Brandon's TWO!

Ok, so he turned two almost a week ago. I've just been slow to post about it.

His birthday was a fun, casual day. We just had a little family party at home. My brother, Tyler and Brother in Law, Chad (who was in town from FL), came over. We had yummy cupcakes, opened gifts and hung out. Brandon was real into his gifts. He knew just what to do and went right to it. And I think I've come to the conclusion that this boy doesn't much care for cake since he hasn't eaten his birthday cake for two years in a row now. He did like his ice cream though.

He had his well child check up yesterday too. Here are his stats.

Height- 35 inches (60th percentile)

Weight- 27 pounds (30th percentile)

Head- 50 cm (75 percentile)

So basically he's a skinny, slightly above average for height child, with a big head. HAHA....But I love every piece of him. He's perfect!

Other than that, he's doing well with everything else. He's starting to talk more. He has the most lovey personality. He doesn't let other kids take advantage of him(definitely not a push over). But he's kind(most of the time) and is learning to share. He loves balls, swords, guns, cars, and Buzz LightYear. He loves to sit on my lap and wrap my arm around his chest. He still has his beautiful blue eyes and blonde blonde hair. He's a good eater and loves RED bell peppers (not green ones). He wrinkles his nose up and puts his arms out when he's confused (it's hilarious). And every night before bed, he has to personally go around to each family member and give them a hug goodnight.

Here are some pictures from his BIG day!

Earth Day

So, after having a dishwasher repair guy come out to my house today to look at my overflowing dishwasher, I got to thinking about my good ole' planet Earth. How does this relate you wonder? I will tell you.

So the guy showed up. Immediately asked me what kind of dishwashing soap I use, looks at my machine, and then proceeds to tell me I use too much soap. How can I use too much soap I tell him? I use those prepackaged packets that measure the soap out for you. You just stick it in the tray and start the machine. That's more than twice as much soap as you need, he tells me. Great, I think to myself. Then he starts my dishwasher and runs it a few minutes, opens it up and shows me how much soap is at the bottom. Thing is, we didn't add soap. So this is what I have to do, he tells me. Run the washer for a few minutes to let it fill up at the bottom, add 1/2 cup vinegar and then run it for five minutes. Drain it and repeat 3 times. THEN go to Lowe's and buy something called "Dishwasher Magic" (less than 4 bucks a bottle) and use that every 2-3 weeks in an empty dishwasher. THEN, use Cascade POWDER only and fill it half way, nothing in the "prerinse" side. That should fix my problem. So I do it and ya know what....he just might be right, because after doing the vinegar thing three times, there is STILL soap at the bottom of my washer.

Anyway, it got me thinking. I've read online (a lot) lately that we use too much soap for a lot of things. Our washing machine detergent is more and more concentrated these days, yet most of us use just as much as the less concentrated kinds call for. Obviously our dishwasher detergent is not pre-measured correctly, or else I wouldn't have had the problem I had. I'm sure the list goes on. So what can I do about it?

Then I remembered these soap nuts I got a while back and have only used a few times. I like them. They seem to clean my clothes just fine. I haven't used them much though because it's hard for me to "think" they are really cleaning my clothes. So this is my resolve. I'm going to start using my soap nuts for my washing machine. And I'm going to use A LOT less soap in my dishwasher. It may be a little step, but I think each little one counts in helping, not only save our planet, but save my pocket book a little money too.

So that's my "soap" box for the day. Happy Earth Day (tomorrow)!

Another car conversation

I'm getting to really enjoy these funny little conversations I've been having with Ashlyn in the car lately. So interesting to see her grow up and come up with ideas all on her own. Here is what transpired as we drove to church today.

Ashlyn: Mom, when you were learning to drive, were you really excited?

Me: YES, I love being able to drive.

Ashlyn: I'm excited to learn to drive too. I can't learn yet though huh?

Me: No, you have to be 15 before you start learning to drive.

Ashlyn: Yeah, but wouldn't it be funny if I learned to drive now?

Me: Well, you would have to sit in your booster seat and you'd probably not be able to reach the peddles, so I don't really think that would work. Plus, if a cop saw you, he might pull you over and give you a ticket.

Ashlyn: Well, ACTUALLY Mom, I think YOU would get the ticket because you're the parent and you're the one that let me drive.

Me: Ashlyn you are very right. I would get the ticket. So let's just say you won't be driving any time soon.

Ashlyn: Okay, but I am excited.

I'm behind

I've been lazy in the blogging department. It seems to take a long time to upload pictures and I get impatient. I'll try and make up for it here by giving a glimpse of our life lately.

We went to go see a screening of "How to Train your Dragon" in 3D. It was amazing. I loved it. And I don't usually love cartoons the first time I see them. They have to grow on me. This one was good though and totally fun to watch. The 3D was amazing and definitely not like the lame 3D we grew up with. You actually felt like you were watching this really take place in real life, instead of having irritating things fly at your face.

My Aunt Rhonda came to stay with us for a few days. It was fun. The girls LOVE LOVE LOVE her. She's the greatest aunt. She plays dolls with them (and really thoroughly enjoys it), she puts make-up on them, gives them lipgloss (to keep) and is fun and giddy with them (she's a true girly girl). Leah helped me made brownies for Sunday dinner a few weeks ago when Heather (Tyler's fiance) was in town. Of course she had to wear her dress up while licking the batter off the paddle. Rhonda is in the background doing my dishes while I'm chopping potatoes. That was my favorite part of her being here. She cleans....a lot. It was nice to cook and then turn around to see the kitchen all clean again. I'll have to get her to come visit for a few days again soon.

The last picture is Leah's way of "girlifying" the viking helmet Daddy brought home from Dreamworks "Dragons" Day. She took the horn out and added the bow.

The day before Easter, we went to an Easter Egg hunt and lunch that was put on by my MOMS club. It was a fun afternoon at the park. Ashlyn got to play with her best friend Grace. Brandon had full control of his Daddy, and Leah bummed around and played with a new little friend named Indiana. It was a nice day to be at the park.

We went to dye Easter Eggs with Becky and her kids while the guys were at Priesthood Session. She had a good 3 dozen eggs. The kids went through them in 15 minutes or less. They had fun though. Then we all had ice cream and sat and chatted until past bedtime (for the kids that is). We went home with plenty of eggs for deviled eggs the next day. YUM. It was so fun. Thanks again Becky. I'm not sure we would have dyed any eggs this year, had you not invited us over.

Easter morning came with Easter baskets for each kid. They dove into them and quickly devoured the candy (luckily there wasn't too much in there). Then they played with their toys all day and blew bubbles with their automatic bubble blower while Paul and I attempted to watch Conference. We got a few good talks in, but will definitely have to go back and re-watch it in the evenings, after the kids are asleep. Thank heavens for DVR. Seriously, the greatest invention ever. For dinner we had the traditional ham, mashed potatoes (special holiday edition), rolls, veggies, deviled eggs, and sparkling grape juice to drink. Then I was lazy and we ended with ice cream for dessert. I heard no complaints.

Leah started back at gymnastics (as you all know). She LOVES it and is really good at it too. Today was her first day on the rock wall though. She wasn't too sure about it, but was quite impressed with her little buddy Ashlynn, who could make it all the way up the wall.