It's Finally Mutual!

I knew this day would come, I just didn't expect it to happen so soon after I'd pointed out the opposite! I mentioned in a previous post that Anders simply adores our Diva, but the feeling was definitely not mutual. Eva would scream every time Anders even looked like he was going to come over. Fortunately, that didn't even phase Anders and he still smothered her with kisses and loves. This past week, Eva has become one of Anders' biggest fans. It is so heart-warming to watch her gaze at him and coo when he comes near her instead of scream. She now looks at him in the same way she looks at Christian and I. He is constantly telling me, "she smile me Mom!" Whenever Eva wakes up from her nap, Anders rushes over to her, gets in her face, and says, "hey sis! You have good sleeps?" I love that when Anders wants to hold her, she will let him. She loves when he smashes his face on hers. These two pictures were taken within a few minutes of each other. She actually tolerated it for quite a while! You can see she'd already been through a number of face smashing and kisses from Anders...her face looks a little blotchy.

Roughin' It!

Originally, we were all hoping to take a weekend camping trip up Fairview Canyon over Father's Day weekend. Somehow, the trip evolved into a dutch oven dinner at Fairview Lake with Grandma and Grandpa Larsen, Steve and Lezlee, and Stephen and Whitney. The weather was horrible. We spent the entire time either wrapped in blankets or cuddled in the car with the heater on, drinking hot chocolate. The dinner was fantastic and well-worth the trip up there. I am sad to say that in the 7 years Christian and I have been married, it was the first time I've actually spent any time in that canyon. Christian was so lucky to grow-up only minutes away from a destination people travel hours to visit. Even in the horrible weather, it was absolutely beautiful and really put me in the camping mood. We will be back Fairview Lakes. You haven't seen the last of us!

We had to get a picture of the lovely ensemble Grandma Larsen threw together for Anders since his neglectful mother forgot to bring warm clothes for him (but remembered some for herself!). I'm so glad nobody else braved the cold to witness it.

Nothing better than having a dirty face from only being in the mountains for a couple of hours!

2 year-old boy + Dinosaur Park = Euphoria

Who would have guessed that taking three boys ages 1 to 4 years old to the Dinosaur Park would be such a pleasant experience! As much as Ryder and Anders adore each other, they really know how to push each other's buttons. Nikki and I often wonder if this is something we will be dealing with our entire lives...let's hope not! My mom, Carly, and I decided to brave a trip to the Dinosaur Park alone with all three boys last Friday. I can honestly say that I walked away from that park feeling like I actually enjoyed myself for the first time in a long time! The boys were amazing! I'm sure it was the wagon we rented which allowed Ryder to keep busy by pulling our lazy Anders and strapped in Houdini baby Easton! I think it is safe to say that a good time was had by all. A dinosaur is still pretty much a dinosaur to me. They all look the same!

Anders and "the beasty boy" riding who knows what
Anders and Ry Ry diggin' for bones

Carly surfin' on again...who knows what

No need for words

My Daddy is my Favorite Pal...

It is coincidence that Father's Day happens to be this week. This past week, I have noticed Anders doing special little things to show how much he idolizes Christian. The other morning, he decided that he should put every hat Christian owns on his head...in the same direction that Christian wears them. My favorite thing he did happened a couple of days ago at the gym daycare while I was volunteering there. Anders was playing with two cute little girls that were dying to play house with him. The older of the girls kept asking Anders, "do you want to be the daddy or do you want to be the brother?" Anders simply responded, "no, I be da Pharmacist." The little girl was getting so frustrated with him, she repeated, "you want to be the Pharmacist? No, I'm going to be the mommy, you need to be the daddy or the brother because you're a boy." Anders just repeated very matter-of-fact, "no, I be da Pharmacist." I was sitting across the room giggling to myself. I'm so glad I got to witness that!


I just had to add this picture of Anders' new accomplishment. I don't know if other 2 1/2 year olds have difficulty putting their pants and underwear on by themselves, but Anders has really struggled. I always end up doing everything I can to help him, which usually involves me holding his pants in one hand (with Eva in the other) and we somehow manage to find some creative way to work his feet into the right holes. Well today, Anders decided he was going to try it himself (thankfully!). His feet got in the right holes, but as you can see, his pajama pants ended up being inside-out. I thought it was so cute because he was SO proud of himself. Way to go Bud! What you can't see is he gave up on the underwear all together...therefore, he is going commando! That's my boy!

I Enjoy Being a Girl!

If you think it should be easy to take a picture of a 2 1/2 month-old's feet, you're wrong! A couple of days ago, I'd planned to finally break-down and paint my own toenails for the first time since last summer. I thought that the perfect time to do it would be during the kid's nap. Of course, things never go as planned when it involves a nap time. Eva would not take her regular nap. I finally decided to paint her toenails instead and BOY am I glad I did! Aren't they precious?? She finally did fall asleep and I got to paint mine as well. It is so fun to have matching toes with my sweet little Diva!

Eva the Diva

As if you couldn't already tell, the Larsens have fallen head-over-heals for our Diva. We were unprepared for the liveliness she was going to bring in to our family. When Christian and I would talk about what we expected our second child to be like, we came up with the exact opposite of what she's turned out to be. She has earned the name "Eva the Diva" that Aunt Nikki has given her. Even Anders has begun calling her that. The other day, he asked me, "where's the Diva?" This name suits her so well, because she literally has won over everyone she meets. Even though, lets be honest, she is a NAUGHTY baby, she's just so dang adorable you can't hold it against her for a minute! The girl has the loudest cry I have ever heard on a baby and she uses it to her advantage. If you aren't holding in the exact position she wants you to, she will scream relentlessly. It is so fun to see two little people we love so much interact with each other. It is no exaggeration when I say that Anders adores every breath that Eva takes. He welcomes her with a "Hey sis!" every time she enters the room and loves to smother her in kisses. Unfortunately, we can't say that Eva shares those feelings for Anders at this point. I know she will someday, but for now, she pretty much cries any time he comes anywhere near her. Regardless, Anders would do anything for his baby sis. He even endures long 2 minute car rides with the Diva screaming in the seat next to him without complaining. I hope his feelings for her last forever and that someday, those feelings will be mutual!
These pictures I posted are once again, evidence that I have an AMAZING sister-in-law! Amy had heard that I was struggling (majorly) with the idea of having two kids; one of which being extremely colicky. Amy called me and wanted to know how she could help. I told her that I just needed to get out of my house and go somewhere that my anxiety wouldn't get the best of me. She quickly invited me over to her house for a dairy-free lunch. She also had me bring Eva's blessing dress so we could take pictures of her in it. It turned out to be an amazing day for me because it was the first time I had taken both of my kids anywhere...on top of that, it was stress-free! I love having such a talented sister-in-law because every picture she takes of my kids or our family has meaning and special memories to me. Each one of them represent a memory I will never forget. I just don't know how I could ever repay her for what she has done for me!

For Our Daddy!

I just wanted to post this for the best Daddy in the world because he's missing his kids terribly!

A little background behind this next picture:
I've been waiting for the day that Anders realizes the difference between girls and boys. He does a great job recognizing a girl from a boy, for the most part, but that's hard for everyone on occasion! However, I have been dreading the "body parts" question. I know that there are many people out there that feel like parents should be open with their kids and use technical terms because they think nick-naming body parts makes kids embarassed of them...I used to be one of them! Since Anders has turned two, I've realized how that can easily backfire on you and I'm just not ready for that! Well, the day came, and a little too soon if you ask me! We were laying on the floor playing with Eva and he turned over and elbowed me asking me, "what are these?" I quickly answered him by saying, "these are mine..." hoping that would be enough. Then he said, "yeah, but what they name?" I finally decided to forgo all of my technical mumbo-jumbo and said, "they're called boobies." I quickly gritted my teeth, imagining him teaching this new word to all the kids in nursery, since last week he taught them all to sing, "twinkle twinkle little poop." (I'm sorry to all of Anders' nursery friend's parents out there...yes we're responsible, no we don't encourage it!) After Anders heard that word, he immediately laughed and repeated, "boobies." Then, he lifted his shirt and asked where his "boobies" were. I explained (as gently as possible) the difference between boys and girls (just the top half, we'll save the bottom half for a different day and a different parent!) So Anders looked down at his chest and saw his ribs sticking out and asked me what they were called. I told him those were ribs. He then said, "girls have boobies, boys have ribs!" I just said, "okay!" We'll just leave it at that for now! Now, I'm constantly seeing him playing with his ribs. Boy, I'm sure glad we didn't discuss the lower half!