Updated Kids Pictures

Have you ever tried getting a decent picture of three young children? Let me tell you, it's TOUGH! I thought two was hard...it doesn't even compare. I've made two separate attempts the past couple month to get a cute/semi-decent picture of my kids with my own camera. It took a LOT of energy and a LOT of time and nothing really turned out. I've decided now that the only way I'm going to get a decent picture of all my children is to have a professional do it (for now at least). They have the proper equipment, the proper lighting and they are a new face that kids usually listen to better than their mom. Both my girls did really well and smiled on cue etc. so that was great. Thomas was a little monkey all over the place, but luckily they were able to capture some split second moments that looked cute. I was especially happy that we got Jane to smile because she has such a sweet smile. Anyways, here they are. Enjoy!

Thomas' Big Number 1!!!

Little Tommy Boy had his first birthday last Sunday! He was adorable. He's such a big boy and developing such a personality, especially when his sisters are bugging him. We had a small dinner/party for him here at home with some of his cousins. The main event was most definitely the cake! He LOVED it. He's been the best 1st birthday cake eater that we've had so far in our family. The girls were so delicate and hesitant, but Thomas knew exactly what he wanted and boy did he want it. It was also so fun to watch him with his presents. He got some fun balls and a bat and baseball toy. He's never used a bat before but the second he pulled it out he knew exactly how it was supposed to be used. He started wacking the baseball immediately. It was so funny! What a little boy we have and I love it! He's also really into pushing things across the floor. If it rolls/moves he pushes it :) So, I'd say it was a successful first birthday. We had lots of fun with our little guy.

So handsome in his little church outfit!

He LOVES balls so I did a few little sports decorations.

Cousins!

The cake....

What a cute little mess!

Not the clearest picture but it shows how much he loved his bat .

Just pushing his car

Some of his presents

Cute little boy birthday cards.

Zoey's Big 4 Year Old Birthday

Well, if you haven't noticed already my blog here has been lacking. The main reason is time. I've been devoting most of my extra time to my new website bettermomblog.com. If you haven't already visited, go right ahead. You can follow it on the site or follow my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/BetterMomBlog to get updates that way.

But, I will still be updating this blog with main events, etc. The biggest news recently has been two birthdays in our family. Zoey's was first at the beginning of July. My mom was able to come visit us too so she was able to be here for her birthday! We did a butterfly birthday theme (see more details on my other site) and had lots of fun! Zoey had a family dinner/party and then later a friend party. She's made lots of friends since we've been here in MO. There's a plethora of girls around her age in our church so that's been great. Enjoy the pictures.

Sweet Nancy Jane

My little Nancy Jane is growing up so quickly! She's almost two and a half and has been such a blessing to our family. I am constantly thinking about how sweet and adorable she is and wanted to share a little about her recently.

Jane says really cute things. Some of my favorites, she calls the dishwasher the "laundry", orange juice or any juice is "orange", nightgown is "night-down" (she gets that from zoey). She always reminds us to say the prayer. She loves soft blankies cuddled up to her face, specifically a grungy pink one but we are weaning her from that. Jane loves to copy Zoey which is cute but causes problems as well. She takes naps so easily and many times prefers to sit on her bed and relax during the day. She's an awesome eater, still loves salad and basically anything. She's also such a sweet and loving big sister to Thomas and he loves her. She's now completely potty trained day and night. She finally got her lower lateral incisors that most kids get before age 1. Then today I noticed one of her lower canines popping through. It's pretty cute that she gets all excited when I show her her new teeth. We are definitely late bloomers with teething in our family! We just can't get enough of our little Janey. One of my favorite things is when she wakes up before Zoey and comes into my bed and cuddles with me..LOVE that cuddle time! Love you miss Nancy Jane!

Zoey the Fashion Designer

Child Prodigy??

Here we have our designer, Zoey Lanae Olsen, otherwise known as Z-LO. Recently she has broken through into the fashion world with her latest and greatest styles and accessories. She's going where no other toddler has gone before.

Introducing the new "toe rings"...

"hair extensions"...

The new "detangler". A quick and stylish fix for any "rats nest" or bedhead.

Z-LO gives us a free tutorial for her latest design, the "shir-ug" (a cross between a shirt and a shrug) 

1) Put on any shirt 2) Pull the bottom front of your shirt over the top of you head so neck hole is now on the back of your neck 3) Accessorize abundantly....no joke here guys. Don't hold back. Go big or go home.

According to Z-LO "more is less"

We're pretty much speechless with this one. One thing's for sure. It's most definitely runway material.

Happy Donut Day!

On Friday (national "Donut Day") we went and got free Krispy Kreme's! The girls totally loved it. They of course chose the sprinkle kind. It was also fun to watch the donuts being made. Thomas got a few bites of his free donut and some chocolate milk which he, of course loved too. It's nice to get out of the house every once in a while even if it's just to get a free donut. Apart from donuts :) we've been doing great way out here in Missouri. Even though I don't really have many (or any) friends quite yet, I am blessed with some great sister-in-laws who live just a few minutes away. I've also been so blessed with a feeling of peace in regards to Missouri being my home. With everything around me almost opposite of what I am used to, I expected it to take at least a couple years for me to feel good about calling it home here. A couple months ago as I was driving around a feeling of comfort came over me as I was pondering upon my new home. Ever since its been a great blessing to have that peace knowing at least for now this is my home. One of the most difficult parts about being here is being so far from family. One of my dreams is to someday live close to my parents so it's been rough being not just 9 hours away like before, but now 27+. I'm hoping that dispite the distance we'll still be able to visit with them regularly. However, if anyone is ever in our neck of the woods we would love to meet up. A familiar face would be very much a great blessing.

Sippy Cup

I know it's not a huge accomplishment but I thought it was a cute picture. Thomas' first time successfully drinking from a sippy cup!

Thomas 9 months

My little boy is 9 months old now and we love him more than ever. He weighs over 18 pounds, crawls everywhere, eats lots of food, sleeps 12.5 hours every night (usually), and LOVES to jump in his bouncer.

Jane and Tom-bo

Tom-bo is a nickname we have for Thomas. Jane prefers to use "Tom-bo" when she talks to him.

Tonight, Andrew and Zoey went on a Daddy daughter date to the Kansas City Temple open house. We went through as a family last week but thought it would be neat for Zoey to get to go again with just Andrew. Jane was pretty emotional about not being able to go to the temple on a "daddy date" so I gave her and Thomas extra cuddles tonight. Those two are so cute together. Lately I've been thinking about their relationship. We easily group Zoey and Jane together because they are the first two kids, only 18 months apart, and both girls. However, Thomas and Jane are also 18 months apart and as I catch little glimpses of their interactions it makes me smile. I really think they'll grow up to be good friends.

I was feeling an overwhelming love for these two little kiddos tonight as we spent some time together. We had fun taking pictures and I couldn't just pick one to show so I posted them all. Each one makes me smile. As you can see in a couple of them, Thomas is already being a little bully to Jane. Her reaction is adorable. I'm sure he'll soon find enjoyment in watching that reaction as he teases her (maybe he already does).