Cutest Little Boy in the World!

Dean is such a cutie! He just kills me...he's such a doll! I ran and got my camera when he was playing with Brielle's 'left-behind' Princess toys because he was picking them up out of the lunch box and throwing them at the castle...it was so funny to me (remember I don't have any brothers), boys are just so different then little girls! Brielle never threw things like that! Anyway, the funniest part was that I was trying to take a candid picture...but everytime Dean saw the orange light from my camera flash, he would look up at me a smile/pose for the picture...I wonder where he learned that! He LOVES the Piano! I am a firm believer in allowing little kids to play/pound on the Piano (even though the pounding can make you nuts!), I think it's great to let them love playing and making music! This was his first time sitting on the bench by himself, usually he just crawls up to the piano and stands while he pounds away!
ATTACK! ATTACK!! This is Chris' new favorite word to yell at Dean...and he knows exactly what to do...ATTACK BRIELLE! He thinks this is the greatest game ever! The sad and scary part is that he is already getting so big that it is not going to be long before he can really 'take her out'! Dean loves to wrestle...if anyone lays down on the ground, he scurries over to them and starts climging on top of them (Attack)! A couple weeks ago in church, he did this to a little 1 year old boy...they were sitting next to each other and he started trying to climb on top of him! Little boys (and the big boys who teach them to attack) are a whole different breed!

Brielle is really in to taking pictures lately! She took this one of my sweet baby boy today! Look at that face! Gosh, he just kills me!

Orem Summerfest Fun!

Tonight we went to the Orem City Summerfest Celebration or 'Carnival' as Brielle called it! We had a great time...She loved all of the rides and really enjoyed the cotton candy...(yes Nat, I really did let her have Cotton Candy...however, the result was not the same as at the Rodeo...I controlled the bag and we used lots of wet wipes! see the bottom of this link if you need a reminder of what I'm talking about http://tyandnatbaird.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2007-08-27T20%3A00%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=9

She made new friends...this poor little girl is looks like she is getting squished!

Dean had lots of fun! He and Chris watched while Brielle and I went on the giant slide, spinning strawberries and swings...Chris said that he is too tall for carnival rides. Apparently they are not made for anyone 6'8''. When we were on the swings (last picture) I felt like my feet were just about to hit some kids waiting in line below us...so every time we went over them I'd lift up my legs. When we got off the ride, Chris said "You seriously almost kicked those kids in the head, imagine if I'd have been on there!"

Dean LOVED watching Brielle on all of the rides! He spent most of the time screaming (happy squeally screams)...this is his new 'thing,' he screams all of the time...LOUDLY...with a huge smile on his face. It really gets crazy when Brielle joins in (which is probably where he learned the screaming/squealing in the first place) and they are both going back and forth!

Brielle loved these swings! She was a little nervous before we got on and then in the middle of it she turned to me and said "Mommy, you're right I do love this swing!" Of course I was right, I'm the mom!
Have you ever noticed that city carnivals bring out the most interesting people? ...people you don't normally see around town... Two years ago we went to this same carnival and we saw the scariest people there (take into account that we had just moved back from Los Angeles--where we saw our fair share of scary people), I remember that Chris was really 'bothered' that all these weirdo's and scary people were at the kiddie carnival. It was not quite as bad this time. (they put the kiddie rides on one end of the park and the bigger rides on the other end...but there were still quite a few 'interesting characters,' not to mention the teenagers that look...so...gosh I don't even have the right words...I can't believe their parents even let them walk around looking so...sloppy and scary and sleazy and I don't know...WOW, I must be getting old!

Brielle's baby cousin Claire!

Last weekend Brielle FINALLY got to meet her ONLY girl cousin...Claire! What a sweetheart! Brielle LOVED spending time with her Aunt Sarah and Claire...she mimicked EVERYTHING Sarah did...including asking her 'husband' (Mickey) to hold her baby when Sarah asked Ben to hold Claire! (FYI--she is obsessed with 'her kids' and 'husband'! She is constantly telling me about her kids and the things they do and say. It is a crack up!)

We had a great time with Sarah, Ben and Claire...but of course we missed little Benson! Good luck in North Carolina guys! We love you and we will miss you!

Higher daddy higher!

Last weekend we bought a playset for the kids...after a lot of hassle we finally got it home and Brielle came running out to the car saying "Where is my swing set, Is it my special day?" Much to her disappointment (and ours) the playset did not come 'built'...lets just say the instructions started out by saying it would take 2 adults 6 to 12 hours... luckily we were a little faster then that. Brielle thought it was her 'special day' because now she would be... "able to go to the park everyday, in my own backyard" (her exact words)! We are all really excited...as you can see baby Dean LOVED his first ride on a swing! As you may know I am totally obsessive about keeping things neat and not trashy or silly...anyway, Brielle helped Chris hang the car swing for Dean and she got her hands on the stickers that it came with...she put every single sticker it came with on the car!!! It is all I can do to keep myself from sneaking outside right now and taking them all off...I'm a mess!

I Wish You Enough...

I usually only post pictures on my blog of my cutie kiddies...however my wonderful friend Danielle (from France) sent me this and I really liked it, I think I'll adopt it as my new saying!

Recently I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.
Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, 'I love you and I wish you enough'.
The daughter replied, 'Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom'.
They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'.
Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'.
'I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' she said.
'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?'.
She began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone'. She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more. 'When we said , 'I wish you enough', we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them'. Then turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

She then began to cry and walked away.
They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them but then an entire life to forget them.

I wish you all enough!

up and at 'em...

Baby Dean will be 8 months old on Tuesday! I can't believe it!!! He started crawling this week...however he is not satisfied because all he wants to do is walk! He is not happy unless he is pulling himself up and standing! His favorite spot is the ottoman, however he sometimes tries to use doors, stools, drawers etc...all of which have ended badly! The problem is that he pulls himself up and is over confident...he thinks he can stand without holding on and then when he can't balance...he falls over (still in a standing position, rather than just landing on his bottom, he hits his head), he is like a tree...TIMBER! Poor kid. He is terribly frustrated! FYI--Brielle is 'sharing' this 'ken doll' with him!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day! This picture is of the present Brielle picked out earlier this week for me... out of the rock bed of the new Italian Place we opened up this week in Spanish Fork. She was SO excited, she kept it in her pocket all day and yesterday she asked me to help her wrap it!