Easter and JoJo is 13 months old

Easter in March landed on our nephew Ben's birthday. We were able to come early Saturday and enjoy time with the Bares and Grandma and Grandpa Hebdon. Our kiddos just love all of the extra attention and love. They never get bored or feel lonely, and hopefully they add fun for the others as well. We arrived just a few minutes to late to make it to the Arimo town Easter egg hunt, but we went to one that a group of us ladies in the ward put together. So they did get to enjoy finding eggs, finding out that they had goodies in them, and enjoying the excitement of Spring.

Easter morning was full of surprises and candy that the Easter bunny left for the kids. Chocolate, candy, toys, games....it's fun to see the expressions of the kids when they see what was specifically chosen for them. Even the older cousins were fun to see. Stephanie did rolls with marshmallows in the center. When they cook the marshmallow rises and then disappears, making them and "empty tomb" to remind us of the miracle of the resurrection of Christ. We are so grateful for all of the hard work that everyone puts in to make such an enjoyable time. We are definitely spoiled!! We were also grateful to be present for Ben's ordination into the Aaronic Priesthood. His blessing was very special and touched our hearts.

Wow, Jojo is just bursting with energy and wants to go go go!! He is loving his ability to get around and doesn't show the slightest interest in walking. I try to hold his hands and help him walk. He lasts for a couple of steps, but gets bored quickly. And that's just fine by me.  The more mobile they get, the more trouble they find....and he is doing enough of that with his big sister. They are always keeping us on our toes. As Joe says, they don't give us any room for error, so we are constantly trying to stop accidents from happening and guessing any possibilities that might come up.

He has all four molars in. He seemed to get them all around his one year birthday just a couple of weeks....his third molar came in on March 2nd with the fourth one poking through, finally!! Poor little guy, and all through being sick too. This winter has been a frustrating one. All four of us get sick for 10-14 days with head colds and sore throats, to get better for a week, just to go through the vicious  cycle again!! According to the pediatrician, there is a virus that is going around that does that....we're done!! No more....We can't wait for warmer weather and less sick times, hopefully!!

Jojo seems to be crawling on his knees more and rarely does the army crawl, which I kind of miss. I got comments occasionally from the sisters in the ward that said their boy crawled the same way, and it made them so happy to watch him. He is full of character and his smile melts many hearts, especially mine. It's fun to see his personality more and more as he gets older.

He is able to now say cracker, cookie, and hi mommy (or daddy). We thought that was a pretty big deal. Those are big words, and putting two words together is pretty exciting. He is a smart little boy and blows us away by what he can do. Once again, I keep thinking he's my little baby and seem to resist believing he's growing up.  I think with Addie, I had a lot of one on one time, so I tried to teach and help her learn. Expecially with walking, I really wanted her to be able to walk around and be independent when I had Joey to make things easier for all of us. And she excelled!! And with Joey, I feel more overwhelmed because of both of them needing so much attention and help, I feel guilty most of the time for the things that I should be doing to help him, both of them really. But despite my lack of teaching, Joey still is amazing and bright. I think he picks up a lot from Addie.

Addie is doing really well in Nursery, and we are able to just drop her off and walk out, without her crying. That has been a huge thing for us. For awhile, she would cry and want to be held by the teacher for the majority of the time. I think that due to us visiting family, missing so much church because we have been sick, it's been hard for her to get used to everyone. But she is a big girl and is so sweet that she seems to get along just fine.

Wearing their Sunday outfits mommy and daddy gave them. They look so nice!!

I gave them both their first haircuts the day before Easter. It's amazing how much it really made Jojo look like a toddler. He's so handsome!! And Addie's hair looks so much fuller and healthy. They both did really well.

They both had a hard time enjoying coloring eggs. They didn't get very good naps in, and it was past their bedtime. But we have to keep tradition, right? Poor kiddos!! After awhile, Addie warmed up to the idea and had fun. 

St. Patrick's Day

"May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand."

A traditional gaelic blessing

I hope that our kids will always love and be proud of their heritage. We have many
wonderful people and cultures to learn from and keep passing down. Joe's maternal 
grandfather Grandpa Francis (Chucky) Patrick Loyd was the first child born in the 
United States, in Pennsylvania  state. His family came from Ireland, and they 
decend from a well known highwayman, Black Jack Maloy. I hope to gather up some 
stories from his side to pass down to our posterity. My family has done so much so
 I'm not worried about my side. His Aunt Joan has actually done a lot for the Loyd 
family.

Family History is so very important, and has even become a commandment, to 
fulfill the promises found in Malachi 4:5-6

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and 
dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,
and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I comeand smite the earth with a 
curse."

So I tried a new tradition for our family, we cooked corned beef, cabbage, carrots
and potatoes. LOL, the kiddos didn't like it as well, but Joe and I really enjoyed it, 
especially the cabbage. It will be fun to have the kids get olderand enjoy these 
holidays more.

JoJo is 1 year old!?!!

I can't believe my baby boy is already one year old. It seems like he's still my baby. I forget how much he can do until he shows me....and I am blown away that he has gotten so big. It may be due to the fact that him and Addie are so close is age, but I keep forgetting that he is so big. He is now crawling on his hands and knees, and occasionally going back to his army crawl when he wants speed. He is furniture cruising around and feels really independent doing so. He really squawks and vocalizes his excitement. He says a few words, Mommy, Daddy, JoJo, No, and Hi. He likes to open and close his hand when he waves, and even rotates his hand around to wave.

For his birthday, I did a birthday banner with his name on it, just like for Addie's birthday, except we did triangles everywhere. Grandma Hebdon brought over some cake pans in shape when she visited  awhile ago. His birthday cake was white, and made in the shape of a teddy bear. I wanted it to be colorful, so I did the bears shirt mutiple colors. It was a lot of fun to make. I remember loving my birthday cakes that my mom made and hope my kiddos will feel the same. When he finally got a chance to enjoy his cake, he had no reservations!! He really like it, especially the frosting. Addie really enjoyed it too and asked for cake for a few days after.

We gave him an alphabet train, that you can sit on, push buttons, and it sings songs and repeats the alphabet when you put in the letter cubes. We've been waiting a year to give this to him. It's a toy he can grow into....and of course his big sister seems to take over. But that's ok, they will both need to learn to share and enjoy each others toys.....that's the goal anyways. Grandma and Grandpa Hebdon gave him a cute blanket she made (she calls them snuggle blankets, to make up for the snuggles she misses out on), that had frogs on them and a toy plush frog to match. He loves to bury his head and roll in his blankie. Addie gave him some farm animals to add to his Little People Farm set he got for Christmas.

He went in for his year old check up. He is doing really well and keeping up with his growth rate in the 90's percentile. We couldn't be more grateful to have a happy, healthy boy.
His stats:

Random pictures

I just thought these were to funny not to share.

I heard Addie say "color" and I look up to see that she had gotten into my makeup and put on mascara.... She is mad at me for taking it away from her.

She got into the markers.....

Playing with Daddy's Seattle Mariner hat.

Playing at Aunt Stephanie's house

JoJo playing piano on the toy Aunt Stephanie gave us when Addie was born. He thought he was pretty big stuff.

Addie wearing Great Grandma Sarah Hebdon's hat she knitted.

Provo City Center Temple Open House

Due to Stephanie's fantastic skills, we were all able to go and see the Provo City Center Temple Open House. This was Joe's first Temple Open House, and Addie's and Joey's first Temple to walk in. It was absolutely gorgeous!! Truly a lot of love and time went into restoring a Pioneer building that held a special spot in many's hearts. I couldn't believe all of the detailed carving and woodwork. I'm so grateful to be able to do these things as families, to share these spiritual moments that will hopefully strengthen testimonies down the road. And thank goodness we had Stephanie to help so much with our kids. They were very impatient waiting and watching the presentations, but once we got into the temple they seemed to do a lot better. 

Joey is 11 months old!!

Wow, I feel like this winter has dragged by, but then when I think about my baby boy being almost a year old I guess it really has flown. He is getting so big, and independent, and I just can't believe it. Just a week ago I walked into his room to get him up for the morning, and he was standing up in his crib!! This is the first time he has stood up using something. I was so excited for him and he was so proud of himself. I sat in the rocking chair cheering him on, and I felt a little sad. I LOVE the 3 month plus baby stage. They are so much fun and I adore their cute happiness. They seem easy to please. The more independent and mobile they are, the harder it seems to please them and they get more moody.....

I'm not going to lie, if I could keep them at 6 months forever, I would!! It's almost tempting to have another baby, but they would grow up too. LOL, I said ALMOST TEMPTING!! But I'm not up for it yet. He's gotten to the point that he wants to be going, going and so church is becoming a challenge. It's a good thing he's so cute and social. The ladies in the ward adore him! And everybody comments on his beautiful blue eyes.

He just got his 7th tooth, the bottom second from the middle on his left side. He has seemed to be teething for a month now, so it's been a relief to get it in. His hair is really coming in! It's so blonde, he hardly seems like the same baby when he was born. I will need to give him a haircut sometime before his birthday.

He can wave, clap and feed himself for awhile now. I keep forgetting to write it down. He is a big eater, probably bigger then his sister was. He loves everything, but not broccoli so much.

He is starting to defend himself and play back with Addie. They are pretty cute and play hard. Sometimes too hard which ends in frustration on his part. But they are good friends. They seem the happiest when they are up together. Addie is very protective of her brother and tries to help him when she can.

About 2 weeks ago I looked over and he was on his tummy, I watched in the corner of my eye, half paying attention to him and suddenly he was on his bum sitting up by himself!! He was so smooth and quick, it looked like he had been doing this for months. And maybe he has and we haven't seen him. He does it all of the time now and seems to think he's pretty great. He also is using the toy totes to stand up and gets very excited at any chance he gets to try and stand. What a handsome big boy!!

I couldn't resist, they are just so cute playing in the tub!! But all essentials are covered, so these are for momma. Their cuteness must always be remembered, I love them so much

A letter to my children when they have children of their own...

I want to write this to my children....hopefully they will get some smiles, laughs, and reassurance that we all go through it. I get intimidated being a mother. I do! It's hard not to when I have my mom, that was pretty darn as perfect as they come! And my sister Stephanie, I don't know how she does it all and seems to enjoy every minute of it! And my sister Rachel, who is so patient and mellow about everything. And so I just want to express some of my thoughts and feelings so that my children will hopefully feel like I understand!

And yet I can't even write more because my kids are demanding 100 percent attention....I'm exhausted and envy neighbors and friends who had family close by they could visit and help out, go on dates once a week! Without paying so much for babysitting that you can't afford it.  Things were so simple with just the two of us. But then again, everything have more meaning and depth with children. The plan of happiness, was never easy, but always worth it.

Boise visit to Grandpa Gary, Grandma Sally, and Uncle Phil

Joe's dad Gary had to have both hips opperated on again in December. Unfortunately when they were removing the old hardware they found infection in both hips. So he had to stay at a facility to recuperate and heal so they can go back in to replace the hardware. We waited until we were all feeling healthy so we didn't share our bugs and drove 5.5 hr drive to Boise. All in all the kiddos did pretty good. We got dvd players for Christmas for long trips like this, however Addie and especially Jojo aren't old enough to enjoy watching TV yet.

It was fun for Jojo to meet his Grandma Sally and Uncle Phil for the first time, and for Addie to see them again. It always amazes me how fast they warm up to Sally. I think her animated facial expressions are so similar to Joe's that they automatically feel that they know her.

We were able to visit Grandpa Gary a couple of times and bring him some dinner (greatly needed after being in the facility for a couple of months!!) and treats. Considering his situation, he is amazingly optimistic and only had positive things to say. He's a great example to all of us.

She's wearing all of the bows Aunt Rachel gave her....She'll wear a bow for a couple of minutes, just to take them all out. Lol, what a silly cutie pie.

I wanted to show that she does sometimes let me do her hair, SOMETIMES!

New Year's

Daddy had to work New Year's Eve, so we went to visit my family the following day. We were excited to see my parent's and Kevin's family. The kids always enjoy the attention and love. Addie jumped for her first time in front of me and my dad. That was pretty excited. She has become a pro at jumping ever since. She really enjoys to parents and likes to tease my dad. He always seems to soften when she comes in for a hug. It's a big deal because she doesn't give those freely. Joey got ooh's and aah's over his speed with is army crawl.

Joe and I had some fun going to the shooting range with Kevin, Ben, and Adam. It was my first time shooting a gun (besides a beebee gun at girls' camp, I know, pathetic!). We went back another day with just Kevin. I didn't do too bad with the shot gun, was great with the 22, and was one for one with the 220 Swift of my dad's a ways back with a scope (totally cheating, I know).

Kevin often does a smoker for meat when we visit. It's so yummy! A lot of work, but it is wonderful. He has been milking cows now, working 40 hrs plus in 3 days, and sometimes more!! And even then he still got up so smoke the meat for 12 hrs.

Fun times with Grandma Hebdon 

Addie's Christmas Dress

I know we have some pictures of JoJo with his Christmas outfit, I'm not sure where they are.

Jenna's robe she gave Addie, so cute and grown up

We always enjoy going to Arimo and are grateful for such a fun family.