Picture this.

A few weeks back our friends Scott and Aimee Heffernan came into town. They reside in Seattle. I really wanted Scott to take pics of my kids.

He did.

I love them.

Here are just a few of my favorites.

Scott Heffernan Photography

Also, check out Aimee's relationship blog (she's a therapist), This Modern Love. Great advice when it comes to relationships/marriage:)

Speaking of walking...

Are you aware that my son's feet are so chubby that I have only found 1 pair of shoes that will actually fit over his feet. One pair of sandals. I took him to Nordstrom to try and find another pair, and the sales woman was baffled when, no matter the size she brought out, his feet were to chubby to fit inside the shoe or strap.

I love when I am sitting in the living room and he comes waddling in from the kitchen with his arms straight up, and walking like he has been riding a horse for the past 10 hours.

Do you understand my desire to kiss his chubby cheeks/legs? It is almost uncontrollable.

Some days I discover mystery bite marks on Cohen's arms or legs. Gee I wonder who those are from???

Today I took my kids to Red Butte Gardens. I have blogged about this place before. It is awesome. I want to have a back yard just like the children's area. I am getting burned out taking the kids to the zoo, or aquarium, or Wheeler Farm. I think the kids are over it to.

Solution: Children's garden at Red Butte Gardens (or Grandma's pool but thats not open yet)

You can't beat a splash fountain, ponds, little maze, little play huts covered in flowers...I mean the place is adorable.

This is the beginning of the maze. Its a snakes mouth. Love the tongue.

I call this picture "big booty, big bosoms." I'm all "Look at this innocent Mom in the background...BAM, my booty, and look camera, BAM, my bosoms.

A flower bed.

Chase in the maze.

Chase playing in the splash fountain.

About these huge lizards Chase kept saying "these lizards are sooo cool".

Around the splash fountain are these snakes that spray water. Cohen got a nice surprise when he was sprayed while checking one out.

Solution to Cohen getting fussy: Give him Chase's thermos full of juice. Once he figured out how to suck it out he was good to go.

Me and my girl.

The Cohenater walks

I took this video today but technically he has been walking for about a week. Everyday he gets a little more brave and goes a little further.

And yes, Chase is dressed in her witch costume from 2 years ago.

My voice is annoying.

Dance demonstration

When Chase turned 3 I decided to sign her up for dance classes,only because it was so clear that the girl loved to dance. It just so happened that a friend of mine had decided to open a studio in the Salt Lake area around that same time. My friend is an amazing dancer (she graduated from the U of U with a masters of fine arts degree in Modern Dance), and that is just the tip of the ice berg. The girl has danced all over the country and is insanely good, so I immediately new that this is where I wanted my daughter learning the art of dance.

I am so glad we signed her up. Every week she looks forward to her class, and when its over doesn't want to leave.

Since today was the last class until the summer semester of classes start, her teacher invited all the parents to attend so that the kids could do a demonstration showcasing some of the things they have worked on and been doing in class the past 6 months.

It was awesome.

Chase is a spaz.

That is for sure.

Here is a small clip I took of her dancing (she is the one in the black leotard).

I love that when Ms. Kim yells "freeze!" it takes Chase awhile to decide what pose to freeze in.

As you can see she quickly goes through a few poses before she decides to settle on one.

A few things that happened this holiday weekend worth mentioning.

We learned that Cohen has some serious allergies...as in if you sit him down on freshly mown grass his eyes will literally swell to the point he can't open them, his nose and eyes both will run nonstop, and he will get a rash all over his face. Thank goodness for benadryl. It got rid of all of the above and also knocked him out.

We went to a fun bbque.

Went up the canyon for a yummy camp fire dinner which was equally as fun. I heart smores. Especially if they are on cinnamon graham crackers.

Cleaned out our shed which resulted in Cohen scoring some great old/new toys. Gotta love the hand me downs from Chase. Bounce and spin Zebra? Oh yes, she got it for Christmas one year and out grew it with in a few months. Cohen loves (along with all the other stuff we rediscovered).

We decided that yes, without a doubt we will be moving.

And I quit my job....oh my eff.

Pink Flamingo sun glasses

11:00 am: We enter the zoo

11:05 am: Chase spots the pink flamingo sunglasses. She claims she has to have them. I cave.

Once she puts them on she refuses to take them off. We ride the carousel...with the pink flamingo sunglasses.

12:00pm: she still has not taken them off

Must eat lunch and desert wearing them.

I make her let Cohen try them on. He hates them. She is relieved and puts them back on.

Cohen is cute.

6:00pm: She wants pb and j for dinner. Still won't take off the sunglasses.

7:00pm: Is telling me she loves me in sign language...still won't take off sunglasses.

8:00pm: Watches a whole episode of Barney with the sunglasses on.

9:00pm: Goes to bed with her sunglasses still on.

Awesome.

Before I forget

She amazes me, this daughter of mine. I am constantly trying to remind myself to not forget a certain something she said, or something she did, then as I am laying in bed at night I will think "Chase did / said something so funny today...what the heck was it??".

So here I am documenting the stuff I just don't want to forget.

This evening we decided to take a wagon ride. Chase wanted to take the ipod to listen to some tunes while in the wagon. I couldn't argue. Nothing like some good tunes while pulling the wagon around. Nearing the end of our ride, I look back and Chase is laying in the wagon (practically on Cohen's lap) with her ear to the ipod, her hands covering her face. Turns out she was crying.

Why?

Because of the music! The music was making her cry!! It was so cute/sad. She was listening to this CD. A Childs Prayer: Primary Songs for Bedtime.

I mean really it is an awesome CD. Beautiful renditions of primary songs. A must have if you have kids. I love listening to it...and about 90% of the time, when I put it on, Chase falls asleep (which can be a good and bad thing, depending on what time it is).

Anyways, this particular day, while listening to it, it apparently made her cry! I tried to talk to her about what was happening and she said, "Mom, I turned on the music and it made me so sad and then it made me miss Daddy. This music makes me miss my Daddy."

Picture her saying this while trying her hardest to hold the tears back, bottom lip trembling.

Must not forget. Must remember how cute it was.

Some other things she says that make me smile/ wonder where in the world she comes up with certain things:

1. While getting ready for her dance class, without fail she always asks me,

"Mom, where is my balletatard?"

And without fail I always say "You mean your leotard?"

Cut to one week later when once again she is asking for her "balletatard".

2. Lately she likes calling people "dude".

Example. "Mom, you are such a dude."

Yeah, I don't necessarily love being called a dude.

3. The other day we are talking about what her favorite holiday is.

She said Christmas, then explained to my Mom and I that Santa comes etc, etc, etc...

So of course my Mom has to explain the whole baby Jesus being born in the manger and the real meaning of Christmas. After listening to my Mom explain the whole story to her, she says,

"So, Jesus wasn't born in a hospital?"

My mom says, "Nope, in a manger."

Chase: "You have got to be kidding me!"

There is something very funny about 3 yr olds saying adult phrases such as

"you have got to be kidding me".

4. Calling certain people "crazy fools".

Once again something only funny coming out of a 3 yr olds mouth.

5. I also like when she tells me to "calm down Mom".

I realize some of these things won't be funny when she isn't 3.

6. Sometimes when you are in the middle of a sentence she will scream out "What?!!!",

and it always startles me.

7. She thinks the word "poop" is hilarious, and as a result tries to slip it into her sentences randomly. Example: "Lets go to the park poop." Or, "Cohen is so funny poop."

Maybe not the funniest or cutest thing, but she does it none the less.

Thats all....for now.

Oh yeah. I also love when she says "Boo Ya!".

Lots of red, lots of makeup, and 2 questions.

If you have a child with red hair BEWARE OF THE OLD LADYS! They will approach you by the hundreds, everywhere you go, and get all up in your baby's face and say things like:

"Oh, you look like you should belong to me! Before I was gray I had red hair to!"

"My grandson has hair just like that!"

"Look at you, you are going to be a spitfire!"

"Oh, look at that red hair!"

"That little boy sure has some red hair"

Bless the hearts of all the old lady's who love to comment on Cohen's red hair.

Its great that he loves all the attention now...because when he gets older I feel he will not enjoy people commenting on his red hair. Lets hope there are no old lady smack down incidents.

Hence the part in the title that says "lots of red".

Also, poor kid pulled a tile thingy my mom has on her fireplace ledge down onto his head. Thats what all the bruises are from. It was sad.

This picture has nothing to do with anything. I just like how Chase likes to body slam Jamison.

Chase likes to wear makeup these days. We pucker our lips and take pictures with my phone.

Also, this picture makes it very obvious that I have my Father's nose.

And sometimes when I ask her to smile she just stares straight ahead.

I have a few questions.

1. Have you scene Date Night? You should. Its funny. Tina Fey is my favorite. The part when you see Tina in a surveillance video still shot, thats how I feel every time I am in a picture. I think I am the least photogenic person on planet earth.

2. I am interested in making my blog a book. Reason being I don't scrap book, and the last and only photo album I have done since my kids have been born is one chronicling Chase's life from birth to about 1 yr old. I have stacks and stacks of developed pictures in the closet, which if I am going to be honest with myself, will never end up anywhere but right where they are right now.

I figure the easiest and best way to go about chronicling my kids lives, and all the memorable moments, is to do it on the blog, then turn it into a book ( I think its mostly family who reads this blog anyways).

Anyone ever done a blog book before? Any recommendations?