Overnight

I swear Tayden grew up overnight.

I woke up, took one look at him and realized my baby was growing up.

I love watching him grow.

But does it have happen so fast?

Dinosaur Hunt

Tayden loves to go on dinosaur hunts. He knows exactly what to do. First, you have to pick the perfect hunting partner. Luckily, we know just the guy.

Then, you have to get all the right equipment. Namely, the dinosaur caller, the dinosaur sensor and the dinosaur looker.

Oh, and don't forget to make sure it's working.

Then, you creep around the house ever so quietly. With your Buzz Lightyear laser ready of course.

And sometimes you have to remind people to hush.

Especially that cute baby that loves to sit in the newly discovered dog bed--after he's bathed. And after mom has put it back in the storage room 15 times.

Back to the hunt. Soon you'll find the biggest T-Rex ever and shoot it with your laser.

And here's the most important part-- you have run and jump on it.

Grab it and tie it up.

After you have jumped on it, its basically game over for the dinosaur.

Not for Tayden (or dad) though, then you get to go look for another one. And another one. And another one.

Makes for one super fun night!

Love Sick

Valentines Day was less than eventful this year. Mainly, because our home is still full of sick. Luckily, Tayden is finally on the mend. He got a good night sleep last night without hacking his head off and was in much better spirits today. Beckett on the hand isn't quite better yet. He got sick 2 days after T, so I'm hoping he'll be getting better soon also. It hit me like a ton of bricks, yesterday. I tried so hard to fight it as long as long as I could, but it finally caught up to me. I hope my kids weren't feeling this awful--its no wonder we had such a rough week. 

Despite being sick, I tried to do Valentines with Tayden. We had bought them last week with the intentions of doing them and handing them out today. Our plans didn't quite work out, so I got them out today. Turned out pretty lame. I couldn't sit up at the table long enough to help Tayden and he didn't understand the concept on his own. 

So, instead I snapped a few pictures of our valentines spent in Pajammies.

 Poor sad eyes begging for more pedi-light. 

I caught a few happy minutes of Beckett. I sure love this little smile.

And, a quick word about my husband. He is one in a million. All day he took care of me, helped with the kids, cleaned the house, cooked dinner and never ever complained. That is where you find true love. In the trudges of the unglamorous. He loves me. And I am so lucky for it! 

Here's to getting better.

Sickies

These best friends are sick. Fever, green snotty noses and the worst cough ever. Poor Tayden keeps asking for medicine to make him feel better. He is a constant basket case. In his prayers tonight, he asked Heavenly Father to make him better. Sweetest thing. Beckett is taking it like a champ. He is acting more annoyed then anything. I don't think he understands the snot all over his face or the relentless hacking. 

This mama is sick of sick kids. I hate to see my children suffer. It's the worst.

So, don't count on any new updates until the sickies have left this house.

Which hopefully will be sooner than later.

  

I Don't Want to Forget...

Tayden loves to reenact scenes from cartoons with his toys. Mostly Toy Story or Find Nemo. Its the funniest think I have ever seen. He'll study the movie and later act it out with his toys. Almost word for word. He has most the characters from Toy Story in one form or another and will set them up the same as Andy almost daily. I hear him quoting the movie all day long. It seriously cracks me up. I don't want to forget this age. He is so full of life. He is so observant . He is just flat out fun.

Another thing I want to remember about Tayden is he imagination. This kid can think up a storm. He brings me baby dinosaurs, or huge snakes and the occasional monster so carefully in his little cupped hands. We have a rug in our front room that turns into the ocean and we have to swim through a shark family with pointy teeth. Oh, and another favorite is the sleeping bear at the bottom of our stairs. We have to make sure to tip toe as to not wake it up! I don't know where he comes up with this stuff.

And a few Taydenisms:

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I love this SO much."

"Um, letters can't sit on the table, they don't have legs"

"This makes me SO happy."

"I can not talk nice, I feel mean."

"Super cool."

"Hey Everybody! I have a good idea!"

"SO awesome."

"Move Beckett! There is too much room up here!" (he gets not enough and too much mixed up)

"Silly Man."

"Its okay brother, I'm here to keep you safe."

"What happened to you?"

"Go back to sleep mom so I can use your phone."

This age has been so much fun. Full of challenges, but so many good things too. And those are the things I want to remember!

Stats

We took the boys to the doctor yesterday for wellness checkups. The fact that we get to double on doctor appointments is a definite bonus to having back to back birthdays.

At 3 years old Tayden weights 31 lbs 3 oz and is 38 1/2 inches tall. Translation: Tall and Skinny! He is healthy and right on track.

At 1 year old Beckett is 24.3 lbs and is 30 1/4 inches tall. Translation: Big boy! He is healthy too and right where he needs to be. 

I love these boys! I am so blessed to have them in my life. Just wish they would quit getting bigger!!!

Who Doesn't Love...

...a little brotherly love?

 Its really the sweetest thing.

 It makes my heart melt.

And makes everything in the world right. 

Tayden Birthday

Another birthday at the Packard house. Tayden turned the big THREE. I can't believe even it. I remember bringing him from the hospital and not having a clue what to do with a baby and now he is a preschooler. It just blows my mind. He day started at 6:30 (way too early for us) yelling, "It's my birthday! Sing Happy  Birthday to me!" His birthday was fun this year because he knew exactly what was going on and what he wanted as far the party went. We had to do his day a little backwards because of Scotts scouts. We opened presents right after breakfast while we were still in our PJ's. It was seriously just like Christmas again for this little boy. He loved it.

 Not the best picture but would you look at that face? He was so excited about his helicopter.

Tayden got BSU pillow-pet and Beckett loved giving it kisses!

Tayden got to play with all his new toys for a little while and then it was off to the birthday party. We were originally going to do it in our backyard, but the wind has been a little chilly lately (I know we have nothing to complain about. If we still lived in Idaho, and outdoor party would be out of question.), so we opted for the church house instead. We had a pizza party and brought balls for all the kids. They just ran around, kicked balls and chased each other. They had a blast! Tayden had fun giving all his friends a ball to take home when the party was over. As we were cleaning he told me, "Mom. Birthday parties are fun!"

This was the only picture I could get of Tayden and two of his best (boy) friends. Sheppard, Caleb and Tayden are in the same nursery and see each other a couple times a week. The little three amigos.

Beckett and his buddy Jackson. Don't mind B's shirt, he had  little too much to drink!

We couldn't get Shep over to take pictures, but Tayden and Caleb were all about the camera. Silly boys.

I wish I had a picture of his cake. I snapped one with my phone, but it decided to stop working-so I stole one from the internet (sorry dev!) It looked just like this, but with green frosting. Tayden picked it out all by himself, so he loved it. 

And I have to say a little something about my LV friends. They are the greatest. Seriously, they are all so amazing. I could not ask for a better support system as I am away from my family. They all pitched in and helped with the party. They are always more than willing to take my kids or help when we need them. They were so welcoming to me and have taken me in as one of their own. I feel part of something great among these moms. I seriously can not say enough good things about this group of ladies. I appreciate and love them so much.

Taydens friends spoiled him rotten. He is so lucky to have so many great friends his age. He loves all of them and talks about them individually on a daily basis.

After the party, we all went home and crashed. Scott had a Pine Wood Derby for scouts tonight, so we went and hung out with him during that. Tayden even got to race his car. He loved it. 

Tayden made me a mommy 3 years ago and I am so grateful for him. I learn from him daily and am amazed by his selfless giving, ingenuity, and free love. He makes me laugh and melts my heart. At 3 years old Tayden:

-Is becoming his own person. He has always had an opinion about things, but now is exercising his independence on a daily basis. Little things like, getting in the car by himself, pulling out his chair, turning on the TV, throwing away his garbage-all remind me how big he is getting.

-Loves Beckett. He is an amazing big brother. He always tries to sooth Beckett with toys or food- and it usually works.

-Is so quick to say thank you. He says thank you over the funniest little things, like when we get his milk, buy him more crackers at the store or help put his shoes on. I love it.

-Is getting better at pronunciation. He is speaking more clearly, but is still hard to understand over the phone. We have to remind him to slow down when he gets excited. Sometimes he mumbles when he's nervous, but overall he's getting much better.

-Thinks things through and problem solves. Its not unusual to see him standing on something with a wooden spoon trying to knock a treat or whatever down.

-Loves all things Toy Story.

-Knows all the words to, "I Love To See The Temple", "I am a Child of God", "Twinkle Twinkle", and "Happy Birthday".

-Loves to read his scriptures.

-Says prayers mostly independently. Tonight, I caught him praying for his candy before he ate it.

-Is still very athletic. He is constantly running, jumping, catching, etc. He has great coordination for his age.

I LOVE this little boy! He is so amazing. He is a handful at times and we have our fair share of time-out days. He can be a challenge with his stubborn little attitude, but we love him all the same. I am so grateful he is my son. 

Happy Birthday, Cowboy! 

Childrens Museum

Scott and I took the boys to Lieds Childrens Museum today. We had LivingSocial coupon, so the whole trip was whopping $8.50. Which is a good thing, because I was a little less than impressed with the experience. Don't get me wrong, it was fun, but I was expecting a little bit more. I was hoping it would be like the Discovery Museum in Dallas. Also, Tayden was a little young for a lot of the exhibits--and Beckett wasn't exactly patient while we attempted to read and teach Tayden about all of them. 

 Tayden standing tall at 36 inches. Give or take.

 Scott was a little too tall.

 Notice Becketts fat lip? He's had a rough week. He had run in with a chair that resulted in a bloody nose and nearly black eye. He stumbled down the stairs. And he tripped leaving his fat lip. I need to invest in some bubble wrap something.

 Almost bubbled!

We loved the pull your own weight. I got up. Scott didn't. Haha.

The hurricane tunnel was pretty fun too. Tayden enjoyed it. Lots. So did my hair!

Regardless of the little let downs-- we had a good time. It was super fun spending time as a family and getting out and exploring the great town of Las Vegas.