Hiking on Saturday

Saturday marked the first day of this year's hiking season. We were all super stoked and James couldn't talk about anything else.

Behind our trusty Red Butte Garden are trails crisscrossing the foothills. The trails aren't too steep and nothing is very long, so we thought it would be a perfect place for James to hike and to see if Juliet likes hiking a bit.

I wore Juliet in a tummy pack and she was as happy as can be. Snuggling Mama and sleeping the entire time.

James was an awesome hiker but got easily distracted by the amount of rocks on the trail. He wanted to pick up each one. E and I had to keep encouraging him to keep hiking.

We finished the hike at an abandoned Soldier's house. James said "nice house! Live here please" which totally cracked us up.

Lots more hikes to come.

My Juliet {favorite outfit}

The ONLY thing that can make this little round girl more adorable is an amazing outfit. Girl clothes are awesome. Seriously. I never "allowed" myself to look at girl clothes before, always adverting my eyes when entering a children's clothes store. If I looked I just got sad that boy clothes were limited to gray, green and blue.

But now I have a girl. And I allow myself to look. And it is amazing.

This sweet sweater I got on the day I found out I was having a baby girl (along with the pink bonnet I love so much). It is just adorable, so delicate and sweet with the little coral and white french knots. And the pants have become a staple in this household. They've been on the blog quite a few times, but seriously, they are coral stripes with a ruffle bum. Nothing better.

Well, almost nothing.

Outfit details:
Sweater - Janie & Jack
Onsie - Carters
Pants - Old Navy
Socks - Gap

My week {Instagram style}

The last week around these parts has been so summery. Record breaking heat for late April means we've been breaking out our summer clothes and wearing shorts each day.

Here is my week in Instagram photos:

Oh those lips.

Cheeks. Oh my goodness. Reminds me so much of this photo of James.

We took Juliet to the zoo for the first time last weekend. James has never shown much interest in the carrousel until now, he asked to go on it and picked the tiger to ride. He loved it and said "more please!" when it stopped.

This little girl didn't see much of the zoo, sleeping 90% of the time in her stroller.

The record breaking heat meant that we were willing to strip James down to only his shirt and diaper for a romp in the river.

Those chubby baby legs. I'm loving the little bloomers that baby girls can wear, so adorable.

We still take a walk most days. The highlight for James has to be throwing rocks into the ditch up the road.

Miss Blue Eyes. Shortly after I took this photo James said "pretty bow on Juliet."

He's obsessed with the Cars movie right now. Seemed only fitting to get him Lightning McQueen and Mater toys.

He says "favorite tree! Like it so much!" Yep, he still loves trees.

Color burst {Tulips at Temple Square}

Yesterday my little family of four went to Temple Square to see the tulips. OH MY WORD! Why haven't I done this every year of my entire life? I have no idea, but a new tradition was born.

Spectacular would be an understatement.

So much color. The tulip blooms were huge, bigger than I'd ever seen. I was in awe.

Next year maybe we'll invite a friend so we can get all four members of our family in the photos. But this photo of the three of us makes me very happy.

Spring is really showing off this year. And I adore it.

My girl. My Grandma. My boy. Life is sweet.

Life seems extra sweet these days. Its hard to not feel like that when I've got this happy face to look at each day. My goodness, her smiles are additive. Everyone in the family will act super silly (even James) just to get her grinning. And the payoff is awesome.

Each week, usually on Friday mornings, James and I go visit Nana (a name James came up with). Now that Juliet is here, I pack up both kiddos and we head over to Nana's for a visit. James loves it, Juliet seems to like it, and it is the highlight of Nana's week. I feel sometimes that I don't take enough photos of my children with their Great Grandma. I want to try to be better, because this little clan sure does love each other.
The BEST part about visiting Nana? The construction site next door. James is in love.
It really is hard to feel anything but joy when looking at this face. All these huge smiles, by the way? They are for her Daddy, who she simple adores.
Speaking of two family members adoring each other, I can not get over how much this bond is starting to blossom. James simply can't get enough of his baby sister, and asks for her to join us on all of our activities. And if he doesn't get to hug her before bedtime, we hear about it. Oftentimes he'll request to hug her more than once. She is very loved. In this photo he is saying "hello Juliet" in his sweet little high pitched voice that he uses when he loves someone.
Dang life is sweet.

And did I mention that these two are twins? I mean look at them! Everyone comments on how Juliet is just a girl version of James. I couldn't agree more. Twinsies.
A few more smiles. Happy Friday.

Her eyes are so blue

In February of 2010, when James was almost three months old, I said "His eyes are so blue, and judging by the depth and intensity of them, they are probably going to stay blue."

I have to agree when it comes to his baby sister.

Photo comparison is in order, don't you think?

Both photos taken on the trusty green burp cloths under the mobil that hangs in their room. Same same. :)

James at nearly 29 months

James has grown and changed so much over the last few months that it was high time I wrote another update on my little man. Next month he'll be 2.5 which is quite exciting! His language alone is growing leaps and bounds each day!

• Sometimes I call him "good boy" and somehow he just heard the word boy. So when he's talking about himself he says "boy" a lot. Like he'll say "yummy lunch boy!" or "favorite tree boy!" Each time it totally cracks me up.
• He loves painting in the bath with some body paints that his Grandma bought him. He looks at all the colors carefully and each night says "blue James's favorite."
• He decided some time ago that he loves wolves (good thing too, with Wolfy!). He loves to watch wolf howling videos on YouTube and if you ask him his favorite animal he'll say "wolf!" and then he'll howl.
• We've been teaching him to say please for quite some time and he's really got the hang of it. Anything you'll ask him he'll respond "yes please" or "no please" or my favorite "right now please!"
• Almost every day he asks to go to Murray Park to throw rocks in the river. He says "Murray Park a-gain!" (like "again" is two words).
• He has been loving looking at bugs and always says they are swimming. Not sure why he thinks that, but adorable nonetheless. He also always says "cute bug!"
• Whenever it's the weekend or the evening he'll look around and E, Juliet and me and say "whole family here." Melts me.
• Lately he tells me "missing daddy" throughout the work week.
• He'll say "come her kitty" in the sweetest most perfect little voice and pat his chest. The kitties in the neighborhood love him.
• One day during lunch I was encouraging James to continue eating. He said "no Mama talk to James." It totally cracked me up, I still laugh about it.
• He is very specific about his kisses. "Kiss right here!" (usually pointing to his cheek).
• While driving he said "oh shoot! Mama says". Hahaha!
• When watching tv he'll ask "that name is?" until he knows all the characters
• Tells me "Pool! Right now! Best activity!" (When he says right now it is adorable because he says it with a lot of emphasis, as if he is bossing me around.)
• Says "Juliet loves Dames" at least twice a day.

Trying to type all the things he says is a lot. He speaks in 3-5 word sentences now and I can almost always figure out what he's saying. This age is so fun, he has such a fun loving personality, and he really is a goof.


Now some boring stats:
He wears 2T clothing but all his summer clothing is 3T and he fits into it surprisingly well. His shoe size is 6 and he weights approximately 32 lbs. He's a fast runner, getting better at climbing, and still loves to do "crazy dance" every night before bed.

He naps for about 2 hours, starting at 12:30, and goes to bed for the night at seven, sleeping until around 7:30 am. He is getting the last of his two year molars right now (ouch!), has beautiful thick hair, and blue/green eyes.

He is amazing.

And, because I can't possibly post without a few photos, here are a couple from two weeks ago when we had some friends over for some egg dying. All the kiddos were thrilled and every finger was purple by the end of the afternoon.


Gotta love springtime.

Our life in Insatagram photos {and Juliet's video debut!}

More and more my day to day life photos are taken with my phone. I always have it in my pocket and I just love the community on Instagram, so when I take a photo I especially like, I can upload it right then and there, wherever I am.

It is super addicting, and so much fun.

So here is a little peek into our day to day life.

1. More smiles from this little girl! 2. Bug hunting is serious business (this photo cracks me up every time I look at it, I mean look at that serious little stare!) 3. The umbrella was a HUGE hit. It rained yesterday and he was loving it. Most the time the umbrella was upside down on the ground and he was looking skyward with a big grin as the rain fell.

4. Juliet's favorite way to sleep, on her side (green vintage outfit was mine when I was a babe). 5. Smoothie face. 6. More sleeping on Mama's bed.

7. Baby lashes (they are longer now!) 8. When Juliet is fussy James will often pat her chest trying to calm her. Gah I love that kiddo. 9. Homemade sidewalk chalk paint. Super easy. One cup water, 1 cup cornstarch, food coloring. We had a blast.

10. Walk in the park on my birthday, oh my the weather was divine. 11. Kiddo in need of a haircut. It's crazy! 12. Post haircut trip to Grandma's house for the sandbox.

13. The magnolia tree in the park is in bloom, always a sign of spring. 14. Egg hunting at a friend's Easter party. He's a master. 15. Nap time. My favorite time. :)

If you want to follow my feed on Instagram, I'm HappierStill

And here is Juliet's video debut on the blog (the birthday video didn't count because she was asleep). I caught some coos and some smiles. And boy oh boy does this girl look like her brother.