Big Girl Bed!!

It's Official!
Kate now sleeps in a big girl bed. Back in May, when we thought we were having another baby, we started to think about moving Kate to a big girl bed. She was old enough. She could already climb out of her crib. It was just a matter of choosing what type of bed (and affording it). I thought a toddler bed would be the easiest (and cheapest). Since Kate is quite little, she would be able to use it for a couple of years yet. I already had an extra crib mattress and plenty of extra crib sheets too. We would just need to buy the frame. But then.....WE GOT LUCKY! Our dumpster diving is getting quite notorious in my family. In our neighborhood, people are moving a lot and so they just throw out perfectly good furniture. It may need a nail or a cleaning, but it is still in good condition. So....as you may have guessed by now, Kate's darling little bed was a dumpster diving deal! We cleaned it up and it works perfectly. Plus it looks adorable, like a little piece of doll furniture. hee hee
Kate was really proud of her bed and she had very little trouble making the transition from crib to big girl bed. It probably helps to have a big brother who kept telling her "now you are big just like me Kate! Wow!" He wanted to sleep in it too! This transition must have made her feel more "free" and independent because when she first got the bed she wandered more in her room and took longer to go to sleep. Sometimes, she would come find me downstairs or fall asleep in the hallway. That ended pretty quickly. Kate has pretty much always been easy to put down. You show her the bed and she lays down and goes to sleep. LOL She is pretty much back to that now. Except that she now comes in our bedroom and climbs in bed with us every morning between 5 and 6 and sleeps there till 7. Oh well....I can't say I don't enjoy the cuddles. What a sweet girl!

Our First Garden

It seems that we have had a lot of firsts this past year and among them....TA DA!...our first garden. With such a big back yard and such a warm climate, I decided I would like to give it a try. At the very end of March, my dad and Michael came over and built me a garden plot. The yard had one when we moved in, but it was sunken and in the part of the yard that never gets much sun so we moved it. First, dad tilled up the area.

Then dad and Michael moved the beams to build the plot. Dallin "helped" wherever he could (and some places he couldn't). He dug around and moved rocks and was very excited to be a part of it all.
They even put in some tomato plants and cages. Here is Dallin sitting in front of our newly planted garden.
I told the kids that they could NOT walk in the garden because it would kill the plants and then we could not eat the food. So...this has become their favorite past time--garden rail walking. I think they got the letter of the law, but not the spirit of it. All in all they are pretty careful though. In this picture, you can see little sprigs of green starting to come up.
We were so excited when our garden starting bearing fruit! Dallin helped me pick it, and I think that he would eat almost anything that came out of our garden with enthusiasm. He thinks it is all delicious. We got a ton of green beans and quite a few squash and tomatoes. The peas shriveled in the heat and the pepper plants produce the tiniest peppers I have ever seen, but at least we are getting some. It is getting less and less with the heat, but Dallin loves to find any veggies that are "ready" and pick them in the evenings with me. It has actually been a nice bonding experience between him and I-planting and watching it grow, tending the garden and picking the veggies together. We have both really enjoyed it.
With some of the severe weather, vacations, etc. our garden has been neglected the end of this season so we did not get as much as we could have possibly gotten(and that is also why there is no picture of what our poor garden looks like now), but I think it was a really good learning experience for me and the kids and we are definitely going to plant another in the fall! Wahoo-fresh produce!

Hot Fun in the Summer Time!

About a week ago, we went to a ROCKstar playgroup at Monica's house. It was a pool party for her kids. She rented a GIANT Little Tikes mountain/water slide and the kids had a blast and a half. It was super fun and just the kind of day that we needed. In the top picture, you can see Dallin in the orange shirt at the bottom getting ready to climb and Kate is getting all crazy and bouncin around. Crazy kids! LOL
Unfortunately, we received our very first sunburn that day. Boo! We had almost made it 4 years sunburn free. In my defense, I DID apply SPF 50 twice to Dallin during that 3 hour block....it wasn't enough. He has such a fair skin tone that he was quite crispy. He never complained about it hurting though, and we were quick to apply LOTS of aloe.


Kate was sunburned too, but not as bad as Dallin's . Hers went into a tan...his shoulders peeled. Good times. Good times. I thought the bottom picture was funny after they had been aloe vera'ed! Smile and Say Sunburn!

Kate's 2 Year Old Pictures

Kate's 2 year old pictures went really well. I really liked our photographer at JC Penny. It was the same one we had for the sibling pictures (Lisa). Somehow, even with my terribly uncooperative kiddo, she turns out beautiful pictures. Here is her entire shoot for your viewing pleasure!
THESE ARE THE PICTURES WE ORDERED- The top picture we ordered as well. I thought it really showed her personality and liked how they made it read "I Am 2" Cute!

I think she looks like such a mischevious pixie in this picture.

This was part of her pouting tantrum. We thought it was so "Kate" that we ordered it and put it on the "I Am 2" print.

Ready for my close-up! What a little diva!

This was my favorite pose. I liked how you could see how long her hair is getting and the cute bow on the back of her dress.

All smiles! Sugar n spice and everything nice.

THESE ARE THE PICTURES WE DID NOT ORDER, BUT THEY ARE STILL PRETTY CUTE!

She totally looks like she is tapping her foot in this picture. She WAS being pretty sassy right here and wouldn't do what the photographer asked.

I liked this picture, but I thought her hand floating in space looked weird.

This is the one we used on the "I Am 2" print

This is the one we used on the "I Am 2" print. What a clown!

This is the one we used on the "I Am 2" print. I think she looks like she is serving it up on a tray.

ENHANCEMENT PICTURES THAT WE DID NOT ORDER (they used the pictures you just saw and did cool stuff with them)

I actually thought this was pretty cute and timeless and may do this myself at another time.