Dearest Livi Pie,
     Happy 3rd birthday sweet girl!  I can hardly believe you are already three years old.  You bring so much joy to our lives, making us laugh with your forty dollar smile and your funny comments.  You really are three going on thirteen.
     Just recently you have grown so much and all of a sudden you have turned into a little girl.  Your legs are so long and you are so petite, quite the little model.  You have big beautiful eyes and straight, long, light brown hair.  You say you are growing it long to be like Rapunzel, your favorite princess.
Here are some of the things that sum up your life as a two year old
-You love your brother to death!  He's your best friend and you want to be just like him.  You are always copying things he does.  Your favorite game to play with your brother is baby.  He's the daddy and you are the baby.  He goes around and tells you what to do.  Everyone is happy because he gets to be the boss and you get all of his attention.
-Not only do you love your brother, but you LOVE to push his buttons!  You know just the buttons to push to completely frustrate him.
-You love your daddy very much and REALLY miss him when he is at work.  You ask to visit him at work quite often and you like to take him cookies and ice cream.  Your favorite part of going to the fire station is seeing "daddy's friends".  When daddy does facetime from work, you always ask to see his friends.
-For Halloween you dressed up as Dora the Explorer.  You looked pretty silly with the ridiculous Dora wig!  But you were the cutest Dora I've ever seen.  You watched Dora pretty much every morning through your entire twos but now you haven't been asking for it.  Lately you ask for choices and then pick whatever sounds best.
-For Christmas Santa brought you a bike.  You love to ride your bike around the block.  Daddy put blocks on the pedals so you could reach and pedal yourself.  But because you grew so much lately there is no need for the blocks.
-You started going to school after Christmas break because you were tired of taking your bother to school and not being able to stay.  There was no doubt that you were ready for school.  Your first day you threw a tantrum when me and daddy came to pick you up because you didn't want to go home.  You wanted to stay at school with Miss Hunt.  You didn't realize you were going to be going to school three days a week and it was not just a one time thing.
-You love going to church and learning about Jesus in your kidventure class.  One day when I picked you up the volunteer said "so I heard you went to Havasu last weekend."  Apparantly, you had filled in your teacher about our trip to Havasu.
-This summer you took swimming lessons for the first time with Mr. John.  You learned how to float on your back just in case you fall in the pool.  You also learned how to do eyes in and swim over to the wall and crawl out.  You did it perfectly for Mr. John but not when swimming with me and dad.
-This summer we took our annual trip to Shasta Lake.  I'm pretty sure Shasta may be your favorite place on Earth.  You did awesome on the long drive and were quite the camper.  We all slept outside on air mattresses.  You slept next to me because I was worried you would wander off in the night.  Your favorite part of Shasta was being with all the family.  You loved picking blackberries with Nannie and Joshie.  They just may be two of your favorite people.  You loved swimming in the lake and when it was nap time, you asked to go for a boat ride because you love to sleep on the boat.  You weren't too excited about bathing in the lake but it wasn't horrible.
-We also took a few trips to Havasu.  You love being on the boat and swimming in the water.  Most of all, you like to find sandy beaches so you can play in the sand with your brother.
-I spent the whole summer with you and Cooper and we had so much fun!  It was fun to take you places and spend lots of time with you.  It was hard for both of us when it was time for me to go back to work because we were used to being together everyday.  Eventually you were okay with it as long as I told you exactly who would be staying home with you.
-You are a very smart girl.  There are so many times when me and your dad look at each other and say "she's only two!".  You make so many intelligent connections and comments that couldn't possibly come from a two year old.  You never cease to amaze us.
-Disneyland is still your very favorite place.  You still like Minnie Mouse but your favorite characters are definitely the princesses.  For your birthday we took you to the Bibidi Bobidi Boutique where a fairy godmother turned you into a beautiful princess.  You chose to be Cinderella!  She dressed you up in Cinderella's gown and you got your hair, makeup, and nails done.  You did a photo shoot and then they escorted you over to the royal ball where you met all the princesses.  You talked to each one and they signed your autograph book.  It was the happiest I have ever seen you for the longest period of time.  It was expensive but it was worth every penny of it to see you so excited!  You truly were a beautiful princess.
-Your favorite movie is Tangled (Rapunzel)
-Your favorite TV show is Wipe Out (only because it's your brother's)
-Your favorite song is Ho Hey by the Lumineres (also your brother's favorite)
-Mommy really loves when you sing Jesus Loves Me while I rock you before bedtime.
-You say prayers before you eat and before bed.  You prayers go kinda like this "Dear Jesus, thank you for this day, thank you for all the things, thank you for vegetables, Amen".
-You love to get naked before bath and run around saying "shake your boodie, shake your boodie, yeah, yeah".
-You love to put puzzles together, preferably princess bubbles.
-I call you a hoarder because you get your little backpacks, purses, and bags and you fill them completely full of tons of little toys.  You dump them out and put them back over and over.
-You are a very girlie girl.  You want to pick out your own clothes, which is always a dress and when we tell you its our choice it usually ends in whining and complaining.
-When we ask you if you want to play soccer or baseball you say no, and that you just want to watch your brother play.
-You took your first dance class this year.  You did very well and you loved it.  It only lasted 4 weeks so we need to put you in something else soon.  I'm thinking you would really love gymnastics.
-You are scared of the dark and think there are monsters in your room.  You don't like the shadows from your nightlight.  They "scare" you.
-You have the best giggle ever.  Puts a smile on anyones face who hears.  Your brother is the one who really knows how to get you giggling.
-When you hear songs about Jesus on the radio you say "follow Jesus, nobody else, just Jesus".
-You give the best bear hugs ever.  My favorite is when you hug me and don't let go and put your head on my shoulder.
-When you really love someone you say "I love you big much!" and you spread your arms out as wide as they will go.
-We like to sing a song I made up called "Livi Pot Pie and I don't care..." to the tune of "jimmy crack corn".
You truly are a very special girl and we love you so much!  I can't imagine our family without you.  You give us so much joy and happiness!  Thank you for being you and filling our hearts with so much love!  We love you all the loves!
Love,
Mommy

Happy 5th Birthday Cooper!

Dear Cooper,
     Happy 5th birthday!  I can't believe you are already five years old.  It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing you home from the hospital.  Now you are in your third year of preschool and looking forward to beginning kindergarten in the fall.
     This year in school you have become very close to your friends.  Two of them being Ryan and Ethan. You learned how to write your name.  You get discouraged when its not just perfect.  We are working on drawing pictures of actual things.  You would rather just scribble on the paper.  But you are starting to realize it's more fun to draw pictures.  You have learned nearly all your letters and sounds.  You work very hard at school and always give it your best effort.  When you make a mistake, you are your biggest critic.  You aim to be perfect.
     This year I have really seen you change into a big boy.  Your little baby face has turned into a big kid face.  But what hasn't changed is your heart.  You have the biggest heart of any five year old I've ever known.  You always talk about love.  How much you love mom, dad, Olivia, Jesus and all your family and friends.  You tell us you want our hearts to be happy.  You always pick the heart sandwich cutter because you love us and we love you.
    Your recently moved from watching Nick Jr. tv shows to more big kid shows like Ninjago and Power Rangers.  Your sister even likes to sit and watch them with you.
    Santa gave you a WII and Super Mario Bothers for Christmas and you are obsessed.  You would play all day and night if we let you.  You have a time limit but once you have finished for the day you can't stop talking about when you are going to play next.  Mario is the biggest topic of conversation for you.  We try our hardest to entertain you with adding into the conversation but sometimes it gets a little old.  :)
    You've also been talking about life after you get married and move out of our house.  You told daddy that some day you are going to get married and wear a ring and move out.  You said that when you move out of our house, you are really going to miss us and we will miss you.  :(  You told Nannie that Daddy said you can take your remote controls and Mario with you when you get married and move out.  We have to remind you that you are only 5 and marriage and moving out is a long ways away!
    You want to read your bible every night because it is the "most important book".  Your prayers are very mature and really show your love for Jesus.  You consistently thank Jesus for dying on the cross so we can live in heaven some day.  You told Aunt Linda that "we need to hurry up and die so we can go to heaven".  You inspire us all to be better people.
    You have really been into Legos.  You can sit patiently and take your time to put them together.
    You still love going to Disneyland.  And you still love the fast and scary rides.  Your new favorite is Star Tours.
    You are a little cuddler and we all love that.
    You have brought so much joy to our lives.  You always have something positive to say.  You always put a smile on my face by the way you love me or what you have to say.  We are truly blessed to have been given such an amazing son.  We love you with all our hearts!
God Bless you Always,
Mommy

Happy 2nd Birthday Olivia!

Dear Sweet Livi Pie,
     On Saturday you turned two years old.  You have been telling people that you were 2 for the last couple of months, so it wasn't too hard for you to figure out how old you turned on your birthday.  We had a small family birthday party (The Little Mermaid) to celebrate you.  You loved having a party just for you.  You even helped everyone sing happy birthday to you.
    You are growing up very fast.  Almost too fast, as far as I'm concerned.  You have always wanted to be one of the big kids and that hasn't changed.  You are not satisfied being treated like a baby by the big kids.  You think you are just like them and you can do anything they can.  And sure enough, you can hang with the best of them.
    You are a very special little girl with such a sweet face.  You are very outgoing and silly but sensitive at the same time.  You love to make people happy and bring so much joy to all our lives.  You give great big hugs and pucker your lips up nice and big for kisses.   When we ask you how much you love us, you stick your arms out as far as you can and say "big much".
    You have always been a great communicator.  You say just about anything and are starting to use sentences more often.  Most people understand most things you say.  Nobody can really believe that you are only two.  You are pretty advanced for your age.
    In fact a couple weeks ago I heard you count to 15.  I didn't even know you knew how to count to 3.
    You even potty trained yourself at 22 months.  We really weren't ready to train you because we were taking a trip to Shasta, but we bought you some princess panties and from then on you decided you didn't want to wear a diaper.  So... we bought a travel potty, stopped on the road to Shasta (a lot), set up a potty in our campsite, and took your potty with us on the boat.  You were amazing.  It was all way to easy.
    You still LOVE Disneyland.  You would rather be there than anywhere.  We feel like we are getting away with something every time we take you because we don't have to pay for you and you just have the time of your life each time.  It's so great to see you having so much fun.  You still love Minnie Mouse and chant her name often.  But you have also found a new love at Disneyland and that is the princesses, your favorite being Ariel from The Little Mermaid.  One day we heard you humming the song.  I downloaded it on my phone and now you carry my phone around singing "Part of this World".  It really is pretty cute!  Your favorite rides at Disneyland are the rockets, small world, and buzz lightyear.
    You love Tudy from Yo Gabba Gabba and "Dodo" (Dora).  You have a pretty good attention span to actually sit down and watch a show.  You also love to watch Jake with your brother.
    You call Cooper "Toopa" or "butha".  You love him so much most of the time.  The two of you have been playing very well together for the last couple of months.  He still, of course, protects you and keeps you safe.  You enjoy dropping him off and picking him up from school.
    When Daddy is at work you are constantly asking "Where's Daddy?".  Then you remember "work, fire station".  You ask "Where's Baby Layla?" and "Where's Nannie?" all the time.  You love hanging out with the family.  Your cousins, grandmas, grandpas, aunties, and uncles are all your favorite people in the world.  You get really excited and silly when anyone comes over to visit.  You show off by running around the house and screaming.
    Cooper has done a great job teaching you how to pray.  Your prayers go like this, "mommy, daddy, toopa, libi, amen".
    You had your first crush this year.  It was with Matthew from Cooper's baseball team.  You called him "My Ma".  He felt the same about you.
    You go to My Gym every Saturday.  Sometimes with mommy and sometimes with Daddy.  You love being there.
    You love to dance, jump, do somersaults, climb, and run.  You are super fast when you run.  Sometimes too fast.  Your little feet can't keep up with the rest of your body and usually it results is just another bump or bruise.  Bumps and bruises have become pretty typical for you.  You're tuff though.  You just pop right up and keep going.
     You just started enjoying swimming.  You are so proud that you learned how to float all by yourself with your swimmies on.
     You love to sing.  When a song comes on the radio in the car, sometimes we can hear you singing the words.
    You love peas.  I have to feed you your peas for desert because if I gave them to you with your dinner, that's all you would eat.
     Just recently we started painting your toe nails.  You like to show everyone your "pink toes".  You get very concerned when the paint starts to come off.
     Some of the things you enjoy are doing puzzles, pushing your baby in her stroller, making towers, coloring, and wearing jewelry.
     You are a very good little girl.  You listen well and you are the best cleaner upper I have ever seen for a two year old.  When asked to clean something up you start singing the cleanup song and you clean up everything, even when no one else is helping.  You also have your two year old moments.  Those usually come when you are over tired and run down.
    You are a beautiful, smart, loving, thoughtful, caring little girl.  You bring so much joy to the lives of everyone you are around.  I could just watch you and listen to you all day.  There's just something about you that makes me smile whenever you are near.  You are a precious little angel.  I am enjoying watching you grow into a little girl.  We love you so much and are so proud of who you are becoming.
Love, Mommy

Cooper's Attempt at Water Skiing

I tried skiing quite a few times.  My balance was perfect I just needed to hold on a little tighter.  Everyone was so proud that I tried my best!

Mommy apologizes for the very shaky and loud video.

Shasta: Our Favorite Place

After a long 10 1/2 hour drive to Shasta we were finally there.  Mommy and Daddy thought it would be best if we left home at 8:00 at night and drive all night.  That way me and Livi could sleep the whole way.  And guess what?  We did exactly that!  Mommy and Daddy were so proud of us.  They woke us up at all the gas stations to take potty breaks and then we went right back to sleep.  We were told we were "amazing travelers"!  Some people think we are crazy to drive so far to go camping but we think it's worth every minute of the long drive!

 Helping Daddy put up the tent...

 Two of my favorite guys...

 Layla's napping station down by the water.  Uncle Chad worked hard to make her a comfy place to nap :)  She really liked her little bed.  Some of her best naps happened right there!

 Uncle Chad and Poppy doing dishes...

 Cousin Ricky and Bronson...

 Mommy and Auntie Shanay...

 Time for play dough...

 Giving my sissy a ride...

 Happy Layla with Auntie Linda...

 Nannie and Joshie spent a lot of time taking us black berry picking.  And we loved eating them!

 Black berry smile...

 Livi was a little bit jealous when mommy was holding baby Layla...

 Bubbles with Daddy...

 Making "no bake cookies" at Auntie Linda's camp site...

 Time for coloring books and crayons...

 Walking the line with Uncle Chad...

 Sharing my no bake cookies with Poppy and Auntie Shanay...

 One cool rainy day = Horseshoes at camp

 Uncle Chad trying to pull a large tree branch out of the horseshoe path...

 Horseshoes...

 Check out the deer in the background.  Him and his buddy visited our camp site a few times...

 Cousins :)

 Bath time for Livi... I'm next!

 Yummy!  Warm coffee and hot chocolate!

 Me and my "Sweetie Pie Pie"

 Our favorite guy!

 Livi's potty...  She was such a big girl!

 Throwing rocks with daddy...

 Family tubing...

 I could've thrown rocks all day if mommy and daddy would have let me...

 At Shasta we get to sleep under the beautiful stars on an air mattress...  I sleep really good outside!

 Livi slept under the stars too but she had to sleep in her crib.  Mommy and Daddy were afraid she would wonder off in the middle of the night if she was on an air mattress.  She does that kind of thing :)

 Hanging out!

 Story time...

 There are no showers at Shasta.  There are three choices for baths for me.  In the lake, a warmed bath in the little tub, or a faucet shower (made by Poppy to hook on the faucet).  This day I chose the faucet!  And yes!  That water is freezing!!!!!

 Ricky and Clea on our night at Jax...

 Mine and Daddy's pee tree...

 Cousins!

 Livi entertaining baby Layla...

 Cousins!

 So happy on the boat!

 Livi too...

 Me and Mommy...

 Mommy and Daddy on our trip to the dam...

 The Chavez's...

 Getting ready to ski...

 Nannie helped me keep my balance in the water until I yelled "hit it!"

 Water balloon time...  Getting ready to bomb Daddy!

 Everyone left Shasta a couple days before us so we took a trip to Wiskey Town.   We went on a hike to a waterfall.  

 Daddy and the kiddies at the waterfall!

 Too silly...

 And guess what???  Wiskey Town had a sandy beach.  So Mommy and Daddy stopped so we could play.  I had been asking for a sandy beach the entire trip!

 Livi Pie...

 Me and Daddy trying to fly the kite Poppy brought for me.  It wasn't quite windy enough.

This is how I feel about leaving Shasta :(
It took us 13 long hours to get home.  We drove during the day so we had to make a lot of potty stops and stops to eat.  Mommy and Daddy were quickly reminded of why they like to drive to Shasta at night.  Me and Livi were excellent travelers.  We did not complain at all about the long car ride!