Easter, Finally

Easter this year started off with a fun package from Grandma Newman in the mail. A coloring book and bunny straws prompted Kizzy to start talking about her "Gamma Noonan". The Saturday before Easter we hosted an egg hunt with our friends the Sorenson's and Youngquist's. We had a very yummy brunch of muffins, scones, fruit and juice.

Kizzy found her first egg!

We filled Kendal's eggs with Gerber Graduates Snacks.

Kizzy's stash

Later that night we colored eggs.

I made deviled eggs for Easter Dinner.

Kizzy's all ready for dyeing.

Easter Morning, we discovered what the Easter Bunny brought to our house. Kendal's favorite was the grass in his bucket.

Kizzy's basket was full of toys, most of which were Mickey Mouse themed.

Showing off their new Easter outfits.

Kizzy's Easter dress.

Kendal's Easter clothes. What a cutie!

Bunnies, Babies and Bruises

On Saturday we went to an Easter Egg Hunt with our friends the Youngquists. We had to wait outside for an hour and it was freezing! Kizzy and Hannah stayed warm by eating their chicken nuggets and dancing to the dj's music. Inside they were able to pick out 4 eggs and inside the eggs were numbers associated with prizes. Kizzy won a big stuffed bunny, a purple hat, a coloring book, and some treats.

Kyle and Kendal stayed bundled up to stay warm.

Kizzy met a girl dressed up like a bunny.

Today in nursery Kizzy was playing. Apparently she tripped and fell on a toy. Long story short, she has her first black eye. It's quite a shiner. And this picture doesn't show how bad it is.

On the babies note, I'm so excited at how many babies are coming up in my life, and I don't have to be pregnant! My sister in law is having a girl, my sister is having a boy. My friend Jackie is having a girl, my friend Kimberly is having a girl, my friend Marianne hasn't found out yet and my friend Maren just announced. So many babies! I love it.

Look what I made!

My good friend Maren Cleavenger opened a whole world to me. She took the time to teach me how to crochet. And I love it! I cannot thank her enough for giving me this practical and fun skill. I'm hooked! (no pun intended) Mickey and Minnie Pillows I made for Kizzy's bedroom.

The scarf I made for my Mother in law.

The Minnie Mouse pillow

A bag I made for Hannah Youngquist's birthday

Scarf I made for my mom

Bag I made for Kizzy

Kizzy modeling her hat

Scarf I made for Kurt

Newborn booties that I am very proud of, I created

the pattern for this on my own.

Kizzy and Kendal

Besides the purple bow and the blue hat, I would have a hard time telling these two apart. Lately I've been thinking how lucky I am to have these two little ones in my life. And I want you all to get to know my babies.

Katherine Isabel Holker aka Kizzy

FACTS

-born August 19, 2008

-named for Kyle's grandmothers

THINGS PROMISED IN PRIESTHOOD BLESSINGS

-She chose our family

-She was sent to us first so she could be my helper with her younger siblings

-She and I would have a good relationship

-She will be a blessing in my life

-She was blessed with intelligence and beauty

-She was blessed with strength

-She and Kendal will be good friends

LIKES

-Mickey Mouse

-Doing everything BY HERSELF!

-Kendal

-any toy that is small and pink

-tv (she is a tv junkie)

-Mickey Mouse

-car trips

-the store with the big red balls (Target)

-Mickey Mouse

-stars

-stories

-peanut butter

-Mickey Mouse

-cookies

-more peanut butter

-Elmo

-nursery

-wearing pretty things

-her friend Nanan (Hannah)

-pajamas

-showers and swimming

-And Mickey Mouse

DISLIKES

-Any food that is not peanut butter, cookies, ice cream, french fries, or cheese.

-pants

ATTRIBUTES

-she is so good at sharing

-she also wants to have Kendal included in everything she does

-she is silly

-she is lovable, giving hugs and kisses all the time

-she is strong willed and knows what she wants

-she is very friendly and greets people with "Hi, I Teezee! What's your name?"

-she goes around the house almost constantly singing, some favorites are "twinkle twinkle little star", "I am a child of God" and a large variety of songs that were made up by Kyle and I. (My personal favorite is one she and Kyle collaborated on "I got you, do do do")

-she doesn't nap anymore which isn't so bad once I found she actually has LESS tantrums now than she did when I made her nap.

-she potty trained herself and gave up her pacifier habit completely by herself in the same week

-she is a creature of habit and absolutely NEEDS routines in everything, she has routines within routines (example, brushing teeth has it's own routine, which is part of bedtime routine. Washing hands has it's own routine which is part of potty routine.) It can be tiring to be the only person who can do it "right" and frustrating when you need to speed things up and try to cut corners.

-she is very inquisitive and at the stage where she contantly asks "what's that?" and "what ya doin'?"

-she loves wishing people Happy Birthday

-she has a great imagination and it's really fun listening to her play

Kendal Hyrum Dennis Holker

FACTS:

-He was born June 30, 2010

-Kendal is a different form of Ken, his Grandpa Holker. Hyrum, is after Hyrum Smith and we chose it for the example Hyrum Smith was as an older brother. Dennis is after his Papa Newman who we wanted to honor, we chose this before his Papa was ever diagonosed with cancer. We are especially grateful we gave him this name since his Papa passed away when Kendal was 12 days old.

PRIESTHOOD BLESSINGS

- He, like Hyrum, will be an exemplary older brother

-He is a comfort and a joy to me in particular, but to all in his family

- He was specially chosen for our family_

-He will be intellegent and wise

-He will be a strong leader in the church

LIKES

-Food!

-Playing with spoons

-playing the piano

-Kizzy

-mirrors

-music

-chewing on his socks

-his Grandpa

DISLIKES

-things being taken away from him (he gets bright red in the face and yells in the face of whoever took it.)

-waiting for food

-bonking his head ( other minor bumps or bruises are no big deal but if he bonks his head, not only does he cry in pain, he gets mad and yells at me.)

ATTRIBUTES

-he's mastered sitting up and can scoot on the ground only when lying on his back, he still hates tummy time, so who knows when we can expect crawling.

-he is so happy and easy going

-he is going on 3 solid months of teething symptoms with still no teeth.

-he is a flirt

-he is great at falling asleep in his bed, but nowhere else. (so if we are away from home, he will not nap)

-his way of giving loves is to get a really serious face expression before leaning in and deliberately head butting.

-he is super ticklish

-he lights up like a light bulb when ever he sees Kizzy

-he loves his bath time so much the majority of his head bonks come from him getting so excited he loses his balance.

- if he can't fall asleep right away when we put him down, he taps the side of his bed until he falls asleep.

All in all, I am so lucky and blessed to be their Mommy.

Mickey Mouse?

Kizzy LOVES Mickey Mouse. She goes around the house making up songs about Mickey Mouse and I often hear her chattering about Mickey Mouse. She also sees him in everything. Any thing that remotely resembles a larger blob with 2 smaller blobs as the ears is Mickey Mouse to her. So earlier this evening when I heard her repeating "Mickey Mouse! Mickey Mouse!" from the bathroom, I didn't think much of it. Her chatter became more persistant and when she threw in a few "Mommy! Mickey Mouse! Mommy! Mommy!" I came to see. Well, remember what I said about a blob with 2 smaller blobs? Apparently, Kizzy had gone potty..... enough said. Needless to say, Kyle and I are still laughing our heads off. Priceless. Especially when flushing she called out, "Bye Mickey Mouse! Have fun!"

Our ship, the Oasis of the Seas

Before I tell you all about our trip, you need to understand a little about the ship we were in. The Oasis of the Seas is the biggest cruise ship in history. It has a crew of almost 3,000 and passengers in the 6,000's. Since it's maiden voyage in December of 2009 they have NEVER had an empty room. To walk the perimeter of this ship is one full mile. The Oasis is 17 stories tall. And this ship has everything imaginable. For example:

Restaurants:
-3 full service 24 hour buffets
- a 3 level main dining room
-An Italian restaurant
-A shushi bar
- a Greek restaurant
- a 50's style diner
- an outdoor cafe
- a pizza parlour
- a seafood restaurant
- an ice cream parlor
- a donut shop
- an adults only cafe
- 4 coffee shops
- a champagne lounge
- 10 bars.
- The Rising Tide - a bar that raised and lowered 3 stories.
- 24 hour room service

Live Entertainment:
- Broadway's "Hairspray"
- an Ice show
- a musical acrobatic act
- a diving/ sycronized swimming act
- a live comedy club
- live jazz music
- tribute bands
Swimming:
-15 different hottubs including 4 that jet out over the ocean.
- a 17 ft diving pool
- a lazy river]
- a kiddie pool specific for babies in swim diapers
- 4 other kiddie pools for potty trained and older
- 2 family swimming pools
- 2 adult only swimming pools
- a wave rider ( surfing)
Other Entertainment:
-a carousel
- a play room
- a casino
- an outdoor garden
- basketball
-tennis
- pingpong
- zip line
- a full servece salon and spa
- 5 different lounges
- shopping
- a candy store
- 2 photography studios
-a mini golf course
Not to mention they had business conference and seminar rooms, art auctions, jewlrey stores and so much more I know I'm forgetting things. I'll soon post more about what we actually did and post pictures as well,

Hair cuts!

Today, Kizzy and Kendal both got haircuts. It was the first time for both of them. We had a coupon to a salon called Snip-its which specializes in kids and they did a great job. They had plenty of distractions, including animal cookies, cartoons and toys. At the end of the haircuts they put a card in a machine and got a prize. I was kind of nervous about cutting their hair, but it was a really positive experience.



Kendal Before


Kendal During

Kendal After

Kizzy Before

Kizzy During

Kizzy After