Last one!!

February began with hope of some warmth, sunshine, and better breathing air.

Also, my kids are obsessed with balloons.  Even this picture set Levi off on a "B" babble.  

As she gets older and more exciting, Mara has begun to try fun acrobatic moves.  Levi is determined to be just like her.  Always.  In everything she does.  Its quite hilarious.

Levi turned 18 months mid-February and has begun the mischievous stage of the terrible twos. Everything from eating lipgloss with a "my little ponies" comb, to brushing the kitty (or trying to brush my hair with that nasty kitty brush), to trying to delay bedtime by bringing the pillows to the front room.  He also fell off the bathroom counter this morning.....but thats another story.  (I just hope he learned his lesson!)

February also had a few firsts.

 Ian's work gave him Jazz tickets so Ian and I went to our first Jazz game, with decent seats.  We weren't even in the lower bowl (the second to bottom row in the top bowl though), but I'll tell you this much, neither of us enjoyed it enough to spend as much as those tickets were worth!! I'm so glad I married someone NOT obsessed with sports! 

Mara used a vending machine for the first time and LOVED it.  She just kept pushing the buttons and hoping for more.  

As the kids get older and begin to play together a bit more, I am thoroughly enjoying their troublemaking antics.

They asked me if I could get them breakfast.  Mara: Special K red berries.  Levi: Mini-marshmallows.  

They go on shopping trips together.  

They repurpose furniture.

One day I heard Levi wake up from his nap and then he went silent.  This is what I found.

I tell you, these kids.  Spending so much time inside makes them quite inventive and self-entertaining!

 Of course, Mara still needs her snow walks occasionally.

Only one trip for Ian in February!!  But one day he was taking forever getting home so I asked what    was taking so long...

Sometimes you just have to be patient!

March, although only 8 days in, has been entertaining already!

It began with a breakfast experiment- Cinnamon Roll Pancakes with cream cheese syrup.  Amazing! Seriously! You need to try these!!

We had a friend come over for a few days and the kids enjoyed imagining with him. 

Rocket ship! To the moon!

Mara tried her hand at Mr. Potato Head....She's a bit mixed up, but she likes it! (also has been wearing her Belle dress all week...That girl is hooked!)

Ian had said he wanted to let Mara's bangs grow, so I haven't been cutting them... But a few nights ago, I couldn't take the shaggy dog look anymore!  So I just trimmed a thinner layer.  Sorry Mara, can't let 'em go quite yet!

So there you have it! A fully, completely, up to date blog!! Hooray!

Catch-Up Continued

In January we continued to have fun with family in town.  Grace likes sweets...so I couldn't help but encourage the sugar overload, even if it didn't help with the "new year weight loss" ideas I had.  We made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and cream puffs (among other things).  They were all soooo good!!

Mara got a little thirsty and turned vampire on us, but she's back to normal now :) 

The red velvet cupcakes were especially for Daniel and Ashley's return since they are her favorite cake...though we are not Alabamian nor do we make it as good as grandma(granny?)....but, she still smiled and licked her lips :)  

While they were here, the kids had dance parties and had a blast hanging out together.  

During another trip they exercised together.  I tell you, these kids know how to bond :)

The first part of the year brought an awesome snowfall.  Levi was napping so I decided to shovel the driveway while Mara romped happily in the snow. 

It was pretty deep and she eventually ended up in a ball of tears when she fell down in waist deep snow, lost her glove, and realized how cold she was.

 Ian took a few more business trips in January.

During one of the flights he was able to get a picture of the nasty inversion that kept us all in stuffy heads and drippy noses for the better part of the month.

Staying inside wasn't always fun, but we made the most of it. 

 Levi discovered the best way to watch Sesame Street.

Mara spent much of the time teasing her brother.  Here she put the step stools (which he needed to climb onto the couch) on the back of the couch, intensifying his distress. 

On one day she begged and begged to go outside.  She put all her jewelry on and then retrieved her boots from the garage and told me she was ready.  How could I say no!?  So I let her walk around on the 4x4 deck until she got cold.  It was a perfect solution and totally satisfied her.

January ended with another good snow storm and the kids and I played while Ian shoveled.  The snow piles were awesomely high and the kids made the pictures of it much more exciting.  

And just before going inside we made snow angels.  Just about the only thing I like to do in the snow.  I blame my brothers' many, many, whitewashes for solidifying my dislike of truly playing in the snow :) I guess with young kids, I'm going to have to get over it, at least for a little while, and January gave me plenty of opportunity!

Wow!

So I just realized we have about 4 months of catch up to do...I apologize if this causes your brain to explode, but I'm going to inundate you with pictures instead of just telling you what happened.  If its worth it, I'll add in a story, but as you know, a picture is worth a thousand words!

 Sorry, we've been a bit lazy with updating.  Its exhausting to have as much fun as we do.

Halloween was awesome!! Mara was a cute cow for the second year (at her insistence) and Levi made an adorable lion- if I do say so myself :)

Next comes November

 Ian took a business trip, and out of sheer boredom at the lack of me and the kids, tends to take pictures of his beautiful surroundings.  

There is never any boredom here at home.  Mara spent November making me laugh.  Especially when she got stuck in her pj's, haha, still gets me!

Ian's parents came to visit and we all enjoyed that! Here, the kids enjoyed the ducks at Gardner Village.  I enjoyed the sweet shop....yum!

Levi liked November because it comes right before December, and that means Christmas!!!  

Also, He bit his tongue.  That was scary for mom.  Now I'm in the "my kid bit their tongue" club!!

 The final November hoorah was to Temple Square with the Pierce parents to see the lights.  Fun (and shivering) was had by all.

They were gorgeous!!

On to December

 It was a busy month! The kids helped with the housework,

 And the visitors began on my birthday!! (Funny story, no pictures of that, but I promise it happened!) Levi and Lilly had a blast together, and he also enjoyed having Uncle Daniel to hang out with.

With all the visitors, we also had lots of treats.  Mara liked that :)

 Levi was funny, as always.  Dressing himself up as a cross-dressing safari guide, playing guitar while waiting for cookies, learning how to eat without a restrictive tray, and of course, showing off his curls.

 With all the visitors, we still managed to go to the Discovery Gateway with our friends- tons of fun!

When Ian was home, he taught the kids how to make an awesome fort.

 Unfortunately, he was gone a lot towards the end of the year.  100+ days gone in 2012.

 While he was gone he missed this tender moment- Levi imitated us at prayer time.  So cute!

But when he was home, he definitely made the most of it.

He also used his time to make this sweet rocking horse for Levi for Christmas.  Its a family favorite.

 Christmas was awesome, but not quite well pictured.  The kids loved the lights, insisting that we "drive special" to look at them.  The presents were enjoyed, and the new kids nativity was carried around, played with, and the lamb even took a quick trip to Alabama with Daniel and Ashley, haha.  Mara liked to line them up in such a neat symmetrical way that I decided it should be documented. Grace spent the whole break here since she was at BYU this year.  (Not sure how she avoided the pictures...) And of course, when reading the Christmas story on Christmas Eve, we had our own Mary and Joseph.  Super cute.  Even though Joseph seems to have a sparkly girdle....eh, no matter :)

And this little cutie finished off the year by getting a haircut- her first real cut since she was 5 months old.  I've been keeping her bangs in check, but thats it!  She donated her 10 inches to locks of love, and thought it was just about the best thing.  I agreed, until I realized how unruly her hair is.  It wants to curl, but not fully- it just flips funny in the back....so if I don't style it, she looks wild.  Thats ok.  I like wild :)

And that was 2012!!  

Sorry it's been a while.  Anyway, here you go.

We're all good.

Life is exhausting.

Vacations are over, Levi is a year old, Mara turns three at the end of the month, Fall is around the corner, the Pierce bed and breakfast is in full swing, and we can't wait to start the holidays. Life keeps us busy, but someday we'll catch up on the blog :)