Boys will be boys

A few weeks ago I was desperate to go outside to a park and allow Mark play on the slides. Well it was snowing at the time so I had to improvise. I took the top off our piano bench, rested it on the couch and presto changeo I had a slide. When Brett got home that night he saw Mark climbing up the couch and sliding down the slide, he thought it was a pretty cool idea, he just wished it could be done on a bigger scale. As he began to think about it he decided it would be fun to have the slide go down the stairs. We brainstormed some ideas and the next day we went and got supplies. The slide now goes half way up our stairs, it is in sections so we can remove it if we want to and it is a blast to go down. As you can see Mark was Brett's special helper, actually I sometimes think he was a little more help then Brett was wanting but what do you expect from a 2 year old. Even though the slide is not yet finished we have all gone down the slide multiple times, even James and I. Every time I look at it though I still just shake my head and laugh, I truly did marry a kid at heart.

My baby grew up

Conference weekend was very busy at our house, but a lot of fun.

It started with Brett's birthday and ended up with Mark's.

My sister came up to spend conference weekend with us and it was so great to have her here. She helped me with the famous Taylor Conference Turkey, which was really a lot of fun to do with her. She graduated from BYU-I last April and it has been a long time since we have spent time together. It truly was fun having her here.

Mark turned 2 on April 3rd and already he has perfected the terrible 2 tantrum. He definitely wants his independence which sometimes can be hard for Brett and I. I know that he needs to become independent but I am not sure I am ready for him to grow up and become independent yet. One of Mark's favorite things is basketball. So following the tradition of my mom, I designed a basketball cake. Jenessa helped me make it, and it was quite the adventure. ***FYI***You can cover any mistake if you have enough frosting. In between conference sessions we had a small family gathering to celebrate Mark's birthday. He is starting to understand a little more about birthdays and Christmas,

so it as fun to watch him open the gifts. At 2 years old some of the things Mark likes to do are, play basketball, slide down slides, play outside, play with cars, help mommy in the kitchen, read books, chase and play with the kitty, and blow bubbles. He doesn't really like watching TV unless it is a basketball game (and as a dutiful mother I am teaching him to cheer for the Jazz and BYU Provo). Mark likes to sing mostly made up songs but when he is washing his hands or face he likes to sing the "ABC's". He understands most of what we say to him, yet his speech can sometimes be difficult to understand. Mark no longer sleeps with a pacifier, and because of his climbing abilities he is now in a toddler bed. One of my favorite things about Mark is that he likes to cuddle, especially with me. From the minute Brett comes home from work Mark only wants him until it comes time to go to bed, then he only wants me to rock him. That one on one time I have is time that I treasure, because it is during that time that I still have my little baby. Happy Birthday Mark, we love you!

Happy Birthday Old Man

April 1st was Brett's 30th birthday and since I am already 30 I had some fun because he can't really get me back.  As you can see the morning started out with a beautiful sign up on the garage that said "Oh how nerdy Brett is 30!"  A little too demonstrative?  Oh well, Brett has learned after 4 1/2 years of marriage to me to expect the wild and crazy sometimes.

For those of you who don't know Brett really well he is a child at heart and always will be.  To inspire the child at heart in such an old man I decided to give him two Nerf guns.  I think I inspired the child in my father-in-law as well because before Brett had a gun out of the package, my father-in-law was already loading his.  Needless to say there was a huge battle between them, and when Brett's brother Todd came he was ambushed by them both.  My mother-in-law and I had a great time laughing and dodging bullets.

Brett has always liked big parties and lots of people to play with and to be around, so in honor of his making it to the ripe old age of 30, without killing himself with all the crazy things he does, we had a big party at our house.  I invited over 80 people and we really had a great time.  Brett said that I cheated with how I put the candles on the cupcakes so he cheated by blowing them out with my blow dryer. 

As you can see the kids had a great time as well.  Mark had fun playing with his cousin as well as our neighbors.