Thursday, April 30, 2015

Video Update

I am trying to be good about remembering to upload videos of the girls. I am always paranoid that I am taking too many pictures or videos of one kid and not the other. It is so hard to keep track. Anyways, recently we have been trying to teach Aspen some new baby things. She is so close to saying mama and we have also been trying to get her to put her arms up when we ask her how big she is. We have also tried kisses (I have gotten a few), waving, and clapping. I remember this stage with Everly and it is so funny to watch them learn. We should probably work on signing more too. It is also funny to watch Everly try to teach Aspen. The first video below is Aspen sort of saying mama and the second is Everly trying to get Aspen to put her arms up for "so big!"



Monday, April 27, 2015

Pat's Run 2015

This past Saturday I ran my 7th Pat Tillman Run! This year I ran along with Justin, my sister Kim and her husband Doug, and my two sister-in-laws, Carly and Stephanie. Everyone had run it before except for Kim and she was actually running in place of Katy who had surgery and couldn't run. Katy and my mom watched the babies so we could all run. I normally don't like such big events, but I have learned how to manage the big crowds and handle this event so I still like it. We lucked out for the 2nd year in a row and got cool overcast weather. It was still warm and sunny at points but not too bad. I wasn't putting any pressure on myself to finish at a certain time but I knew I had a chance of beating my best pats run time from 2013 and I did. Only by 23 seconds (4.2 miles in 34:40), but still I am very happy with that. I am getting faster each week. It feels like it has taken forever but I am getting there. When I was 7 months post-partum with Everly, I ran my worst ever Pat's run here. At 7.5 months post-partum with Aspen, it feels pretty good to have gotten my best time in this event mostly because I know I can get an even better time. Hopefully that happens next year! Last year when I ran at 21 weeks pregnant I felt like I had to pee the whole time (read here) so it was nice to run without that pressure, too! After the run we got some free promotional items and Justin took Everly into the Kids Zone to go on a bouncy slide before we left. Of course, getting her to leave after that caused a threenager meltdown and then she passed out in the car on the ride home, haha. Never a dull moment!
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my pre-race fuel (banana with some natural PB)
 
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In corral 2 of like 20 something corrals and Justin and Kim before the start.
 
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Right at the start of the race
 
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Kim finishing on the left and Steph and Carly after the race on the right.
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After the run. I was pooped!
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Everly being 3 and Aspen in the same Sparky onesie the Ev wore 3 years ago.
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Me and Aspen on the left and Kim, Katy and the boys meeting the Chic Fil-A cow on the right.
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Cam spinning the Wells Fargo prize wheel and Ev climbing the bouncy slide.
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Ev sliding down the bouncy slide and passing out in the car after!

Friday, April 24, 2015

Sip N See for Miss Mae

Last Sunday Justin and I hosted a Sip n' See for my newest niece Mae along with help from my mom and sister. Hosting people can be a lot of work, but this actually turned out really well. I sent an evite out less than a week in advance. It was very informal, but I just wanted every to get a chance to see the new baby without overwhelming the new parents. We provided coffee, bagels, donuts, and a few other treats and people were welcome to come and go when they could. Lots of girls from our soccer team were able to make it and my brother even made an appearance. It was also a good chance for some of my sister's co-workers to visit with the baby. We even managed to snap a pic of all 5 grand babies on the couch together so that alone made the party a success.

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The Larkins girls sneaking in some Mae time!
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From left to right: Mae, Everly, Aspen, Teddy, and Cameron.

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Rylee and Ev playing and Cam and Aspen watching Little Einsteins. 
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Ev is already trying to steal Mae's toys.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Saturday in Review

Last Saturday was the first Saturday in a while where we really didn't have anywhere to be or anywhere to go. We had some party prep and cleaning to get done around the house but there was not much else on our agenda and it was nice. I started the morning with an early hike with my sister Kim and friend Ashley. We were at the mountain (Piestewa Peak) at 5 A.M. so I am not exaggerating when I say early! We made it to the top in like 33 minutes too so it was a pretty quick hike. When I got back to my sister's house, my nephew was up and I decided to steal him and bring him to my house to play with Everly. They are for sure a handful but they love seeing each other. They get along and fight like brother and sister. It is cute and exhausting all rolled together. They did pretty good though and we even did a little painting craft. Justin got a lot of yard work done while the kids played outside and we made our first batch of cold-brew coffee at home to be served during the little party Sunday morning. I also made some chocolate chip pancake bites to dip in syrup for the party and those were super easy and yummy too. I didn't shower until like 5 o'clock but it was a really nice Saturday regardless!

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Starting the cold-brew. It sat for about 9 hours.
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3 cuties...and yes, they fought over the ride-on toys.
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They used a cork to make red dots and we turned the red dots into ladybugs after they dried.  
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Good thing Everly has 2 strollers.
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Both the cold brew and pancake bite recipes come from The Pioneer Woman.

Friday, April 17, 2015

7 Month Update

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Yesterday Aspen turned 7 months old. She is still a tiny little peanut and in size 2 diapers but I think we have probably opened our last package of those. She is still wearing 6 month clothes but we have started putting her in 9 month jammies and I need to clean her 9 month clothes and start putting them on her. She started doing better with solid foods, but then regressed a little because I think she had an upset tummy. She has actually started drinking less milk too so hopefully that all goes back to normal soon. She is doing great at sitting up and is generally just a really happy baby. Still no teeth yet, either! She loves bouncing in the johnny jumper and is pretty good at it too. This past month she celebrated her first Easter and we also welcomed her newest cousin, baby Mae! Hopefully this month she starts packing on the pounds and sprouts her first tooth! We love you baby Aspen! 

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Mommy Daughter Date

Recently Justin has had some one on one time with Everly between taking her to the movies and taking her to a home depot kids workshop so I wanted to make a special date to spend some alone time with her. Last Saturday we had a special mommy daughter breakfast date. Since I am still nursing Aspen, we don't get much time with just the two of us so it was nice. We went to The Place which I haven't been to since July and it was super yummy! Everly got her Mickey Mouse pancake and I had eggs, hash browns, and bacon....and coffee of course! She has been very into trying different flavors of syrups lately which we never have at home but she loves to try at restaurants. She likes blueberry because it looks purple. We took our time and enjoyed the morning by ourselves. I had a great time and hopefully I am good about planning days like this in the future with both girls!
 
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This place normally has a crazy wait...but not at 7 AM. Also, boots and shorts, because obviously.

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My first baby.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Zoo Day

This past Sunday My husband's employer had a special employee appreciation type event where they gave out tickets to the zoo. We are already members and get access free but we signed up for it anyways and gave the tickets to his sister and niece and her baby so they could join us. It ended up being really cool. The company had an area roped off for the employees with free snow cones, popcorn, and cotton candy. They also provided $10 in zoo bucks with the tickets. Since my sister is also a member she joined us as well with they boys. It was not too hot and the kids had a blast as usual. We spent some time with the snakes this trip which was fun and of course we hit up the splash pad. This was Remi's first time at the splash pad and I think he liked it! The water is still pretty cold but that doesn't stop any of the kids from having a blast. Well, maybe Aspen because we have to remove her when her feet start turning purple! With the zoo bucks Everly got to pick out a toy before we left and I did not have a problem with the binoculars she picked out. They were not expensive and not annoying like a lot of the other toys I would have expected her to pick out so I was happy. It was a fun day and I am glad we went and everyone was able to join us.

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the 3 amigos
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These two want to do everything together.
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happy Cam!
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zoo fun!
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The girls skipped the carousel this trip.
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The way Remi is looking at Everly kills me!
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The diaper queen.
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Aspen and Remi!
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Ev and her pink binoculars!

Weekend in Review

Summer is basically here and we are already in full on pool season. On Friday I had the day off so I spent some time with Aspen and took he...