sending our love

Last Friday we did an impromptu photo shoot for last minute Valentine's Day cards. It wouldn't be Valentine's Day if we didn't send all of our friends and family our love!

Today's Favorites

Anna singing the ABC's at the top of her lungs (which is her normal volume) in the car all the way to preschool.

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The octopus Anna made in preschool. On the way home, she asked me if octopus have ears. I think I need to google that one.

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Owen copying everything Anna does - good or bad. In the bathtub Anna was pouring water on her hair with a cup. Owen tried too. He didn't put it back far enough and poured it right in his eyes. He looked completely shocked!

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Anna recently learned about Nephi. This is a great thing because she now wants to be like him. Obedient. Whenever she does sometime I ask, she runs back to me and says "Am I just like Nephi?" I love it. Sometimes she even calls herself Nephi-Girl.

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I love that Owen belly laughs at my bad sound effects. I was doing a "glub glub" noise every time he would pour water out of his cup into the tub. I love that boy's laugh. I can't help but smile.

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Tonight, when Trav got home from school, he opened the freeze and plopped the Sam's Club sized bag of chocolate chips on the counter.

"You've been into these! Busted!" he accuses me. (It is crazy how he knows these things!)

"No. I have to explain."

Owen was throwing a fit during lunch, so I finally just took a handful of chocolate chips and gave in. Not to me, but to him. He was happy and quiet for the rest of the meal. Sometimes that is all I need for a few minutes.

Travis: "Oh, so if I throw a fit during meals, you'll just give me chocolate chips? Cause I'll do it!"

Dream on, Trav!

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Oh, how I love my family!

too much

How do you know when your two-year-old has seen too many episodes of Dora the Explorer and Go! Diego, Go!?

#10. When she wants me to follow her somewhere, she says, "Come on, Momma! Vaminos!"

#9. She yells "Animal in trouble!" and "rescues" all the animals one by one off the floor and onto the table. (I use the term "animals" loosely. This is not just stuffed animals. It basically includes anything that is not too heavy for her to lift.)

#8. She insists that you call her Diego.

#7. She carries around her special camera, "Click", in her armpit. (Yeah. I don't know where the armpit thing came from.)

#6. Her longest sentence is, "Use our special camera, Click, [to] help find the animal in trouble." (And she can say it all pretty fast!)

#5. She counts all sorts of things at the hardware store...in Spanish.

#4. She is frequently demanding Travis and I do things in Spanish - salta, parada, vaminos, suba, etc. Most of the time, we have no idea what she is saying.

#3. She can't go up our stairs without holding someone's hand because they are too slippery. Even her Ikea train has to put on it's "sticky wheels" to go over the slippery hill. Thanks, Dora.

#2. She will pull items out of her toy baskets and ask us one thing at a time "Is this the flashlight?...No!...Is the flashlight?...No!...Is THIS the flashlight?...Yes!"

#1. And the number one reason I know Anna has seen it too much is because I know all the words to all the songs!

the date

Travis is taking me on a date tonight. I am excited, to say the least. We don't go out alone very often, and we rarely get a sitter. Ahhh. An evening where I don't have to feel like a tired mommy...where I can get out of the house without distraction...where I can feel a bit more like a young little thing on a hot date! Just me and my man! So, I took great care in getting dressed this morning, making sure my outfit was perfect (not the usual jeans and t-shirt) and that my accessories (which are neglected more and more these days) were laid out and ready. As I twisted and curled my hair into something other than a pony tail, I was looking in the mirror thinking, "Wow. Travis is going to be knocked out!" I finished the last touch of mascara, gave myself a "well, hello there" look in the mirror, and then my eyes locked on Owen. No, not on his beautiful, big blue eyes—which he has—but on his diaper. Now, I wouldn't say I am a seasoned mother, but I have had my share of blow-outs to filled the spectrum. Everything from, "oh, that onesie is still fine" to "Just put it all in the trash". This, however, surpassed them all. I even contemplated just throwing away the highchair in which he was sitting. Seriously. Owen was only wearing a diaper, and that could have been part of the problem. I won't go into more detail, but even Anna started dry-heaving and saying, "Make Anna sick!" over and over.

Now, forty-five minutes later, I am looking in the mirror again. My black dress pants are...let's just say...not clean, my hair is flat due to the small bit of perspiring that occurred during the ordeal, and my perfect makeup seems to have faded with all the futile attempts at keeping my hair out of my face. Needless to say, I don't feel the least bit hot and sexy anymore. Oh, well, I am a mom. And I am happy to know, that being is a mom is one thing that Travis loves about me. Even if I am not a knock-out—I am going out tonight with my man!

Missing Something...

Over the last nine months, I feel like I have been missing something...in many different ways.

First, I am missing the opportunity to record the precious and hilarious moments I share with my family each day. Like when Anna fell out of her big girl bed, and then claimed through the streams of tears that the "wall pull my hair". Now, I have been sleeping in a big girl bed for quite a number of years now, and I have never had the wall pull my hair. Or, when Anna starts telling me "good job" after I go potty. These are the things I don't want to forget. These are the things I don't want to have missed recording.

Second, I am starting to miss other things too. Like, one day, I couldn't find my wallet. I frantically retraced my steps of the day, calling the restaurant where we had lunch, searching the car...three times...and feeling the pit in my chest grow larger and larger as I thought of canceling my credit cards, getting a new driver's license, and on and on. Travis and I started searching the house again. I felt like I should check my closet. Why? I have no idea, but I checked anyway. And, behold, there behind all of Travis's hanging shirts was my wallet. Now, this little spot behind Trav's shirts is one of Anna's favorite hiding places. That little trickster!

A few days later, Travis came home from work and put his socks on the bed. After dinner we decided to go to the store. Travis went to get his socks...and they were gone! We started looking around, and Anna piped in "I find them!". She ran over to Trav's nightstand, opened up the top drawer, and pulled out his sock from the very back of the drawer. She held them up triumphantly, and you could tell she thought she was pretty hot stuff for finding the missing socks! Trickster!

Since then, I have noticed several other things missing... the keys to the mail box, several toys, sippy cups, etc. I have no doubt in my mind that our mischievous two-year-old knows exactly where all of the missing items are located. The trick is going to be getting her to talk. :) Let's just hope that the missing sippy cups aren't filled with rotting milk, that there is nothing important in the mailbox, and that the missing toys are nobody's favorites.

So, here is hoping I find all the missing items, and remember all the fading moments!

owen

We are so excited to announce the newest Foxley arrival! He joined us on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, weighing in at an impressive 10lb. 9oz! Our new baby boy has already captured the hearts of all his family members, including Anna, who always insists on hold, hugging, or kissing him. We are so thankful he has come to our family.

anna's apron

Anna is at the age where she loves being in the kitchen and watching everything I do. So this year for Christmas I decided to make her an apron. I found some adorable fat quarters at Material Girls Quilts, but I couldn't find a pattern online that I loved, so I designed my own instead. My friend Paula is super talented in every way, so last week she helped me make a pattern based on my apron design. (Thank goodness for Paula! I can't even imagine how it would have turned out with my long neglected (and not that great in the first place) sewing skills. It actually looks professional thanks to her! She is amazing! :) It has four little pockets in the front to hold anna's stirring spoons and spatulas. It only took a few hours to make the pattern and sew it! I was beyond thrilled at how it turned out!

If you love it like I do, check back after the holiday craziness for the pattern and instructions.

baby foxley

Wow. It is like November never even registered with my blogging brain. Can I blame it on the approaching stress of the holidays? Or maybe...can I blame it on...our brand new baby foxley due to arrive this spring? Travis and I are so excited for this new addition to our rapidly growing family. Once again, we won't be finding out the gender of the peanut, so don't try to convince us otherwise! ;) Anna has no clue what is about to rock her world, but she does love being around other kids and babies, so we think this will be ok with her (cross our fingers!). Once again, this pregnancy has left me pretty sick, tired, and I feel so blessed to have a good sport and support like Travis by my side through it all. (Although, I am not sure how blessed he feels at the moment! :) )

Here is the first picture of the peanut: (It looks exactly like a little teddy bear to me!)

picking apples

Anna and I took a much needed break from the day-to-day grind and went with Aunt Jen and cousins to pick some apples. It was the most beautiful fall day—sunny and warm—perfect weather to enjoy a long sleeve shirt. Anna loved the goats and she was actually a pretty good little helper. She picked up all the fallen apples off the grass and put them in her own little bag. She loved it.

Here are a few more pics of our great fall day…

the smell of grapes and fire in the fall

You'll never guess what I actually did this week... I did some CANNING!!!!! Yes. It is true. I went last Saturday to pick grapes at Aunt Jolene and Ralphie's house. They were delicious concord grapes, and I got about two grocery sacks full. I borrowed a steam juicer and was able to get 11 quarts of juice concentrate! Only Mom will understand the satisfaction that comes from hearing the tiny "pop" as each one self-seals. Ahhhh.

Anna tried dusting the stove today while I was steaming grapes and caught the duster on fire. No one was injured, and no property was damaged (besides the duster). Phew! She is now not allowed to dust in the kitchen anymore.

dancing anna

Anna has become quite the dancer lately…the radio, tv commercials, the hymns at church…anything will get those little arms moving. Here is Anna's choreography to The Office theme song. Enjoy!

Dancing Anna from Travis Foxley on Vimeo.

open for business!

For the last few months I have been working feverishly on a new, exciting project…and it just went live TODAY! It is a site called myLDSmemories.com, and I am so pleased with how it turned out. It is a site with free software so you can make your own hardbound, personalized photo Memory Books! You can make books from scratch, or simply drop your own photos into the pre-designed themed pages. You can have a beautiful, hardbound book in minutes! ;) Ok. I sound like a salesman now, but I truly am genuinely excited about this site and the products available. So, check it out here, if you like what you see, spread the word! (You can click through some sample books right on the home page.) EVERYONE also GETS 50% OFF DURING OCTOBER…so you should all make a book now! ;) Ok. I'll stop.

pot stirrer

Thanks again to Jen (Travis's super talented sister) who did this cute photo shoot with Anna. Love the pics!

so much to do...

so little daylight.

Another month had flown by, and I have to admit I was shocked when I checked my own blog and saw I was a whole month behind. I am a blogging disaster. In my defense, the summer can be a little crazy. Here are some of the things we have been up to...



This year I tried my hand at gardening again in our community garden. It started off strong. The little plants looked so promising, but unfortunately, my blog was not the only thing that has been slightly neglected this summer. It did ok. Maybe next year. Here is a picture of the happier times in the garden.



Anna finally started getting her teeth this summer. Here is a rare glimpse of the first snaggletooth. It performed solo for quite some time, but now it has been joined by another snaggletooth and two buckies on the top.



Anna LOVES the water. Here she is with her cousins at the splash park.



Anna has so many great facial expressions. Here are a few.





She refuses to walk most of the time now...she likes to run.



If you can't tell from the picture...Anna LOVES to swing.



And anything that she knows she shouldn't get into...she does it anyway. What a trickster.

happy birthday

watermelon

Tomorrow Anna turns one! I can't believe it has been a year already! It is amazing to think how much she has grown up and learned in just one little year. She is such a blessing to Travis and I, and we love her so much. She makes us laugh, smile, roll our eyes, and yes...she even makes us a little crazy! We love being parents to our cute and sweet little girl. Happy birthday, Anna!

waving & walking

Anna must be practicing for the pageant runway already. Waving & walking—two of her most favorite activities. Now, if she can chew gum at the same time, we might just have a genius on our hands. :)

She is pretty much a pro at walking now. She is back and forth, and into EVERYTHING! She gets REALLY excited whenever we put her shoes on because she knows she is probably going to get to walk outside—which is so much cooler than inside. Duh! Chasing her around is a full-time job. It makes me tired thinking about it.

Anna also likes to wave. She has several different types of waves. Two of my favorites are the the full-arm swing and the one where she puts her hand by her cheek and while keeping her arm tucked close to her, just moves her hand back and forth just slightly. The latter is usually accompanied by a cheery and drawn out "Hi" sound.

My favorite though is how Anna waves at everyone and everything that she sees—people sitting near us in restaurants, cars driving down the road, and heavy machinery building houses in our neighborhood. Every morning she even waves to all the people she sees on tv waving to the camera on the Today Show. At least we know she's friendly!

Here is a video taken two months ago of Anna taking her very first unassisted steps. Enjoy!

Anna's First Steps from Travis Foxley on Vimeo.

studio j

My great and talented sister-in-law, Jen (of Studio J Photography) took these family pictures of us. She is amazing! We now have family pictures in our home! Thanks, Jen!

sunny days

In May, Anna and I were lucky enough to go to St. George to spend a week with my sister, Lindsay, and her kiddies, Drew and Dawson. We had so much fun hanging out, laughing, swimming, and eating. The kids loved playing together, and I loved having the time to catch up with my awesome little sister. She is the bomb! :)

Here is a music video I made in iMovie of the "Sunny Days" highlights. Enjoy!

Sunny Days from Travis Foxley on Vimeo.

favorite things

Travis made this cute movie of Anna and her favorite things. We chose this song because every time Anna hears the Lagoon ads (featuring the song "You're So Good For Me" by Sonnett) she gets super excited and starts friendly-yelling lots (where she yells REALLY loud in short repeated spurts, but she is not mad—hmmm—actually, very similar to her behavior in sacrament meeting—which is why we spend most of the time in the hall). Anyway, she loves it. I do too. Enjoy the movie!

Anna's Favorite Things from Travis Foxley on Vimeo.