy happy by posing in front of the Holland House!
The O Zone Stage
The busy street at night in downtown Vancouver
The end of a long day...he finally crashed

VALENTINE'S DAY!

2010-02-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

I first must mention that my husband does not celebrate Valentine's Day. He has always told me that he loves me every day of the year not just one day! So since Steve had to work on Valentine's Day, we decided to have my mom and Tim up for a lunch of heart shaped pizzas! I have the best kids cook book and it has all the holidays with fun recipes to make with the kiddos! I have been wanting to make the homemade heart pizzas every Valentine's Day, so this year we finally did it! Basically you just buy the can biscuits and make them into a heart then add your own toppings! Poof...heart shaped pizzas! It was such a nice day out too and the geese were visiting us really close to the house, so Nana and Xavier got a good look! The night ended with me and the kids watching a movie together and going to bed late while watching the Olympics. It was a great Valentine's Day.

The best picture of the bib sent by Aunt Linda...eyes closed and all!

Cheese Mom!
Photo shoot attempt number 1,234...
I told him to give her a kiss...so it looks like he was going to and then....
This happened...
Then this...
So we settled for some solo shots of the one child who sits still!
Isn't her heart outfit CUTE!
LOVE the fur hood with your blue eyes!!
Just lounging around
The heart pizzas...getting them ready for the toppings
Papa Tim entertaining Harper while we did pizza stuff
putting on our toppings
Nana doing her and Papa Tim's toppings
the finished project...
YUMMY!
Nana brought Harper a Sally pillow and Xavier a Mater Pillow
I love how she is sitting playing with her dolly and stroller
Heart outfit number two!
HEART BREAKER

My Valentines
Checking out the geese and swans
A cute picture of Harper and Ruby's BUTT!
Wanting to go outside with Nana and Xavier

THE QUEST

2010-02-14T08:59:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of this year I began a 5 week workout program called The Quest, The Resolution Solution! The program was being put on by Steve's cousin Jenny who owns her own personal training business called Priority Health & Fitness. Every week of the Quest you focus on adding something new to your diet & exercising. For example: week 1 = water, week 2 = veggies, week 3 = fruit, week 4 = fiber, week 5 = smart carbs. You get points for meeting these goals each week and then you also get points for doing cardio, strength training and new exercises! I love this program because it is a challenge and it holds you accountable. I also like it because it just focuses on the important parts of weight loss and physical fitness instead of being a crash diet! One of the other parts of this Quest was the 50 miles in 5 weeks. Jenny put out the challenge of running 50 mile in 5 weeks. I didn't make the 50 miles, but I did do 34! One of my goals that came from the Quest was to run one 5k race a month. I did the Nookachamps race in January and got 34:00. Yesterday to end the Quest we ran the 2 for the road race. You were suppose to run with a partner holding a piece of string in between you and finish together. Steve and I ran the race together and I beat my time by 5 minutes! We got 28:56! Steve and I have tried to run with the kids every night that we can! So I am going to keep it up and I look forward to the next Quest starting soon!

Before the race striking our running pose!
The beginning of the race...here we go!
Rhona and her sister Linda! Rhona was my Quest partner...we rocked!
Everyone finished! Go Questers!

29 AND HOLDING?!

2010-02-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok, I will admit it...this year I turned 31!! I actually had a GREAT birthday! A couple days before my birthday we took the kids to a Disney show at Comcast Arena! It was so much fun and my mom and Xavier got pulled up on stage to do some fancy dancing! We then went to our favorite mexican restaurant, La Cuesta and did birthday dinner and dessert, oh and of course presents! I got a Wii and a Wii Fit! On my actual birthday I went to work and when I got home Xavier greeted me at the door and said, "mommy, mommy come see your birthday present!" He took me into the laundry room and him and Steve had made me a cake, decorated it and bought me a big princess balloon that sings! It was suppose to be a surprise, but Xavier was sooo excited to show me! Steve made me an amazing salmon dinner, we ate cake and then we all went in the hot tub...minus Harper of course! Steve's sister Erin's birthday is Feb. 11th, so we also had Steve's family over to celebrate on the weekend and it was 60 degrees outside! We had a light lunch & ate brownie sundaes outside! What a great birthday!

Happy Birthday to me!
Why doesn't Xavier look too excited in this picture?? Because he is sitting by his sister!
Steve had the camera on the wrong setting...
Xavier was singing Happy Birthday to me!
Blowing out the candles
Look at the beautiful cake the boys made me! There was a line in the frosting at the bottom of the cake from where Xavier had a little taste while Steve was frosting it!
My singing princess balloon!
I love the polka dot dress!

Grandma & Xavier
This didn't go over too well with a certain brother of hers
9 candles on the left for Erin and 1 on the right for me...now pretend there is a 3 in front of them!
Grandma, Grandpa & Harper
Whip cream squirted in the mouth is a daily occurance at our house!
Xavier loves to sing happy birthday to anyone and everyone even if it's not your birthday and he loves to pretend to blow out candles on every type of food dish!

Relaxing with Daddy in the nice sun!
Yes, the umbrella was out, the sunglasses were on and we were sweating!
Ruby & LuLu fighting over the toy...Ruby would swing it around and lift LuLu off the ground!
First experience with grass!
Standing with Auntie
Xavier was fascinated with the HUGE worm!

BEST FRIENDS!

2010-02-13T15:26:00.000-08:00

My best friend and old roomie from college, Amanda, AKA Mitz & sometimes LaManda, had her baby Camden on the same day as I had Harper. Now keep in mind please that she was due a month AFTER me!! We ended up having our babes an hour and 20 minutes apart! The first time Harper and Camden met was when they were a month old. 8 months later the two meet again! I think they are destined to be best friends! Amanda also has a 3 year old, Steele, who is 3 months older than Xavier! They have played together many times, but this time they PLAYED & PLAYED & PLAYED! It was AWESOME to say the least! They went outside and rode on the gator and fixed the gator and played on the play set for 3 hours!! I could only get 1 picture of them because they were all over the place and wouldn't stand still! Later in the day we met up with Hannah and her kids and went to the Children's Museum! It was so great having the Rico's visit...please come back SOON!

Not too sure of each other at first....
Ok, one is happy the other...not so much...

Much better!
breakfast time!
on the phone...surprise surprise!
STANDING!
Going in for the hug?
Ok maybe just a nice pat on the back
both of them turned around watching cartoons!
Sweet face #1
Sweet face #2
Running! The only picture I could get of the two of them outside!
Steele LOVES Harper
If Mitz had a girl this is what she would look like!
Amanda and I went for a run with the babes in the stroller. Harper had two snow suits, so she let Camden borrow one so he would be warm! I hope he won't be scarred for life.
Mitz and Harper
Hannah! She is Mitz' best friend since they were little and she has 2 kids too!
Xavier at the children's museum driving the truck
wrestling with Ricky

Steele & Xavier in the sand box!

WATERBABIES!

2010-01-23T12:37:00.003-08:00

When Xavier turned 8 months old we took him to his first Waterbabies class at Riverside Health Club! He LOVED the water and he still does! So I finally had a Saturday that Steve wasn't working and we didn't have any plans, so I decided to take Harper to her first Waterbabies class! I was a little worried that she wouldn't like it since she hasn't been liking baths in the big tub lately. Luckily as soon as we got in the pool she LOVED it too! I hope both of my kids will grow up to be great swimmers!

Looking cute in her suit!

JUST THE KIDS...

2010-01-23T12:37:00.001-08:00

We got home one night and Xavier had been sleeping in the car, so when we walked in I told him he could go sleep on the couch. This is how I found him a minute later! He didn't quit make it on to the couch and fell back asleep like this!

Then he woke up, but didn't make it past the ottoman!

Having fun in the bath...
Not having fun in the bath...
Getting so big :-(

Sporting her cute headband! It didn't stay on long!

AMAZING INVENTION

2010-01-23T12:36:00.003-08:00

We LOVE pancakes in our house...well Xavier and I do and I'm sure Harper will too! I found this amazing new contraption! You just put the pancake batter in and squeeze it out into any shape/letter/anything you want!! LOVE IT!! Pancake Pen...genius!

We made an S for Steve and an H for Harper! We ate the X and the L!!

NEW YEARS DAY! 2010

2010-01-23T12:36:00.001-08:00

Steve once again had to work New Year's Eve, so I kissed two people that night...Xavier & Harper. Granted, they were both asleep at midnight, but I did stay up to see the Space Needle Fireworks and give my two babes kisses! On New Year's Day we went to Dave & Laurie's house to celebrate Neyens birthdays from November to December! It was a fun day of food and games!

Cheese to 2010!
Lindsey & Xavier having a wrestle session!

Harper in her sweater that EEE made for her! So soft and snuggly

GG's Necklace is a great teething toy
DJ & Lindsey's new puppy...Riley! SOOO CUTE!!
Lindsey loving on Harper!
Sad Face...
Mad Face...
HAPPY FACE!!

A Pianist in the making
hhmm what is this I'm about to eat?? APPLE!!!
Here...I will share my apple!! Want some??
YUMMY!

THE LAST 2 CHRISTMAS' OF 2009!

2010-01-23T12:34:00.002-08:00

We usually celebrate Christmas with my mom and Tim on Christmas Eve, but since Steve had to work this year we did it the day after Christmas!

Merry Christmas Papa Tim!

opening all his Leapster stuff!
2 Meer Cats, one for each of the kids! Thanks Auntie Mandy & Uncle Will!

Crashed again! Christmas is great for naps!

The next day we went to our last Christmas! We celebrated with Steve's Mom's side of the family.
Cute girls!
Harper's first taste of an orange!
Big girl
Frog Ball
getting ready to start her army crawl!
Finally the end...very tired!

CHRISTMAS DAY!

2010-01-23T12:34:00.001-08:00

Christmas morning was so much fun! We started at our house opening presents and Steve got home just in time to see what Santa brought! We ate a small breakfast, got ready and headed up to Nooksack for the Neyens Christmas!

Santa Came!

Cool...a cars race track!
MY BIG SHERIFF! The one and only thing he wanted from Santa!

Daddy got home from work!
Stocking time!
Daddy's turn to open presents
Harper loves her music table that Santa brought her!
wearing his new red M & M hat!
helping his sister open her presents...how nice!
5 Little Monkeys game from Aunt Linda
DOC HUDSON
CARS Snuggie!
the babes helping mommy open her gift from Daddy
Whew all done opening presents at our house!
Now time for a quick nap before heading off to Grandma & Grandpa's in Nooksack.
Sweet sleeping baby!
First stop...Papa's lap!
new toys!

EEE
Auntie playing in the hall with Xavier!
Big Poppa
Checking each other out!
Big Poppa's two great grandkids!
Here Big Poppa...eat my remote!
Ooh...nice shave
DJ & Harper
Grandma & Harper
Lovin' on the new football she got!

Xavier showing Papa his new weapons
Crashed...
Xavier helping Big Poppa open his CANDY!! Of course he would be right there!!

Xavier opening his fishing pole

Papa helping Xavier "fix" the car....like Handy Manny!

finally out...the end of a long day!
snuggling with Papa...

CHRISTMAS EVE

2010-01-18T08:45:00.000-08:00

Steve worked this year on Christmas Eve. We had lots to do to get ready for Santa!

Making sugar cookies for Santa
Harper did so good playing while we made cookies!
Some of the finished products....yummy!
Nana and Papa Tim came by for a Christmas Eve visit
cute!
Nana and the kids matched!

Papa Tim, Harper & Xavier
Papa Tim playing with Harper
Christmas jammies with the butt flap!

Opening the last door on the advent calendar

Picking the cookie for Santa and putting out the carrot for Rudolph!
WOW...Santa came!

HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES 2009

2010-01-18T08:08:00.000-08:00

We had so much going on in the month of December! We tried to pack it full of fun holiday activities since Xavier is at the age where he finally enjoys everything about Christmas! Since it was Harper's first Christmas and she really has no clue what is going on....she was mostly just along for the ride!

We decided to get a live Christmas tree this year and we are going to start planting them around our property. So we ventured to Well's Nursery to find the "perfect" tree!
We found it!
Now we had to get it in the house! This was quite the project! We had to load it into the tractor bucket, drive it around to the back porch where Steve's dad put it on a dolly and then we had to wheel it into the house!

Almost in...
The tree made it into the house...now time for decorating!
I am not a big fan of decorating Christmas trees! I could really just have lights on it and be totally content, but Xavier enjoyed putting on the ornaments. Next year maybe we will string popcorn...

The first snow!!
Decorating for Christmas! Harper loved the tree skirt and I think she looks good in red!

Xavier playing Peek - A - Boo with her
long days at home before Christmas = lots of playing....
Xavier playing frogger!
The best gift ever!
The second best gift ever!
Since Steve worked on the 24th, we ventured to the Lights of Christmas in Warm Beach on the 23rd. It was FREEZING...but it was beautiful! After we walked around we ate at Jimmy's Pizza and Pasta in Stanwood....yummy!
Frosty, Daddy and a confused Harper!

Gingerbread Mommy and Son!
Feeding the animals at the petting zoo
Harper in front of the tree with the presents!
Smile!
I let him open a gift he got from Kim & Geoff Newton early...sshh...don't tell!
I know...I know...I am so behind on blogging! Here is my attempt to catch up and stay caught up!

HOLIDAY CHEER!

2009-12-12T06:16:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Christmas! Come to think of it...I don't think there is a holiday that I don't love! I love the decorating and I love the lights and I love the cold and I love the smell of cookies and I love the hustle and bustle of the shoppers....I LOVE IT ALL! I also love matching jammies and fancy Christmas outfits and of course Santa!! There is this website that Steve's sister Megan found called www.portablenorthpole.tv You put in some information about your child and a video of Santa will be emailed to you and Santa is talking to your child! It really is amazing and I don't think my description does it justice! Xavier just stood there in awe! We watched it about 3 times! So back to other things. I decided one night to get the kids dressed in their Christmas outfits and try to take some pictures! It really wasn't happening, so we decided to take them to see Santa! That worked out a little better! Xavier has come a long way since he was one and didn't like Santa at all. Now he loves to see Santa and Harper hasn't figured it out yet...next year the picture will probably be a little different! Oh and I decided to get the kids matching jammies this year! I wanted to do a family jammies purchase, but can you really see Steve wearing matching jammies...no, me neither!

This is how it all started....
getting closer to a good one...
one looks good and the other...was getting a little annoyed..
HEY....
Ok..solo with the Santa hat...finally a smile!
I love the shifty eyes!
LOL...
Ok...get me outa here!
finally...a cute one of Harper...why are all the cute ones by themselves??

The back of the matching jammies! The flaps even flip down!

The Christmas outfit and Ruby's butt!
I told him to strike a pose and this is what I got!
Harper was not cooperating!
Xavier was in the middle of a CHEESE...and Harper was, well....
FUSSY!!! Again...the look from Xavier!
So Cute...
The final product...finally!

UPDATED

2009-11-29T09:29:00.001-08:00

Ok Ok....the blog is finally updated! I think I just posted 5 new posts! Thank you Tracey for the reminder to update my blog!!!

FOOTBALL

2009-11-29T09:16:00.000-08:00

Xavier absolutely loves football right now. We will play catch in the house, tackle, make touchdowns, the works! This year we took him to his first football game! Steve's high school, Nooksack Valley, was having a great season. We went to watch them at King's High School and let's just say the pictures prove how COLD it was! Cold is actually the wrong word to use...FREEZING is more like it! Nooksack ended up coming from behind and winning so it was on to the Tacoma Dome for the Semi-Finals! We went down to the Tacoma Dome and since it was indoors we were able to wear some purple and black to support the Pioneers! They lost, but what an experience to go watch football in the Tacoma Dome, it was really cool!

First game at King's. Notice I took this picture in the car, because at half time Harper was hungry so we went and sat in the car to get warm and have a little snack! Xavier has nicknamed Harper "BOO" after this game because he thinks she looked like Boo from Monsters Inc.
Harper and Mommy in our FREEZING gear!
Tacome Dome game! Much warmer! Harper in her purple and black...Steve wouldn't wear his purple and black!!
Auntie E, Xavier and Papa
The field...very cool
Xavier in Steve's practice jersey and a random Nooksack hat we found!

GO PIONEERS!

TURKEY DAY!

2009-11-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is so much more than just turkey. This year we spent Thanksgiving with Steve's family. We had a good time eating lots of food, playing games and just hanging out!

I am so thankful for so many things, but family is the number one. I have two amazing families that are so supportive and loving. I am so thankful that both families show so much love to our children. They are truly the best!

Jared and Xavier were the first one's in line to get food!
Harper is ready for her first Thanksgiving Day meal!
Grayson and Harper had matching bibs! At first it was all so innocent...
...and then Harper found his binky!
She had him on a binky leash!

I love this picture...such attitude in the pose, pouty lips and smeyes...America's Next Top Model Baby Edition here we come!
SPOON!

HARPER IS 6 MONTHS!

2009-11-29T08:52:00.000-08:00

My baby girl is now 6 months old. I feel like 6 months is such a milestone for some reason! Tear. She is getting so big, well length wise! Here are some of the things she is doing.

-she has found her voice...she babbles all the time and is LOUD according to her brother!

-she can sit up for a good while before she falls over

-she loves tummy time, her jump-a-roo and her exersaucer

-she waves

-she only takes 30 minute cat naps if she is laying anywhere besides on someone...otherwise she will sleep 2 hours.

-she arches her back like she is going to do a back bend and she thinks it is a fun game!

-she loves to grab things such as any and all of Xavier's toys, especially his football. Her spoons, remote, pens, straws, basically anything and everything.

-She loves to eat cereal, apples, pears and sweet potatoes. Well that's all we've given her so far, but I think she will love to eat anything!

STATS

-weight: 16lbs 1oz (50%)

-height: 27inches (90%)

-head: BIG! She is at the top of the curve for her head!

Her first high heels, courtesy of my friend Kim Newton!! So stylish!

DISNEY ON ICE!!!

2009-11-29T08:43:00.001-08:00

For Xavier's birthday, my mom and Tim got him tickets to Disney on ice!! Our seats were FABULOUS! We were in the front row right on the corner where all the characters came! They would all smile and wave right at Xavier, it was amazing! We all had the best time! Of course my mom forgot her camera and mine died right after the show started!

Thanks Nana & Papa Tim!

Front row seats..right on the ice!
I love this picture...Harper is eyeing Xavier's toy and Xavier is giving me the, "mom...you are wearing my hat and it looks silly on you..." look!
LIGHTNING MCQUEEN!!
The Lion King
Rafiki the monkey!

That's it....how could the mamarazzi forget to charge the camera!!

NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS

2009-11-29T08:17:00.001-08:00

November was full of birthday parties!

NOVEMBER 8TH-AUNTIE MEGAN

We hosted a spaghetti dinner made by Steve for Auntie Megan's birthday. There was lots of entertainment including a dance party, football game and slumber party!

Auntie and her favorite girl Harper
Xavier snuck in and blew out the candles before Auntie could....
...so we tried it again!!
Harper found a new toy that she LOVES...the only problem was, it was her brothers football and he wasn't going to let her have anything to do with it! Harper was laughing at the fact that Xavier was trying so hard to get his football back.
Slumber party with the Aunties...Xavier was like, "no pictures please!"
Ruby found a snuggle buddy!

NOVEMBER 18TH: NANA

Next it was Nana's birthday. We took her out to dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ in Everett.
Again...Xavier loves to blow out anyone's candles on THEIR birthday!
Helping Nana open her gifts

Nana and Harper...sooo cute!
Harper reaching for Papa Tim's glasses
The "cheese" face...
Cute!

NOVEMBER 21st: TY SWAPP

Ty turned 3 on the 21st and Xavier and I went to his birthday party! It was so much fun because of course Ty likes CARS too, so the races were on!!
Xavier loves to wrestle with Ty's cousin Kaeden. I think they were playing tackle football!
Xavier has found a new friend in the last month...Ty's Papa...Mr. Savage! He is Xavier's new jungle gym!
This is my friend Nicole's daughter Grace...she is sooo funny...just like her mommy!
The boys racing the cars

What a fun month of birthdays!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2009-11-01T07:22:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Halloween!! It is the second most celebrated holiday in the U.S.A.! At the beginning of the week we carved pumpkins with Steve's sisters. The only thing I like about carving pumpkins is getting the guts out! Xavier did not want to stick his hands in the guts...he wanted to use the knife! Half way through the week I didn't think we were going to get a Halloween. Xavier and Steve were sick all week. Come Halloween day, Xavier's fever got low enough to venture out to downtown Mount Vernon to go trick or treating. Steve was working for the 3rd Halloween in a row, so the Aunties came over and we headed downtown. After we collected all of our candy we went to a costume contest at the Lincoln Theater and then we met up with Steve's parents at Bob's for dinner. It was a great Halloween that ended with Xavier crashed on the couch.

Steve doesn't like to carve pumpkins, but he's doing a good job!

Instead of using the knife, we let Xavier color one and put stickers on it!
My little flower!
She loved her costume...probably because it is kind of like her jammies!
I added the skirt!

The girls!
Downtown ready to collect the CANDY!!

Holy line! Tons of people! I didn't really think it would be this crowded!
A fake tiger...
A real tiger...???
Trick or Treat
The family photo

Harper's trick or treating carriage!
Snow White and her little flower!
Mr. Incredible...well his mask!

Cutest flower EVER!
This is someones costume!! Xavier was scared because he has sharp teeth!
I was trying to get a picture of them together....but it wasn't working too well!
The Auntie's!
Megan's dog Lulu!! HILARIOUS!!
Costume change...crabby!
Both of them slept through the dinner at Bob's!
Crashed on the couch at home
Grandpa lighting the pumpkins
All lit....spooky!!
The end of the night....creepy moon on Halloween!

MY BABY IS 3

2009-10-29T15:51:00.001-07:00

3 Years ago today I was in labor with my first baby Xavier! I LOVE having a boy and a 3 year old boy is so much fun! Here is what Xavier is into as a 3 year old.

-CARS (the Disney movie)

-Tractors

-Mr. Incredible(his Halloween costume)

-movies(any and all)

-puzzles

-wrestling with Daddy

-snuggling with Mommy

-ignoring his sister

-CANDY

-Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets with ketchup

-oatmeal

-He doesn't like ice cream

-His favorite sayings are, "are you happy?" & "it's just a little accident!"

-He loves to dance(especially to the song Boom Boom Boom by Blackeyed Peas)

-pizza

-trains

-firetrucks

-fixing broken tires

oh and so much more!!

He weighs 36lbs and is 40.5 inches tall

Unfortunately on his birthday he has the flu :-( When I kept telling him that it was his birthday he would tell me NO and remind me that he just had his birthday(referring to his party last weekend!)

We love Xavier so much and couldn't imagine life without him!

A "CARS" BIRTHDAY PARTY

2009-10-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

Today we had Xavier's 3rd birthday party! This was a big event in the making! Ever since we got back from Disneyland, he knew he wanted a Lightning McQueen party. Thank goodness Party City has a ton of Cars party stuff! I decided this year I was going to try to make a special cake for Xavier since I am addicted to the Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss shows! So I bought the Lightning McQueen cake set! Xavier and I had made the cake and cupcakes the night before so on Sunday morning we got up early to start decorating! We decorated the whole house with Cars stuff! We brought out all of his pillows and blankets that are Cars and then we put up all of the additional decor we had bought! I then began to decorate the Lightning McQueen cake! It only took me 2 HOURS!! Xavier was right by me the entire time talking to me about what I was doing! I think for my first cake it turned out pretty good and Xavier loved it so that's all that matters! The party was fun and Xavier got a ton of gifts! With no nap the entire day, he had a little bit of birthday let down and he is now in our bed watching Leap Frog Word Factory...but I doubt he is watching it...he is probably fast asleep!

After 2 Hours it's almost done!

The finished product!

CARS!

Another one of her new tricks...sitting up for short periods of time!

guests...
more guests
Having fun at the party!
Nana & Harper
Mommy & Daughter in our puffy vests!
Auntie Megan, GG & Harper
showing his friends his presents
A tractor from Papa
Black & Decker tools from Auntie Erin (EEE)
He was pretty good at opening the cards before the presents
He would try to read me the card while I was reading it to him!
Grandma Mary got Harper a pink pig, so Xavier went to give it to her!
A Moose from Grandma Mary

The set up
The cake again...I didn't want to cut into it....

Xavier & Quinn
Ty, Xavier & Quinn lining up the cars for a race

TWO TEETH, SOME CEREAL & A LITTLE WAVE

2009-10-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

I have suspected that Harper was getting teeth since she has been chewing on EVERYTHING! Last weekend Steve's sister Erin checked on Saturday October 17th and she didn't have a tooth. Then on Sunday October 18th, Steve's mom checked and there it was!! It's a sharp little bugger too...I should KNOW...anyways then on October 23rd I checked again and there was the second tooth! They are both on the bottom, if you are looking at her the left one came in first and then the right one! She doesn't drool much like Xavier did, but she loves her chew toys! On October 18th I also decided to try some ice cereal with Harper! Actually Steve had given her some earlier in the week and I was bummed because I wanted to give it to her first and take pictures! She loves holding onto the spoon, so I let her experiment with doing it herself! She made a fabulous mess and I got some cute pics! She is also doing a little wave when people wave at her. I really don't think she knows what she is doing, but it's fun to pretend! We also borrowed Kelsey's/Ty and Tatum's jumparoo since ours was turned into a rat nest! Harper LOVES it...she is squealing in it right now as I type! I use to think Xavier was going to jump right out of his jumparoo and Harper is the same way!!

Can you see my teeth?
Yum cereal!

What a MESS!!
Jump-jump-jumparoo!

PUMPKIN PATCH

2009-10-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

We got a quick invite to meet The Swapp's at Schuh Farms! Steve was working so I packed up the kids really quick like, got in the car and drove the 5 minutes down the road! The boys had such a good time! They rode in the train, played with the balloons, pet the animals and looked at the pumpkins. It was a beautiful cold sunny fall day! We never buy pumpkins at the pumpkin patch because we grow our own, but we will have to start making it a tradition to go every year!

The Neyens Family pumpkin patch
Schuh Farms with the Swapp's
Tatum in the train...she rode it like 4 times!
Me and Miss Harper
Whenever Xavier sees an X he says, "that's my name!"
Of course they found a tractor!
Petting the donkey
The balloon house
Ty and X on the train
Xavier kept calling these skeletons pirates!

NEYENS FAMILY REUNION

2009-10-14T07:43:00.001-07:00

We went to the Neyens family reunion in Lynden at the end of September. The park that the reunion was at was fantastic! The new playground was built by the community and hands down is the best! It was fun meeting Neyens family members that I have never met before! We ate a good potluck lunch, played games and had a brief history lesson given by Anton! We then took the kids down to the playground and let Xavier go! The day was filled with sun and fun!

Who do I belong to?
Anton giving the history lesson

Dave-Steve-Stevie Neyens
Xavier loved this swing...he was on it for at least 35 minutes!
X is for Xavier

THE TEEPLE CLAN

2009-10-13T03:40:00.001-07:00

We invited over our friends the Teeples for pizza, huskies and play time. Travis and LeAnne had a baby 2 months after we had Harper, her name is Thalia. I don't know if I am spelling that right so I apologize! They also have Taylor who is 4 and Tesslynn who is 2. They are busy, like us, so it is often hard to see them and they also live in Puyallup. Steve and I went to Skagit with Travis, Steve and him played basketball together. We have so much fun when we get all our rug rats together! They provided us with hours of entertainment! Poor Xavier is the only boy, but he doesn't mind being surrounded by all the beautiful girls. Travis and LeAnne are both tall so their girls will probably be at least 6'0! Thalia is already bigger than Harper and she is 2 months younger!

The boys and their baby girls
Xavier giving Taylor a ride in his big green tractor!
Taylor's turn to drive
Taylor driving Tess with Ruby close on their heals
Xavier's new obsession...fixing tires! Look out Les Schwab...
Harper and Thalia
The group of girls...and Xavier!

BROTHER & SISTER

2009-10-13T03:28:00.000-07:00

I never had a brother or a sister. Being an only child you learn to entertain yourself and you never have to share. If you ask Steve I am still not good at sharing! Since Harper entered "Xavier's World, " he has had to become a good "sharer!" Lately Harper has been grabbing at his books and toys and he doesn't like it too much. For the first 3 months of Harper's life, Xavier could really care less that she existed. Now, he has taken to her a little more. Just the other night she was crying in our bed and Xavier asked if he could hold her. I wish I had a picture because it was the sweetest thing. He was holding her and kind of rocking her and saying, "sshh baby Harper, it's ok." It didn't last long, but long enough to make me smile! When she is in her exersaucer and she is chewing on the toys, he will be next to her saying, "now be careful chewing on that horsey, you don't want to choke!" Harper just LOVES Xavier too! She will stare at him and laugh at his silliness! At this point I hope Xavier is the big brother who takes care of his little sister and Harper will be the little sister who is constantly giving her older brother a hard time. I am so glad they have each other and I know in the future they will appreciate all the times when they do have someone to "share" things with!

HARPER 4 MONTHS

2009-10-13T03:09:00.000-07:00

I have so much catching up to do on my blogging, so what better time to do it than at 3am when I can't sleep! Harper is now 5 months old, but I never posted her 4 months stats. Actually I can't find the paper that has her stats on it, but I do remember she was 13lbs 13oz and very long. I think she was 50% weight and 75% height. She is long and skinny. When she went in for her appointment she also had a double ear infection. Instead of getting her shots this day we had to wait until she was clear of the ear infections. We went back 2 weeks later and got her shots. She was so brave. I hate it when they are laughing and smiling and then they get the pokes. Breaks my heart. She cried for maybe 5 seconds and was happy again! She is such a happy baby in general. She just hangs out and goes about her day watching her brother and smiling, sucking her thumb and just chilling! I love having a girl so much and I want to constantly snuggle her!

Little Miss Harper
Bath time!
All snuggled in her towel after bath
She loves to sit in her Bumbo and play with the toys on her play mat
Look at this sweet face...

She loves to suck on her lip from the inside and it makes this funny face!
Her infamous thumb sucking with the finger up on her nose and everything
Getting some quality time with Ruby....I swear Ruby thinks she is her baby
She loves to stick out her tongue!
Sweet feet

STAND OFF!

2009-10-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

Steve and I bought our first home in Mount Vernon, WA before we were even engaged! We were driving around when we saw it for sale so we went to look at it and I fell in love with it! It had a little apartment in the back over the garage, which we rented out and it needed ALOT of work on the inside of the main house! Steve got a job as a firefighter for the government in Alaska right after we bought it so I started to do the remodel on it while he was gone. The house was built in 1917 and was really the gem of the street. We lived in a nice neighborhood just down from a huge beautiful park and I must say, our yard was always the nicest...thanks to my hubby! I just adored this house, but it did have steep stairs and was not kid friendly, so 3 years after we bought it we sold it and moved to where we are now just two weeks before Xavier was born!

Fast forward to October 7, 2009. My friend Kirstie called me to tell me that her husband Aaron drove by our old house and there were cops everywhere and crime scene tape up all over the house! When we got online we discovered there had been a domestic dispute and a man had fired two shots and was holding a woman and 2 children in the house! The stand off lasted 4 hours and all of the neighbors were woken up at 5am to evacuate their houses! Oh my gosh! Our cute little "Leave It To Beaver" house/neighborhood had turned into the streets of downtown Detroit! The man finally surrendered and the woman and children were ok. The story was all over the news. When I use to tell people the house we lived in, they would always say, "I love that house! It is the nicest house on the block!" Now our first house will be known as the stand off house!

Oh and just for the record...we did not sell the house to the crazies who were involved in the stand off...they were renters!

Our first house 2003!!
Our first house surrounded by police during a stand off 2009!!

MR. INCREDIBLE!

2009-09-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of blogging to catch up on, but I just had to post these pictures really quick! We got Xavier's Halloween costume yesterday and he LOVES it!! He put it on last night and instantly turned into Mr. Incredible! He was posing and running around acting like a super hero! He wouldn't stop staring at his reflection in the windows either! I was laughing so hard and we kept talking to him like he was Mr. Incredible! This morning the first thing he wanted to do was put on his Mr. Incredible "soup!" He can't say "suit" too well so it comes out soup! I think he will wear it everyday until Halloween!!