Mom Comes to Visit

We had a fun Saturday 2 weeks ago. First we went on a picnic with our ward's Primary at the Phoenix temple site. The Phoenix temple is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait for it to be dedicated. We will be in Flagstaff then but we definitely plan on driving down for the open house. We had such a great time learning about what makes this temple special and picnicking with our friends. 

After the picnic we drove straight to the airport and picked up....

GRANDMA!!!

We have been counting down the days for her visit. We had such a good time with her here! Mother loves the sunshine like we do so we went on lots of beautiful morning walks. We had tea party and a dance party. We made chocolate roll and had movie nights at home. We went to Arizona Mills one day and bought Auntie Annes pretzels and shopped till we dropped! We met up with my Aunt Cora and went to the Rainforest Cafe. Unfortunately my kids decided shortly there after that they had had enough, but they slept on the car ride home. My kids started to feel sick towards the end of her trip but they were still all smiles for Grandma. Maybe because of all the surprises she gives! She bought Susie a new princess for her castle and a huge pink bouncy ball that we play with everyday! Since she's been gone Susie tells me often that she needs more surprises. 

Mom and I got to go out on a fun date one night while Paul watched the kids. We did some more shopping, dinner and a movie. We went to an AMC theater that has new, huge red leather seats. They were gloriously comfortable. She is a busy girl, working and going to school so we were so excited that she chose to spend her Spring Break with us. We made some great memories. 

Susanna Turns 3!

Our Susanna is now 3 years old! She is getting to be such a grown up girl. We had a fun time celebrating her birthday. 

This is Susie LAST year helping me make her birthday cake.. and then this year! It's amazing how much she has grown up. 

We started her birthday with decorations and chocolate chip pancakes. Mmm! Later on we had a little birthday party with a few of her friends from church. She loves the story Curious George and the Pizza Party so we had a party like the one in the book! We each got to make our own little pizza and choose from lots of toppings. It was yummy. Susie loves pizza! We also played "Punch the Pepperoni" and had Curious George cake. 

 

 

Susanna is such a sweetheart. She loves making her little brother laugh. Sometimes I put her in his crib or pack and play and they just don't stop giggling! She loves her daddy, too. The second he walks in the door from work she is talking his ear off about how she played outside with Sam and found a dead bird and how she wants him to read her a book now, and oh dad let's go upstairs and play, and today I had a friend come over to my house... on and on and on. It's hilarious. She is a great snuggler. She is doing so good with her numbers and her letters. She loves to sing primary song and disney songs, like Hakuna Mata. We sure love her. 

Things that make me smile

Things are going good at the West house. Paul is at a rotation at Paradise Valley hospital. We went and visited him as a surprise the other day and got to meet some of the people he works with. That was fun. We were also informed by Walmart that our destination after graduation will definitely be Flagstaff. Paul was able to take a day off and we drove up there to look around. We are pretty excited. It is a beautiful place! We are sad to be leaving so many people we love in Phoenix but we know Heavenly Father is helping find where we need to be.
We've had a fun February. Last year Paul and I started a Valentines tradition of "14 days of Service" where we do something nice for each other the first 2 weeks of the month. It was a lot of fun last year so we decided to do it again this year. I loved it!

Here are a few pictures of things that make me smile:

When Braden smiles! It only takes a little tickle or some silly words. He is a smiley boy. 

When Susanna and Braden play together

When Susie pretends to be in a "deep sleep" and the only way to wake her is true loves kiss

Having friends to play with (this was our fun Valentines Day party)

These pictures all make me smile too! My friend Aly (who is a very skilled photographer) invited us over to take these Valentine photos. They turned out so adorable. I will treasure them always. 

Fun in January

We have had a fun January. We decided to start potty training when Christmas vacation was over so January 6th was the big day. We bought juice and snacks and stickers and treats and Dollar store rewards. The first week was not fun. There were lots of accidents and lots of crying but Susie did a lot better the second week! She still has a few things she needs to get better at but I'm thrilled that it hasn't been terrible. I've been nervous to potty train and after the first couple days I was even more nervous. But she's definitely getting it. This picture is from day 1: 

We went to the zoo with some friends last week and had a great time. We get a culture pass from the library and are able to get in for free! So awesome! Because of that we pay a few dollars to touch the sting rays and feed the giraffes. It's so worth the five bucks. I love it!! It was a beautiful day at the zoo and we had so much fun. 

We like to take Susie's picture on the same orangoutang when we go. It's fun to compare the photos. The first one is when Susie was a little over a year old, the second one is when she just turned 2, and the last picture she is almost 3! It's amazing how much she's grown. It's so fun to watch. My little girl is definitely growing up! 

Due to the amazing weather we go to the park with friends a lot. 

 We also had our cousins over to stay the night on Sunday. We all went to the Gilbert temple open house together the next day. Susie LOVES her cousins. And they love her. It's so cute. It was fun to get together with Andrew and Nicole and the temple was beautiful. Nicole is due for her 4th baby, a little boy, in about 3 weeks! 

Here's a cute picture of Braden. I feel so blessed to have 2 adorable kids to take care of. It makes for a very happy life!