Derek is 2

My little baby is getting so big, he is now two years old! For his birthday we went to the aquarium. I know I was spoiled as a kid getting to go to Seaworld and the San Diego Zoo, but I think Utah's aquarium is pretty sad. The kids don't know what they are missing out on so they where super excited. Derek and Jacob have a true love for fish and the sea. Derek might not want to watch shows geared to kids his age, but I put on national geographic " coral reef" and he is hooked. I think Jacob's obsession for all ocean dwelling animals helps fuel Derek's fascination.

Derek was so excited to see the fish, but he was mesmerized by the stingrays. At first he wasn't too fond of the stingrays getting close. He would get nervous and even pretend cry if we tried to get him to touch them. Jacob on the other hand had a ball trying to pet them. I had to keep reminding him that only the stingrays are supposed to swim in this water, not Jacobs. One time the sting ray jumped right in front of Jacob. It startled him and made him jump back.

The newest addition to the little aquarium is penguins! They where fun to watch and where really active. Both kids wanted to be lifted up to see the penguins so Dan held them both up. I thought is was super cute. It was a fun family outing, It made me even more excited to take them to San Diego this summer.

Happy New Years!

For the past two years we have had our family over for New Years Eve. It is so nice having it at our house. Most holidays are spent at my parent's which is fun, but we leave when the kids bed time gets close. We had tons of fun playing games. My favorites where Rachel vs Jake and Heather vs. Jim. Mostly because they where so entertaining. We had to bring in a kids play rug so the kids/adults knew when they got to close to the tv.

During the festivities Heather and my Mom ended up getting tiered and taking little naps. We also set up the castle. Jake saw just how crazy Aunt Heather and Aunt Rachel can get. They took turns being princesses and the evil witch that would try to storm the castle. After Derek went to bed things had to settle down a bit, so we played quiet games in the castle.

It was super fun, a great start to a new year.

Christmas Morning

After we got the kids in their beds on Christmas Eve we set out to work getting ready for Christmas morning! Because Derek is a mischievous child we have had no presents under the tree until that night. So we brought down all the presents that where wrapped and hidden up in our room . We then watched 'The Christmas Story" while prepping the stockings and setting up the train table. Dan and I have the tradition of doing each others stockings. I set his up, cover it with a blanket and then he does the same. That way we are surprised Christmas morning too. I was so excited to see the kids and Dan's reaction to their presents.
I didn't get much sleep. We knew jacob was awake Christmas morning because we could hear him singing Rudolph in his bedroom. Santa was amazing and got him everything on his list. Derek was enthralled with the train and has treats. We then opened presents youngest to oldest. One by one. The way it should be, slow and thoughtful. I got  Dan got a little blender for his protein ( yes it was returned) and a new leatherman. He got Madden and a Blue ray, but I don't think they really count because he knew about them. Dan got me a Blendtec Blender, flat griddle and other things. He got me a Blender! Not only did we both get each other blenders, but the one he got me was crazy amazing! His looked all sad and geld next to my awesome blendtec. It was a great Family Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve morning Dan got a text from UPS. He didn't have to go to work!!! It was truly a Christmas miracle. We had a fun day of relaxing, then went over to David and Gina's house for our traditional Christmas Eve festivities. They have this odd pool game that was a fun twist on the original.

Jacob loved watching the adults play, and after explaining that only adults can play because little boys could get hurt, he watched without trying to grab a ball. Dan beat Richie 2-1 and Richie beat my Mom 2-0.

Richie being the crazy uncle! I am so glad Jacob was feeling better. When we first got to David's house Jacob ate a reece's pieces. He went to Dan and told him he ate a bad M&M. After some benadryl and him holding a bowl while he sat on my lap for awhile he seemed just fine.

We then had our traditional Christmas talent Show. Jacob and I sang a song together. That is right people, I sang! David even said I sounded good. The only time he seemed tired and drugged was during our singing. I tried posting the video. You can see it on my facebook page. Jacob then joined in while Richie and Grandpa sang.

After David and Gina's kids did their talent it was Grandma's and Heather's turn. They cheated. They gave all of us a chime and expected us to provide the music. This was a very bad choice. 

Not only did they not have a talent, but we then had to listen to our own horrible "chimed" rendition of classic Christmas songs. It was so bad that Heather couldn't mask her amusement of how crappy it was. The worst part was David . He always forgot which numbers was his. I am going to say the best was me. I got a chime number that wasn't even in the song, so I didn't even have to participate in the deafening craziness. 

We then watched the church's nativity video. Jacob loves the story and was thoroughly enthralled. He had so many questions, "where is King Harrod?", "Why are they speaking so funny", " Joseph should build Mary a house if there is no room", " Why don't they have cars". I had to whisper the story and answer questions in his ear so he wasn't loud.  Derek enjoyed it as well. They both fell asleep on the way home. It was a fun Christmas Eve.