Easter Sunday

We had such a great Easter this year. Last year we were sleep deprived with a 2 month old baby, and Marley wasn't old enough to know what was happening. This year she still didn't really know what was happening, and we're only slightly less sleep deprived, 

but it was still fun!

On Sunday we woke up and gave Marley her Easter basket before we went to church. 

She loved the new bouncy balls for playing outside, and her new book for church was a hit!

Marley had the cutest Easter dress! I'm a sucker for the poofy ones.

 She was a big hit with everyone in our ward.

We didn't find out until later that it was going to shed glitter EVERYWHERE. It looked like a glitter bomb went off on the bench where we sat. Oops! 

After church Marley got a much needed nap in before we headed down to Spanish Fork to visit my family. We had an Easter egg hunt with her cousins and it was so much fun! 


This is what Marley did most of the time:

  I think she was just happy to be outside and didn't notice the eggs too much. Poor Jason spent most of the time keeping her from walking into the street. Silly girl! Her mommy wanted some candy so Marley's Easter basket still managed to get full...

 Of course I had to get some pictures of Marley's cute cousins too. Jackson and Evie were pro's at hunting for eggs. 

  Jackson was so funny to watch! After awhile his basket got so full he was leaving a trail behind him as he walked. And Evie found so many eggs she needed 2 baskets! I also taught her the art of trading candy you don't want. (That's how the Larkin cousins roll.) It was cute to see her trade me all her yellow and orange Starbursts for my Reese's.

 We had so much fun visiting with family. Its nice that we all live close so these cousins can grow up together. This is a wonderful time of year and I'm grateful to my Savior for his sacrifice so that my family can be together forever.

First Trip to the Park

Last week the stars finally aligned and Jason had some free time to come with us to the park. I'm the sentimental type and wanted him to be there for Marley's first trip to the park, 
so we've been waiting. 

The weather was great, so we walked down the street to the neighborhood park. We had so much fun, and Marley didn't want to leave. The park is actually SUPER nice and has like 4 individual "little parks" to spread things out. 

 

We ended up running into two mom's from our ward who have little boys a few months older than Marley and had fun chatting. We talked about planning times to get together at the park over the summer, which would be really great. 

Marley 14 Month Update

I swear I won't be one of those parents that is like "my child is 27 months old," but for now it's still easy math so I'm doing it! I also don't think we need monthly updates anymore so I'll do them every couple months. 

Since her first birthday Marlene has grown a lot and sure keeps us on our toes. She had her 12 month check up on February 21st and we learned that she was 20 pounds, 15 ounces and 29.5 inches long. I'm sure she is well past that now, she has quite the pudgy tummy.

She is VERY sure on her feet and hardly ever crawls. We are always surprised at how fast (and sneaky) she is, especially when she notices someone left a door open at the end of the hall. 

With her new mobility, she has also gained a little bit of a temper. She's got quite a reach now and we're always taking things away from her that she shouldn't have. We're getting glimpses of terrible two's when that happens because it usually results in her flopping on the floor and rolling around screaming. Yay.

Marlene has gotten a lot better at eating and I've been able to find healthy foods that fit her criteria (not slimy/wet/cold). Her chunky thighs and cute little tummy speak for themselves, she's a good little eater!

Her current favorite foods are:
"Apple, Pear, Peach" Gerber pouches
Cut up string cheese or cheddar cheese
Eggos
Gold Fish
Fruit leather
Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Current food Fails:
Juice boxes
Kix cereal 
(the shape baffles her)
Country style hash browns
Frozen veggies 
(thought the diced ones would work, but no.)
 Apple slices

After being sick with a cold for almost a week, we are very happy to have our sweet girl back. Its hard to see your little one not feeling well when you know how happy and 
energetic they normally are. 

At first I thought she was teething, but it was just a cold. I'm sure that's on the horizon though, she's due for some new teeth soon. 

Now that she's back to her normal self we're back to our daily routine. Ever since her birthday we've really been able to get into a nice routine where she's just having 2 bottles a day, 1 extra long nap, and 3 meals of table food. This kid runs like clock work, but on the days where things get changed up...look out. (Sunday's are SO hard!)

We're excited for the next phase with our little toddler and can't wait for her to start talking more. I'm also happy the weather is warming up because Marley sure loves being outside. 

We're going to have lots of fun this Summer!

Four Years

Today is a special day: Jason and I celebrate our four year anniversary. 

We look like babies...

A lot has changed since that day, and we officially survived a whole year being married with a baby. Like anyone, we've had our ups and downs but I wouldn't change it for the world! I am truly blessed to be married to my best friend who is such a hardworking, caring, sweet man and father. 

I am also grateful that we were married in the temple and as a result, our little family can be together forever. I couldn't imagine spending eternity with anyone else! 

Read previous anniversary posts here:

Third

Second

First

Dollar Store Quiet Bag

 (Disclaimer: Bag itself and a few other items aren't from the dollar store, but they are dang cheap!)

Two weeks ago we had a rough day at church. The bag of books and toys we brought to entertain Marlene (things that only make their debut on Sundays) were not doing it for her. We have sacrament meeting the third hour so she was done sitting still, done looking at books, and that resulted in us leaving 30 minutes before church was over. 

So last week my mission was to make a new quiet bag, with things that can hold a toddler's attention. I scoured Pinterest, asked friends, and came up with some great (and also cheap) ideas. The total cost of putting this bag together was $15.

Magnets

We bought a pizza pan from the dollar store, bought some magnet paper and stickers from Michael's, and this held Marley's attention for a good 15 minutes at church. You could also raid your fridge for some magnets that aren't flat, Marley had some trouble at first being able to move them around.

Foam Numbers

This was a dollar store find, and a total score! They may have gotten a little chewed up at church, but the best part is that once they're ruined it will only cost $1 to replace. I would love to find some alphabet letters too.

Felt Board

I bought a white board from the dollar store, covered it with felt bought from Michael's (One yard cost $2 with a 40% coupon), and cut out shapes using my stash of felt scraps. Fun part about this is that felt is dirt cheap, and I can always change out the shapes. You can find these cute shapes (except for the bunny) HERE

Sponge Blocks

Bought 2 packs of sponges (multipacks, to get the most for my money) from the dollar store and cut them into shapes. These are great because they don't make noise!

Magna-Doodle

We found this at Wal-Mart in the Easter section and it cost $2. This little beauty kept Marley busy for about half of Sacrament meeting. She was so interested in it! Its a great way to introduce "coloring" without having to worry about her making a mess or chewing on crayons or pencils. Towards the end she had it pretty much figured out. 

Slinky

This is a great "my kid is freaking out and I need a distraction fast" toy. Marlene can get upset at the littlest things, (us not letting her crawl under the pew in front of us, or us not letting her grab the Sacrament tray as its passed by, etc) so this is a great idea. I found it at Wal-Mart for $1 in the party section.

Also, the best way to keep everything organized is like this:

Pencil cases from Wal-Mart! They cost $1.

Some other things we bought from the dollar store that we haven't tried out yet are: 

-Stickers and a legal notepad to put them on

-colored pencils (they won't get on her, her clothes, or the church pew) 

-Plastic Easter eggs 

Hopefully these things continue to keep Marlene entertained because church with little ones is hard! It was such a relief last week to have her content and happy to just sit there. Being prepared makes all the difference!