Papa comes to Kansas!

On Wednesday night my Dad gave me word that he was doing a job 8 hours away in Arkansas

and was going to drive up to see us for a day!  

Most people would think driving 8 hours here and 8 hours back would be too long 

for just over 24 hour visit

but my Dad jumped on the chance since it meant seeing two of his grandsons.

He was finally able to meet little Greyson

and always had him in his arms if they weren't already occupied by a two year old monkey.

Beck didn't skip a beat with Papa, 

it was like he had been playing with him just yesterday.

Beck loved all of Papa's little games

and laughed so hard at his Donald Duck voice. 

He got here on Friday night, just enough time for Pizza, catching up, bedtime stories, 

and watching the NBA playoffs-

although I did startle awake at 10:00 pm and realized Chase, Dad and I were all konked out.

oldy olds I tell ya!

Saturday morning we headed to Antioch Park for a Gavin's birthday party.

It was a perfect party for two year olds.  

Water balloons, squirt guns, awesome playgrounds, and a duck pond with gigantic turtles.

We even got a special visit from a fire truck!

All the kids at the park had a blast climbing all over and inside.

Despite Beck's expression, he actually LOVED the fire truck

He was just too busy admiring it and saying 

"Wooooo Woooo" to pose and smile

After the park, literally 6 minutes after we got in the car to leave

Dad and the boys were both sound asleep.

Chase and I just laughed.

Saturday afternoon we all got a good nap in, 

and then played at the pool before getting some delicious Italian dinner and dessert.

Late Sunday morning he made the trek to Texas.

It was a short trip but very sweet.

We can't wait to see you again soon Papa!

We love you!!

Blessed

I am one lucky Momma. 

We blessed little Greyson on May 13th in Oklahoma.

I couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day present.

Actually, Beck happened to be blessed on Mother's day (two years ago) as well.

We didn't set out to make this happen, both times it just happened to be the date that made sense.

We decided to take the trip down to Oklahoma to bless him in the Taylor's ward 

so that we could have family participate.

Besides Mother's Day and Greyson's blessing,

It also happened to be Nolan's birthday on Friday, 

and Abby got to skype with us for Mother's day

(all the way from Chile on her mission)

This all made for a very busy 2.5 days.

Even though the drive was long,

 it was so worth getting to spend this time with them.

Greyson looked adorable in his little sailor romper.

The blessing, given by Chase, was oh so sweet.

That Greyson is a special spirit.

I cannot wait to see what is in store for him in life.

We love our happy little Greyson and are so happy that he joined our family.

whirl

The beautiful images in this post are taken by the fabulous Jalene!!

Baby Grey is three weeks old today and I have those familiar feelings of:

"Where did my newborn go?!"

This little tyke is growing like a weed.

His body is getting less and less curled up like a frog

and more and more baby-like chunk.

The last three weeks have been a complete whirlwind.

My mom was here for a week after Greyson was born,

a few days later Chase's Mom, Lincoln, and Jalene came into town for another week.

This having two kids thing is a breeze...

...that is when you have constant entertainment for Beck,

meals prepared, cleaned house, someone telling you to go take a nap, and wonderful company!

Beck absolutely loved all the attention,

and I think it helped ease the transition to big brother a lot.

I fight back tears as I think of the special time it was to have them all here.

They not only left Beck officially tired out, the kitchen fully stocked, 

 Greyson good and cuddled, and a clean house,

but they left Chase and I filled with gratitude for having such wonderful family members.

Beck adores his Mimi and Grandma. 

He has been asking for them since they left.

Lincoln and Jalene are the best sports.

They never tired of chasing Beck around the playground or going outside to blow bubbles for the third time that day. He sure loves his Aunt and Uncle. 

Thanks Mom, Mom Taylor, Lincoln, and Jalene,

come back soon!!!

fast forward 20 years

My photo slide show popped this gem of a photo up on my computer today.

That is me with my three big brothers

Kyle, Matt, and Brian

I love this photo because I grew up watching these three

(and my Dad) playing bball together.

When I married Chase, nothing really changed.

Now I get to watch Chase and his brothers play ball.

Beck will grow up watching them play,

and soon Beck and his little bro will grow up playing together too.
It really is a wonderful thought.

lately

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR....  I just spent a half hour writing this post and it is GONE! Thanks Blogger.  I really love you.  Here is my best (time and effort willing) re-creation of the post:

We're just pluggin' away over here in Kansas, or as I like to call it:  Central America.  It is in the dead center of the United States after all  ;)  Life is good, Chase is working hard, Beck is growing up before our eyes, and I am doing my best to be a mommy and grow another baby.  Here are some updates:

Pregnancy.
This baby is a mover, and he likes to pretend he wants to come out.  Luckily though, we have really great friends who ran right over late on a Saturday night so we could get checked out at the hospital.  Thank goodness, it was a false alarm.  You tricky baby!   I. have.been.so.TIRED.  I definitely wasn't this sleepy and low-energy as I was with Beck's pregnancy.  It could be due to my low iron levels.  Either way, after the little preterm labor scare Saturday night Chase insisted I was on bed rest on Sunday and it must have done the trick. This week I have felt much much better. 

Nesting.
When that urge hits, it really does hit doesn't it?  I have started with our apartment-making it feel more like a home than a place with a bunch of furniture in it.  I also have successfully found a hidden spot for everything!  No more boxes in the corner of our bedroom!  wahoo!  I really love dejunking!  Next task is the boys' room.  That will be tricky since we will most likely only be in this place until August.

Sisters.
Fantastic news!! Both of my sister's are pregnant!!! Wahoo!!  Tiffini is due at the end of July and Kaela is just two weeks later.   Kaela and Garrett are going to be the most darling first time parents.  Tiffini and John will have their hands full with a 14 month old when their little girl arrives, but if anyone could handle it, its them ;)  Both kids are lucky to come to such great parents!!  It is so much fun to be sharing this pregnancy with them-it makes my pregnancy that much more fun because I know my sisters are/will be going through the same things as me. It is a huge shame that we won't be able to get a picture of the three Enzler baby bumps.  Unless they secretly are planning a trip out to visit me in the next month?!  si? 

Boise.
Earlier this month Beck and I took a trip out to Boise to see my family.  It had been WAAAY too long since I had been back to Boise.  It made this preggo momma tear up to see how excited Beck got when he saw his Mimi and Papa at the airport.  He practically dove out of his stroller and into their arms.  I consider it a blessing that Beck knows and loves them so much even though he can't see them on a regular basis.  Kyle and Jade (and their girls) live there again, and Tiffini and Colston flew in too so all the cousins got to play all week.  Because of the kiddos, it is getting harder and harder to plan grand adventures like we used to, but honestly my goal of spending time with my family and letting the cousins bond was fully met. I know I have said this before, but I really want my kids to have a good relationship with all of his cousins growing up.  Chase and I have the best memories as kids with our cousins and we want that for our children too.  I just loved getting to spend time with (half) of my family, and of course, we greatly missed Kaela and Garrett, Matt and Dara, and Brian and Thip. 

bored.
Even with a toddler and my nesting ambitions, I have been kind of bored.  I really need some hobbies.  Crafting appeals to me, but it is sort of overwhelming for some reason.  ...and really, since I don't have a very big stash of supplies, it is kind of expensive because I will have to buy every single tool and supply for the craft.  So then my practical mind convinces me not to do it.  I can think of some fun sewing projects, but alas, I have no sewing machine, and don't really know how to sew either.  ha!  So, I'm up for suggestions!  What should my new hobby be?!

alright this post is getting a bit long-winded so I better just stop there. 
Peace and love.

Its the most wonderful time of the year

Every single time I hear that song at Christmas I think of my Dad.

We used to sing it over and over again in the car-

 making up silly words of our own about what this time of year meant for our family. 

Its true though, whether you are near family, or missing them from afar,

it really is the most wonderful time of the year.

This year we may have gotten a late start, but we tried our best to celebrate the season to the fullest.

Starting in November I had Pandora Christmas Stations on pretty much all the time. 

Our Family Home Evenings were spent singing Christmas songs and reading to Beck about baby Jesus.

We baked and frosted Christmas cookies

(RARE occasion for me-I pretty much had to buy all the ingredients,

 including a rolling pin-because I seriously never bake)

  

not to worry, this was gingerbread scented play dough...

none of our neighbors had to eat "toddler-rolled" cookies ;)

We visted Christmas trains, Santa, and spent lots of time with friends

Beck also had his first encounter with Santa-age 22 months. 

He loved it.

...and by looking at Santa's eyes,

you can tell he loved it too.

Just before the special day itself, we headed down to Oklahoma to see the Taylors.

I got lots of pictures of this trip,

but somehow they pretty much all ended up being on Christmas morning wearing PJ's. 

...super flattering of everyone.

So flattering that I won't make you feel bad about how much better

we look than you first thing in the morning by posting them.

hah!

The lack of pictures doesn't reflect on how wonderful the trip was though!

The highlights were watching Beck interact with his Grandparents and Aunt and Uncles,

experiencing the magic of Christmas for a toddler,

and our fabulous fondue' Christmas eve dinner.

I think my favorite part was the Christmas Eve devotional with the family.

We each shared our testimonies of Christ and the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon,

and sang Christmas songs together. 

It really is the most wonderful time of the year. 

It is a perfect reminder of the humble beginnings of our Savior,

Jesus Christ and all that he did/does for us.

cousins!

The hardest part (by far) about living in Kansas City is that we don't have any family nearby.

We really like it here, have made lots of friends to keep us busy,

but there is something to be said about cousins growing up together.

If we can't live near our kids' cousins now,

the next best thing is getting to visit eachother lots.

After Thanksgiving I got to go to Atlanta to visit Tiffini (my older sister),

her husband John and baby Colston.

Like last time, and the time before,

we ate some amazing food,

had lots of great sister chats

made fun of eachother's baby talking voice,

and Mommy singing voices-

picture 6 year old girl's high pitched voices...thats us.

But unlike the times before,

we now have two busy babies that gave us a reality check.

having two kids will be tough!
That Colston though,
he has a smile that will melt your heart right to pieces. 
I can't get enough of that nephew of mine.

Even though we had about a 5 hour stretch in the middle of the day

where one or both of the kids should have been napping,
we still managed to get out and have lots of fun.
shopping, playing at parks, cooking, facials, and lots of baby entertaining.

Cousin bathtime!!

My Dad was also able to come for the last day that Beck and I were in Atlanta.

It has been waaaaay too long since Beck has seen his Papa. 

I was so happy that he could make this trip work, even if it was short.

I hope it isn't long before I get to see him again.

Tiffini and I realized these trips are only going to get harder as our kids get older and more come along.
I hope it isn't too long until we can do it again.
I really loved this sister time.
Thanks a bunch, T.
xoxo

 

Thanksgiving 2011

Today I was driving around town running errands and I suddenly got this panicked feeling. 

There are only two weeks until Christmas! 

I have not savored the Christmas season,

and I just know that it is going to suddenly be over and I will be sad that I didn't take advantage of it. 

Yes, I blare Christmas music pretty much all day..

...but no light gazing, no decorating, not any substantial shopping, no baking... what is my problemo?!

Starting tomorrow, Christmas is ON at my house!

Now for an update: 

Thanksgiving this year was wonderful.   

We drove down to Oklahoma (only 5 hours) to spend it with the Taylors. 

Jalene and Lincoln flew in and it was so much fun. 

It was spent just like every other Thanksgiving: 

fabulous food,

lots of football,

a turkey bowl,

Christmas shopping (but not at the crack of dawn, thats not our style)

and of course, savoring time with family. 

I really wouldn't have it any other way. 

...ok, maybe a little less football.  :) 

We also watched Preston perform in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor dreamcoat. 

I can never get enough of that kid's talent, seriously!

Beck found a nice spot just for him to watch Dora. 

I really wish I had gotten more pictures from the weekend.

Luckily we get to see everyone again in just over a week!

wahoo!!

Super Taylors

This Halloween, we went SUPER!!

It was all we could do to keep Beck from flying away.  He loved his cape. 

Sadly, we forgot his Super Shades at home.

Don't you hate when you forget part of your costume?!

Seriously I don't know what it is with kids and candy. 

I can probably count on one hand the times Beck has had candy,

yet somehow, he inherently knows what it is, and that he wants it. 

He was so preoccupied with the bag of treats from the trunk or treat, it was quite funny.

He is lucky that his Dad snuck him two halves of one little whopper. 

 A halloween feast :)

Super Mom with Super baby at 19.5 weeks pregnant.

Even though its next to impossible to get a good, smiling picture of Super Beck these days,

we still think he's pretty dang cute.

Happy Halloweeeeen!