CHERRY BLOSSOMS

Cherry blossoms will forever hold a special place in my heart after living in Japan, where we got to see so many of them during spring time. Seeing them makes me miss Japan so much, and I dream of the day we get to go back and visit. It kind of feels like home to me, as weird as that sounds. 

Obviously when there are pretty flowers, I have to get some pictures with my pretty girl! 

Kai has been hugging my legs lately, and always wants to be near me, and I kinda love it. 

Our life has been complete chaos since Pres was born, and I barely have time to blog, let alone eat, but above all, Kolby and I love these babes. They make us indescribably happy, and we feel way too lucky to be their parents. 

A FEW FAVORITES

Anything that makes my life easier as a mom is worth buying. And worth telling others about. So here goes! Hope these things help you too!

1. The Snot Sucker. Kai got sick with a bad cough and runny nose, and I tried my best to keep him far away from Presley, but 3 days later she got it too :( Turns out it was RSV!  She's been so congested and this snot sucker has been a life saver. It works WAY better than those bulb syringes that get so gross so fast. Trust me, you'll want one of these. Get it here from amazon. She got over her RSV within a week, and I credit some of that to this awesome snot sucker :)

2. Baby Bjorn food catcher bib. Kai is now practicing feeding himself most meals, and when he's finished it looks like a tornado of food has hit him. These bibs  catch all the food he drops, which saves lots of cleaning up. They also rinse off  SO easily, which is so much easier than cleaning cloth bibs! Its $14 for a 2-pack. Buy them here on amazon.

3. This organic healing balm is THE best stuff I've ever discovered. I've used it on a million diaper rashes with Kai and Presley, and it always clears it up within a day. I also get extremely dry cracked hands (gross) and this is the only cream  that has ever helped. They look ten times better after just one night of having it on. Seriously, it's probably the only product I'm willing to spend $12 on. IT'S WORTH IT! You can get it here or in store at Target.

4. I have searched high and low for bows that are not gonna break the bank. One night I spent 3 hours surfing through Etsy shops, and it was just so frustrating to see people charging $8-$15 for one simple bow. These end up being only $2-$3 each and are so cute, as you can see on my sweet little Presley. They have lots of different colors and designs to choose from. Thanks amazon! Get em here.

5. And last but not least, the Nuby snack holder. Kai is a hungry little toddler and always wanting snacks, so here's the perfect thing for him to tote his snacks around. Why do kids love goldfish so much? I don't know, but this is the perfect thing to hold them. He carries it everywhere...at the grocery store, park, around the house...it sure gets lots of use. It also helps minimize messes and spills :) We lost ours the other day and I had to just hand Kai his goldfish, and he made such a mess dropping them all over the floor. This snack container really is a MUST! You can buy it here on amazon, where a 2-pack is only $6.50. Check out Nuby's instagram @nubyusa for more awesome products.

Also see my other 2 favorite things, the Nuby pacifier and bath boats in my earlier post here

(I took these pics right before his haircut, and yikes! He definitely needed a trim.)

A mouth full of goldfish...

EASTER

I know what you're thinking..."Oh there she goes again with getting her kids all dressed up again for a silly holiday photo shoot...doesn't she have anything better to do with her time?"

And the answer is nope! I'm obsessed with taking pics of my beautiful kids, it's my new hobby. They are my pride and joy.

This Easter was so fun, since Kai was actually able to do an Easter egg hunt this year (last Easter he wasn't even crawling yet!), and he absolutely loved it. And I loved watching him do it! It was a little too cold and the poor kid's hands were frozen, but he still managed to get an entire bucket full with a little help from mom and dad :) Kai's nana and grandpa sure know how to do an Easter egg hunt! There were over 12 kids hunting for eggs and by the end they all had a bucket FULL of eggs. We are so grateful to have such fun grandparents for Kai that spoil him!

Before that egg hunt, I took him to a community one in Orem at a high school while Kolby and Presley slept in. I figured why not since it's free and it would be a good warm up for the one later on at nana's. Big mistake though. It was PACKED  as in there was a line around the entire school and no parking. (typical Utah, everyone lines up for miles for anything free). And it was at 9:00 am and FREEZING. Before we even got started, Kai was saying "all done, all done," poor little cold dude. Each kid I saw leaving only had like 6 eggs, and it was all cheap gross candy like tootsie rolls and smarties. Lameee. So we will stick to our OWN easter egg hunts from now on. When I was a kid (and by kid I mean 10-12), we went to an easter egg hunt at albertsons and would come home with huge bags full of good non-cheap candy, huge rice krispy treats, little prizes etc. I looked forward to that egg hunt every year, and that's how they should be done!

The Easter bunny nailed it with Kai's' Easter basket this year. He got ketchup, toy cars, an alligator (his fav animal right now), an animal sticker book, a firetruck shirt (he's obsessed with firetrucks), animal crackers (new favorite snack), new socks, and sidewalk chalk. The Easter bunny put the ketchup in there kind of as a joke, but it was the first thing Kai grabbed and he hugged it excitedly for the next 10 mins. Oh how this boy loves ketchup! It really is his favorite food by far.

ps dont mind the messy house... since we had Presley it's been hard to keep things picture-perfect clean like we used to :( #2under2

And last but not least...

our first picture as a family of 4! It's about time! It was very hurried, very cold, and not the best of all of us but I'll take it.

The eggs and candy are fun, but above all I am most grateful for my Savior, that he died and was resurrected so that I can be with my family forever. If you want to know more about my beliefs, check it out here.

Happy Easter everyone!

NUBY STUFF WE LOVE

I've decided to feature 2 Nuby products on my blog today, since we love them so much!

Kai has become a pacifier connoisseur. He has a million binkies, and his current favorite is the Nuby Prism Orthodontic Pacifier. He loves the cute little monkey on it, and the little bumps on it that massage the gums. It also comes with a handy dandy pacifier clip, which is so nifty since if the binky isn't clipped on his shirt it always ends up on the floor and then I have to wash it 10 times a day. You can get a 2 pack of these pacifiers (size 6-12 months) with the clip here. Doesn't he look cute? 

Our other favorite Nuby product: these fun boats! Every boy needs a boat right? They float and are BPA free so I don't have to worry when he tries to eat them. They are fun colors and make bath time more colorful. I love watching him drive them around the tub. Anything that makes life more fun for this kid is worth a million bucks to me, so YAY for these boats! You can buy them here.

Check out other Nuby products here:

www.instragram.com/nubyusa

www.facebook.com/nubyusa

www.pinterest.com/nubyusa

www.twitter.com/nubyusa

KAI TURNS 18 MONTHS

Oh Kai-guy, how can I even begin to put you into words? 

I'm relying on the billion pictures in this post to do that for me :)

On February 21st you turned 18 months. I can say with surety that it's been the best 18 months of my life with you around.

Stats:

Weight: 22 lbs (22nd percentile)
Height: 32.75 inches (56th percentile)
Head Circumference: 19 inches (78th percentile)

Loves:
-#1 love right now is Cosmo, BYU's mascot
-everything BYU
-your yellow blankie and duck
-your pacifier
-garbage trucks, airplanes, firetrucks
-grilled cheese
-yogurt
-getting into the lower drawers and playing with the tupperware
-anything sugary
-sitting in Presley's bouncer
-swinging at the park

Hates:
-being strapped into your carseat. You still fight us so hard on this every time you go in, but mommy has learned a few distraction techniques that work sometimes
-having your diaper changed, especially by daddy
-being inside all day
-all green veggies
-most food
-slides and playgrounds
-having your picture taken (you refuse to look at the camera or smile)
-having mommy or daddy brush your teeth (you scream every time but love to do it yourself)
-when you have to wait for mommy to refill your juice or milk

Things I dont wan't to forget:
-seeing you get excited and watching the garbage truck outside the window
-how you have to kiss our 2 wooden Japanese dolls (kokeshi) every night before bed
-when you excitedly point at airplanes in the sky
-when I see you driving your little cars around the house
-the way you run up to me randomly and say mama! in the cutest tone. I respond Kai-kun! And then you say mama again and we go back and forth. It's our thing. (-kun means prince in Japanese)
-the way you smile and oodle over your baby sis
-when you run to the door when I tell you daddy's here
-the way you play in your room by yourself for long periods of time when mommy and daddy are busy cleaing or taking care of Pres
-the way you start singing out of nowhere. It's amazing how well you copy the intonation of songs. Your favorite song is "garbage trucks" by Blippi on youtube

First and foremost, you have been the MOST patient little boy while adapting to baby sister. You love and adore her, and have absolutely no feelings of jealousy. You don't get upset when mommy or daddy are holding her. You put her binky in when she is crying. You ask to hold her. Everytime you hold her she usually screams, but you just look at her sweetly and give her kisses. She couldn't have asked for a better or sweeter older brother!

Second, you're just so gosh dang beautiful. Sometimes (or more like every hour) mommy finds herself just staring at you in awe. Not sure how you got to be such a pretty-boy but holy smokes kid, you're perfection.

Third, you're unique little personality. You are usually obedient, are so good at grabbing things for mommy, are very independent, and oh so stubborn, determined, serious, and picky about most things. You don't really say any words yet, just your own versions of all done and more. But you babble and babble in sentences and are trying so hard to talk, I know you'll get there!

Oh my heavens. Those cheeks, those eyelashes, those eyebrows, that hair, those green blue eyes...I could go on for days about this kid. Besides the fact that he's obviously the most beautiful little boy I've ever seen, his personality is also one of a kind.