Conjunctivitis

My Hayden has conjunctivitis.  Again.  I know it's pretty much inevitable at daycare...but that doesn't make me hate it any less!  I took the day off of work today to stay home with him which means I'm now trying to avoid getting it.  Awesome.  But Hayden is enjoying his time with mommy.  This morning he picked out Thomas the Train underwear and, pointing to the Thomas car on them, requested a train show.  I acquiesced.

I took a little video of Hayden this morning--he kept telling me that daddy was going to work to go off-roading.  I tried explaining that daddy brought his backpack with him and that meant he was going to school.  The pack-pack as he calls it did not deter him!

Four years together.

On our 4th anniversary, Paul and I really wanted to do something special.  We've never been able to celebrate an anniversary the way we would like to because I've either been pregnant or just a few months postpartum.  

So here's what we did:

First the boys' beloved Auntie Melissa (or Aunt Wissa, as Hayden calls her) came over.  She was happy to stay with the boys so that we could get away.  Without her, none of his would have been possible!  She took great care of our little ones and they love her.  Well...Taylor's working on it, but Hayden has developed a special bond!  I told Hayden that day that mommy and daddy were going away for the night but he would stay with Auntie Melissa.  He was excited until I was packing up and getting ready to leave.  The boy actually glared at me!  He wouldn't give me a hug and kiss goodbye-I couldn't even bribe him with chocolate milk!  I felt bad and then I told myself NO!  You will come back a better person.  And you deserve this.  He won't even remember this trip when he's older.  Still...the glaring and silent treatment hurt!   

Our intended destination was the Lion's Gate Manor in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, but we had to make a few stops along the way.  First Stop:  Caramel Tree, Rigby, Idaho.  Their cake pops are AMAZING.  And only $1 each!  We got chocolate and raspberry cheesecake.  So good!  And it's right on Main Street so it wasn't hard to find.

One tip on eating the cakepops:  They come right out of the fridge so the chocolate is kind of hard.  Let them sit out at room temp for a few hours and they are delicious.  TRUST ME.  Paul had some issues trying to eat his in the car because it was fresh out of the fridge (crumbly).

We then drove on to Lava Hot Springs to our B&B and found a gorgeous little mansion.  We were greeted at the door by our hostess(Tammy)--an older woman with amazing hospitality!  We went over the house rules and felt right at home.  

The house has a great porch out back that showcases the beautiful views of the mountains.

There was a full kitchen that we could take use of, and Tammy gave us a little back story on the room we would be staying in.  We chose "The Phantom's Lair". She told us a little about The Phantom of the Opera and the opera house in France where the story takes place.  With that, she asked us to set down our luggage and go explore the lair.  She led us to a bookshelf and opened it for us!  We walked through a purple curtain down a spiral staircase into a dark almost cave-like room.  

...walking down the spiral staircase...

I stepped out onto what looked like a dock.  There was a black "lake" with flameless candles lit, and to my left was an amazing jetted tub.

Stepping onto the pier...

The jetted tub fills from the ceiling--Do you see the water?!?  This picture doesn't do it justice, but you can also see part of the mural in the background.

A floor to ceiling mural on the wall let us know that this was the basement of the opera house where the phantom's lair would have resided.  I stepped off of the pier and walked under the archway to our bedroom.  There was great, recreated, period furniture, as well as a full length mirror.  

You can just barely see the phantom in this picture.  He was hard to photograph!  The room was mood-lit so it was a bit on the dim side.  He actually showed up better when we turned the lights off, but then the camera would shoot because it wanted light.  TOUGH!

The Angel of Music ready to pull me through the mirror!  Ha ha.

Did I mention the Phantom himself appears in the mirror?!?  Yeah, motion sensor.  It was scary but after a while I got used to it.Next to that, a masterful king-size bed and a chandelier to light the room.  Surrounding the room were more flame-less candles and flowers.  I love those things!

A beautiful chandelier hung above our bed.  A lot of the furniture (not just in our bedroom but the whole house) was imported from European countries.

Roses on the buffet.

Off of our bedroom was a smaller surround sound theatre room.  There was a velvet rope crossing the entrance with a sign that read, "Box 5 Reserved" (as that was the box the phantom always requested), and it was lined with satin curtains.  Inside was a gorgeous, antique organ and TV which (you guessed it) The Phantom of the Opera!  Loved it!  Side note--How did I never realize that Gerard Butler is the Phantom?!?  Does anyone know he he did his own singing?  Just wondering!

I know I'm a nerd, I posed and made Paul take this picture of me.

We also had our own gorgeous bathroom and another (normal) entrance to our room that made transporting bags a cinch.  

Breakfast the next morning was served at 10am in the main dining room (which means I didn't have to rush myself getting ready!).  We literally woke up to the smell of bacon and ascended our spiral staircase to enter the dining room through the bookshelf.  Talk about making an entrance!  Breakfast was delicious and we got to meet two other couples about our age and situation from nearby towns.  I just can't tell you how much fun we had!

We took this picture 1,000 times but this is the best I could do!

After checking out we went down to Logan to pick up an axle for Paul.  We had some time to kill so we visited the Logan Temple-announced in 1876 and dedicated in 1884.  It's gorgeous.  I can't believe I had never seen it before!  Right as we were headed out of town I spotted a 7-11 and had to stop--It's been years since I've had a Slurpee!  I even took a picture of myself to commemorate the event!

They even had Pina Colada--my FAVE!

Overall, we had an amazing getaway!   We loved coming back to our children but our time away was priceless! 

Baby Taylor turns one!

About one year and one week ago, this was me:

38 weeks pregnant with Taylor on Hayden's 2nd birthday.

Exactly one year ago today, this was me:

Seconds after giving birth to Mr. Taylor!

And today, we have a big (ok, he's actually tiny) one year old boy on our hands!

I love this tiny, toe headed blonde, blue eyed boy!  If every baby came to earth with a slogan, his would be "happy to be here!".  He's a ball of happiness that just loves being.  

8lbs 1oz, 19in long (Original birth post here).

Cutest little tongue!  He just loves crawling around with it hanging out!

Taylor doesn't really have too many dislikes right now.  He likes just about everything.  He eats about 4 times more food than Hayden does (not kidding!!).  The only thing he for sure doesn't like it sweet potatoes.  Other than that, he'll eat pretty much anything I cook!  

Not quite as tall as big brother, yet!

We had to wait for daddy to come home from school to be able to open birthday presents.  He didn't get home until 7pm (which is the kids' bedtime).  The boys were in pajamas by then but we were able to open gifts from everyone.  

Happy birthday to our Taylor Michael!!

WHY?!?

Why is it that when you're sick, you're always worse at night?  Coughing is exacerbated, fevers go up again, noses become stuffed, and you can't sleep.

That's where I am right now.  I was starting to do a little better today.  But now that it's night time, I've got a fever, the chills, I'm sneezing, and am horribly congested.  

Oh and it's 2am and I can't sleep.  

I just want to know why....that's all!

Happy Birthday, Hayden!!

Three years ago today at 12:02am, my first little boy came into the world.  He was perfect!  Measuring in at 21inches long and 8lbs, 5 oz, we named him Hayden Parker.  Our world would never be the same!!

Only about 30 minutes old with his daddy.

Click HERE to read the original post on Hayden's birth story.

Just one year ago on this day at 11pm we were racing to the hospital thinking Mr. Taylor would be born on Hayden's 2nd birthday!  That didn't happen--I got sent home at about 4am.  There's just something about January 31st, though!

Hayden's 2nd birthday--We were SOOOOOOOOO tired that day!

Click HERE to read all about that fiasco!

This year I surprised Hayden upon waking up.  I taped a web of crepe paper across his doorway and stuck balloons between the door and web.  Let me tell you--blowing up every single one of those balloons was an act of love--i have the biggest cold right now!  Talk about a challenge.  So that explains why there's only about five balloons--I did my best!!

Before....

I love that his little hand was over his eyes!  I got Taylor up first because he was crying and usually by the time I do that and turn the hallway light on, Hayden is waking up and moving around in his bed.  Today, however, he did not.  I woke him up by softly knocking on his door and calling his name.  Thankfully, it worked!

Look at that smile!  He loved it.  Paul thought the balloons dropping would make him nervous but Hayden was soooo happy!

Look at that face!

Good morning Taylor!  I love that face.

Oh yeah...I have teeth.  Happy birthday Hayden!

Hayden requested bubbles today--just out of the blue!  So Paul entertained him for a few minutes and let me sleep on the couch.  

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but i totally made Hayden's cake, frosting and all, from scratch.  That's pretty good when you're sick!  Hayden was so excited.  He got to put the sprinkles and candle on, and that was pretty special.  

Hayden had a blast opening presents, most of which were sent by our families.  Hayden is one lucky boy!

Aaaand Taylor didn't mind helping opening presents.

Lastly, we let Hayden open his huge present from mom & dad.

When he realized what it was (a kitchen and shopping cart), he literally started jumping with excitement!  It was a huge hit!

Pushing the shopping cart filled with food.  

Yes...the boys (and I) were in our jammies the whoooooooole day!  Everyone has been sick--we even had to cancel the family dinner we were planning because we all just don't feel good.  So this birthday goes down in the record books for our little family.  The first (and hopefully only) where the whole family was sick!  

Snow Day! January 9th, 2014

Hayden on the porch.

On the drive home from work and picking up the kids from daycare, I noticed how gorgeous the weather was.  Sure there was snow--a lot, at that, but it was sunny and fairly warm.  NO WIND!  I decided today was the day we'd take Taylor out in the snow.  

The front yard.

Our snow was about a foot deep...maybe even deeper!  This was my footprint in the snow.  

Hayden loved it.  Grandma and Grandpa Kirby got him a new snowsuit and it was perfect for this outing.  

SELFIE!  This one came out a bit blurry but Paul wasn't home to take a picture of us playing, so a selfie was the best I could do.  We were having some fun shoveling snow.

Taylor, on the other hand, was NOT amused.  He did NOT want to touch the snow.  I ended up bundling him up in a warm suit and blanket in his car seat.  Believe me he was warm--when I took him out he was practically sweating!  

Taylor was not a happy little boy--

Hayden has been obsessed with tractors and trailors lately.  He "hooked up" his "trailor" (a mini red wagon) to his car and started packing it with snow so he could haul it away.  

Packing the trailer with snow.

He also tried to help me shovel the walk and driveway.  The shovel was WAAAAY too big for him, and the foot or so of snow proved to be way too much.  Good thing after shoveling my car out our neighbor (I call him Mr. Farmer because I don't know his name and he farms most of the land in the neighborhood) came and plowed our driveway with his tractor.

LOVE him!

Such a great helper.