Southern California Part 2!

I didn't take any pictures at Sea World, which was fabulous, but here are a few pictures of us on the yacht we stayed on. It was AWeSomE!


Max loved sleeping on a boat. He thought it was very cool.
We even had cable on the boat! Thanks again friend!

Southern California Vacation Part 1!

I had to start with Gracie's cheesy face. She does this every time we take her picture. As you can see, she was very excited to be in Disneyland!

We spent a little time at the Pirate's lair. Max loved looking for the treasure. I think it's fairly new, because I had never seen it before. We saw the actress Molly Ringwald while we were on the little island. It's hard not to stare at famous people, even if you're not really a fan.

Max is such a poser. Here he is on the treasure he found. Don't you love the leisurely posture?

Gracie was pretty happy during our trip. People kept telling us how sweet she looked. It was actually pretty cold there. We were bundled up pretty much the whole time.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho a pirate's life for me!

Gracie stayed asleep for about 4 rides. We really loved the snuggles.

Gracie doesn't look very happy but she actually had a great time.

These pictures are a little backwards, but here we are on the way down.


Max loved the little travel games we got him.

My little cheeseball!

Gracie has been so cute lately! Well, she is always cute, but she is finally acting cute too. For a while there her teeth were bothering her and she was constantly grumpy. Now she is just as happy and cute as can be.

We have been having a lot of fun with her since Max started preschool. She gets all of the attention and she loves it. This morning she was licking the salt off of a plate and she loved it. I was giving her a bite of my hard boiled egg and when it was gone she stole my plate and walked around licking it for a while. It was hilarious!

When we told her to smile for the pictures she was totally cheesing it. I love her cute expression in the pictures. She is so funny.

Lately she has been getting into the pantry and bringing out the marshmallows. She loves to munch on them. She doesn't say much, but she can say Daisy pretty well. She can also whine for things too!

She loves it when Max tickles her, and she loves to be chased by her Daddy. She has been an awesome snuggler too. She LOVES to eat and will eat pretty much anything we put in front of her, but she seems to love apples the most.

I love my sweet little Grace and I'm so glad I'm her mom. She is becoming a little sweetheart!

Oh my little Max. Melt my heart.

We just got these pictures taken a couple weeks ago. I think they turned out pretty good. Lewis family pictures to come soon....

Max has been the best little boy today. He has been telling me he loves me all day and that he wants to grown big and strong so he can be in charge and marry me someday. Here's how our conversation went,

Max: You only marry one person and that's all, huh mom?
Me: Yep.
Max: Well, I will just have to wait my turn then. When I get big and strong like you, I will protect you from bad guys and beat them up if they try to hurt you and if you get hurt I will hug you till you feel better. K Mom? We will get married in the temple, but it will be strange if I'm small, cause I won't know what I'm doing or where I am. I just love ya Mom.
Me: That is so nice Max! You are such a good boy.
Max: I know. I'm awesome.

Then 5 minutes later, Gracie was trying to get into the dog food while I was cooking dinner. I kept telling her to stop. Finally, Max was frustrated with me and tried to tell me how to discipline her a little better.

Max: Mom, you have to get fired up.
Me: I'm trying Max, she just isn't listening to me. I don't know what to do with her.
Max: Yeah, she is getting on my nerves too. You just have to get really fired up and scare her and make her cry. Isn't that right mom? When you scare me, I know you're serious.
Me: I think I am fired up Max. Don't you think?
Max: Well, just get little more angry and say NO NO NO Gracie. Then she will get scared and cry and stop.
Me: Ok. I will keep that in mind Max. Thanks for your help.

I could write things about Max every single day. He is very creative and always asks me to make him things. Lately he has been asking for a Bugs Bunny costume. He told me that I only need some gray fabric and I could whip it right up.

He is always so happy. I love his little face:)

Gracie, on the other hand, has been a stinker! She is super cute, but very dramatic. If she is upset she throws a tantrum and lays her face in her hands!

At her 1 year checkup she was 21.4 pounds, and in the 50th percentile. She was in 75th for height and 90th for her head. She is getting so big and when she is happy she is the cutest little girl around. She loves to give kisses to everyone and is actually a pretty good snuggle bug. She wakes up at 6:45 or 7 every morning and is down for her first nap before Max even gets up for the day. She loves to say, "Uh Oh. Hello. Ma Ma and Da Da." When she rests her head on your should she says "Ahhh." She flirts with all of our neighbors and if someone waves at her, she acts shy and buries her face in my shoulder. She has four teeth, two on top and two on the bottom. She is a sweetie and we love her!

Gracie turns 4!

My little sweetie turned 1 yesterday! I can't even believe a year has passed by. I am a little sad, but a also excited for what's to come. It's so fun to see her learning and growing. She has the cutest personality.
She loves music and she bounces up and down when I'm singing or Max is dancing around the front room.
She is getting huge! She was over 20 pounds last time I took her in to the doctor.
She loves the bath and will literally try to crawl in if she hears the water running. If she is ever in a bad mood, the tub will cheer her up!
She absolutely loves Max and he makes her giggle all of the time.
She gives kisses, claps, and waves hello really well.
When we leave the room she gets upset and throws a little tantrum by laying her head in her hands and crying. She is very dramatic about everything.
She is a very good baby and is rarely cross unless she is tired or hungry or someone leaves her alone in a room.
Mike taught Gracie to lay her head on his shoulder when he says "ahhh!." It is very sweet and we absolutely love it when she snuggles with us!

Ayla was staying with Grandpa and Grandma Ulrich and she came to Gracie's party with them. She was so cute trying to feed Gracie her birthday cake.

Gracie was very spoiled on her birthday and got musical instruments, a Jessie doll, 2 books, outfits, cowgirl boots, mary jane shoes and stacking toys! The other kids loved her toys as much as she did!
She kept trying to grab the candle off of her cake. It was a bear with a tutu. The colors were very bright and fun just like my little chubbykins!

Grandpa Dave and Ayla

It was extremely difficult to get Max and Gracie to smile at the same time and the flash was bothering Gracie so she kept squinting.


Here is a spread of some of the toys she got for her birthday. I took the picture before Grandma and Grandpa Lewis and Ulrich showed up:)

She did pretty well opening her presents. She ripped open the paper on her own.


Happy Birthday Gracie Kay! We love you so much and we love watching you grown. You can stop growing now please!

Happy Fathers Day!

Can I just say that I have the most amazing husband on the planet! I am so in love with my Mikey and, although it is cheesy, I just want him to know how grateful I am to have him in my life. He is an amazing father. Gracie and Max just adore him. We are so lucky to have him in our lives. He works so hard for our family and never complains. Never. He is so nice to everyone he meets and honors the Priesthood. I am so glad that I will be with him for all eternity!

I am also so grateful for an awesome dad that taught me that I deserve to be treated with respect. I am so glad that my parents didn't let me settle for anything less than the best. I knew I would never marry someone that they didn't approve of, and they sure let me know when they thought someone wasn't good enough for me. I really appreciate that now, looking back. Thanks for bringing out the bat Dad! It made me feel like I was special, and I knew I could count on you to always be there for me. I love my parents! Happy Father's Day Daddio! You really are the best. I hope you know how much we all love you!

Super Hero Max turns 4!

I can't believe it, but my little Maximo is 4! Right now he is pretending that he is in space and that gummy bears are attacking him. He keeps calling me on his cell phone while he is flying through space on his new transformers scooter that Cassie sent him. He told me he can't move because there is hot sauce all over the ground. He is so imaginative!

Max says words like fantastic, amazing and spectacular all of the time. Today he asked me, "Do you mind if I ride my scooter now?" He is always making me laugh and his mind never stops working. He loves his cousins, aunts and uncles so much. He also has a lot of great friends in our neighborhood like Mikey, Carson, Courtney, and Ethan.

Max is constantly dressing up as every character he can imagine, including a pirate, princess, Buzz Lightyear, Iron Man, Woody, Jungle Bob, and a fireman. Lately he has been asking me for his 'two choices' if he doesn't want to do something. He says, "Give me two choices Mom. Either go play, or go to bed!" Of course, those are never the two choices I give him, but he knows how to attempt to work the system. I rarely have to get mad at him. He is the best little boy around.

He is extremely smart and can identify all of the letters in the alphabet and he knows their primary sound. He has been able to write his name since Christmas and he loves to make up songs and rock out on his air guitar in the backseat of the car. He is a sweetie and tells me I look beautiful all the time. He LOVES his little sister and always treats her very nicely. He is always very helpful and helps me keep her happy while I'm trying to clean the house or fix dinner.

Max is starting preschool in the Fall and I am a little worried about Gracie and I. How will we stay entertained in the hours he is gone? He absolutely adores his Daddy and when Mike has to leave for work Max tells him he has been 'missing him for three days' without fail, every time we talk to Mike on the phone.

There are so many things that I love about my little guy. I could go on and on all day. He is very clever and everyone tells me how much they love him! I am so proud of him and I want him to stop growing up!