Mallory Turns Five!!

Our little girl had her birthday last week! I can't hardly believe she is 5 years old and will be going to kindergarten this fall! She is so excited for school to start. She always talks about making friends and wonders who her teacher will be. We already bought her backpack and have been scoping out lunch boxes. She can't decide if she wants a Princess or a Tinkerbell lunch box, so we haven't purchased it yet. Life's full of tough choices for a 5 year old ;) Next to a Hershey Cookies 'n Creme candy bar, her favorite food is Chicken and Bacon Casserole! She asks for it at least twice a week. And she eats the leftovers for breakfast! She is really into Princesses and ponies right now. Mallory is ALL girl. She likes to pick her own outfit in the morning and then she picks a "hair pretty" to match. Her favorite color is purple. She often gets compliments on her beauty. Over the last couple of months, she has developed a light sprinkling of freckles on her nose. They are so cute, she wears them well :) We just got her 5 year pictures back. She looks so grown up!


This year I attempted to make her birthday cake (something I have NEVER done). I made the cake and then made homemade frosting out of powdered sugar. The only food coloring color I had was green so we called it a Tinkerbell cake and stuck her toy Tinkerbell on top. It's definitely not the best looking cake, but she said she loved it and thanked me for making it for her :)



The birthday girl with her parents!



My family came out to New Jersey for a visit just before her birthday, so we celebrated while they were out here. My brother served his mission in Hong Kong. So that was his inspiration for Mallory's birthday gifts. She was given a Chinese headband.
And also a "geisha" umbrella! Everyone wanted a turn posing with the umbrella. Mallory:

Clark:

Chase with the umbrella. Hahaha! This one makes me laugh!

Cute picture of Aunt Kim and Cael at the party:

Kolsen showing Mallory the gift he got her!

A doll from Grandpa Alan and Grandma Debbie!


Her Grandpa Marc and Grandma Treesa came out for a visit around her birthday too. They took her out to a fun restaurant we have in the area called CheeBurger CheeBurger. (They have them on the east side of the valley in Phoenix if you're interested in trying it - checkout their website for locations!). The waiters and waitresses sang happy birthday and let her blow out a candle - plus a bowl of ice cream! She loved it! She was given a Nintendo DS by Grandma and Grandpa. She's very serious about her game time! If you can't tell from the picture below :) All business!


It's been a lot of fun to celebrate with her! We love our Mallory!

Spring Break

We made a trip out to AZ for Spring Break back in March. I know it's been 7 or 8 months since I have posted. We've had some changes and our family life has become VERY, VERY busy and chaotic! When I'm actually not busy, I'm tired. And I just want to sit and do nothing. It's an excuse, I know. But it's true. I like to Facebook. It only takes a minute to update my status, whereas a blog can take an hour. If we aren't friends on Facebook and you want to be, send me a friend invite and you can keep up with us that way too! Anyway, back to Spring Break.......

We got to spend the first couple of days with my side of the family. We had a little birthday party for my niece Callie and my nephew Kolsen. We also had an extended family get together with aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was so fun to get to see everyone! I swear every female cousin I have is pregnant! I almost felt a little left out :) Our family is growing SO much, it's so fun! And I was really mad at myself because I didn't get any pictures at the party. I snapped this one of Mallory after everyone left.
I think it's how we all felt! Jet lag is a killer when you're talking about a 3 hour time difference!

My parents also took us to see the movie How To Train Your Dragon. Excellent movie if you haven't seen it yet! The kids loved it and were already begging to buy the DVD before we even got out of the theater! They still talk about it. Let's just say when the local pet store starts selling dragons - we'll be first in line :)

We spent the remainder of our vacation with Craig's parents. Craig and his dad went scuba diving in Lake Pleasant. We met them out at the lake and let the kids throw rocks and sticks into the water.
And of course Clark couldn't resist getting in! He walked in up to his hips and we couldn't get his pants to stay up after that. Every time we turned around he was wearing his shorts around his ankles!

Oh no! They're slipping! (Do you think he has any idea how cute he looks trying to pull his own pants up?!)


"Ok, I can't figure out how to get these back up. I better go find some help."


"Thanks Grandma!"


"Not again! Does anyone have any pants I can borrow? Mine aren't cooperating!"


"You're a lifesaver Grandpa!"


Craig's parents took us up to Hurricane, Utah to visit with Great Grandma and Grandpa Kurtzeborn. We drove and made some stops along the way for food and potty breaks. McDonalds was one of the first stops and the kids were ecstatic to find they had How To Train Your Dragon happy meals. They got a dragon toy and their happy meal boxes also transformed into viking hats!
If I had to come up with a caption for this picture it would be....."Onward brave warriors!! SLAY THE DRAGON!!!" (That is one serious viking!)

Chase was given a Nintendo DS (a.k.a best invention ever!). Between that and DVD players the kids were pretty good car riders.

Something fun about Great Grandpa Kurtzeborn (or Grandpa Ed) is literally half of his basement is a train set. (The other half of the basement is Grandma Barbara's library. HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of books!) The kids were so excited to watch the trains go around the tracks! It really is amazing and the pictures don't do it justice.

Clark with Grandpa Ed. You can also see a part of the mountainside in the background. There is a tunnel that runs through the mountain that the trains go through.

Grandma Barb and Grandpa Ed also have a little dog named Rosie. To be honest she was just as bit a hit as the trains were! The kids loved walking her and playing fetch. Rosie was very patient with all the loving attention she was showered with :)

On our way back to AZ we stopped at Cafe Rio for a goodbye lunch with Great Grandma and Grandpa. I was excited to try it. We had never been before, but we have heard a number of people rave about how good it was. Um, not to offend anybody, but I think it was some of the grossest mexican food I have ever tasted. Not even their chips and salsa were good! We didn't like it at all. I wouldn't go back......sorry Cafe Rio fans!

Our last day in Phoenix we spent some time at the park. It was nice to let the kids run around and play and relax before spending the next day on an airplane.

The weather was gorgeous! It was between 70 and 75 the whole week we were there. A big change from the 40 degree weather we were coming from in Jersey! The kids kept asking if they could stay. They miss being around family and they kept saying the mountains and cactus's were beautiful. Mallory's official opinion, "I just love Arizona! It's so fresh, and hot, and sweatish." Hahaha! That pretty much sums it up!

Clark 's 2nd Birthday

Clark turned 2 a couple weeks ago! I can't believe it! Our baby seems to be getting older and growing up faster than Chase and Mallory did. With Chase and Mallory it seemed like they were babies a long time. It took forever for them to get to their first birthdays let alone their second. And Clark is already at two! Maybe it's because life is incredibly busy with three kids the time seems to go by faster. After having such a difficult pregnancy with Mallory we wanted to stop at two. It took some major divine intervention and inspiration to get us to have a third. We are so glad that he's a part of our family! I couldn't picture life without his cute, sweet face! Here are his 2 year pics:

I love this smile :)


I think he looks more like he's 10 instead of 2 in this picture! He look so mature!


He was very, very grouchy the day of the photo shoot. The two close-ups are the ONLY two shots of him where we could get him to smile. I wanted one with a full body shot - hence the one in the middle - but he's not smiling. Did you notice the car in his hand? We don't go anywhere without one, or there are tantrums to be had! Cars have become appendages to his little fingers. Every other word that comes out of his mouth is car or truck. But he doesn't say truck. He says the "F" word. Chase did the same thing. He had a hard time saying words that had two consonants at the beginning, such as truck. It's a little bit humorous when he screams "big truck, big truck" out the car window. We keep the language around here G rated, but you wouldn't think so!! My only fear is what his nursery leaders think when they hear him say it! He'll grow out of it - hopefully sooner than later :) We watch the movie Cars pretty much every morning. Clark is an early riser. He's usually up around 6am. Sometimes 5:45, sometimes 6:20, but typically around 6ish he roams into our bedroom saying "watch Cars, watch Cars". So we park him on the couch until Chase and Mally get up. His grandparents got him some Cars items for his birthday. Grandpa Alan and Grandma Debbie got him a Cars couch. It's been a big hit!!

He's very possessive of the couch. Most of the time if anyone sits on it he starts screaming, "No!! My couch, my couch!"
Here is cousin Tristan lounging on this super cool couch that also turns into a bed. I think Tristan might also be lounging on the block container as well :)
Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Alan also got him the blue sweatsuit outfit he has on in his pictures at the top.

Grandpa Marc and Grandma Treesa got Clark some much needed jammies. It's been nice to have Chase's old clothes to pass down to Clark. They were both born in October so all of the sizes and seasons have matched up perfectly. We had 3 jammies to pass on to Clark from Chase's old wardrobe at this size. 2 of the 3 pairs were footie pajamas. Clark has worn footie pajamas in the winter time since birth. He's never had any objections. But when we pulled out the winter wardrobes about a month ago and put the footie pajamas on Clark - he had a fit. He kept pulling on the feet saying "ouch, ouch, off, off". And then he would let out a frustrated scream. He would complain in this manner until he went to bed. He would want them off first thing in the morning too. So I guess he turns 2 and all of a sudden has an opinion on his nightwear!
So grandma and grandpa have made this little boy very happy because he now owns un-footed pajamas! When the laundry's not done he has to wear the footed ones, but he's getting better about it. He still prefers to have his feet free. I don't blame him I guess. Pajamas should be the most comfortable thing you wear! They got him some cute Lightning McQueen slippers as well to keep his feet warm. We wear slippers all day around here when it gets cold!
We had brownies and ice cream for dessert. Notice the car on the table right by his plate. Of course, we just can't be without one!).

His vocabulary is expanding everyday! It's so fun to hear him ask for "tookies" instead of cookies. When I tell him he's my baby he says, "No, I not baby." He's insistent that he's a big boy. He loves to be tickled and he asks for squeeze hugs (squee hu) at night. He picks up every little piece of lint off the floor and brings it to me and says "uh-oh". Then he'll go put it in the garbage. He loves to draw with Chase and Mallory. And loves to go for rides in the wagon. This little boy has wiggled his way into our hearts :)

Who Says

Who says you save money when your kids get out of diapers?




Not me.




I say. . . . . .




Well, I'll let this say. . . . . . .

I shoulda bought stock in Charmin'.

I'll be buying toilet paper far longer than I will have ever had to buy diapers.

Mallory Turns 4!!

Um . . . . . 3 months ago. So this post is super late. We had a crazy, busy summer and I didn't do my vacation posts until the end of summer either. Mallory's birthday post got a little lost in there too. (Sorry Mally) I know I'm a bad mom! :( But better late than never. Clark's birthday is coming quick so I figured I better get hers up here first!

Here's her 4 - year pics:










Mallory is turning into a little lady. She's very sweet, but by far our most stubborn child. At least she's cute. Some days it the only thing that saves her. ;) We cut her hair a year ago. It was above her shoulders and now it's already halfway down her back. She loves having long hair and would like to grow it down to her feet. Don't know that that will happen - could you imagine brushing all the tangles out of hair that long? But we told her we would let her keep growing it a little bit longer. We might have to compromise and settle on bum-length hair! She wants to be a princess and they all have super long hair. I'm quite sure that's where she's getting her inspiration.

Mallory is really quite embarrassing as well. She's 4 so sometimes she doesn't know any better. But her comments none the less are still embarrassing!

So we come from AZ where most of the people there are either Caucasian or Hispanic. Mallory just grew up always seeing those types of people. It was normal to her. Well, the African-American population is HUGE out here. There are many, many people with black skin. We were eating at McDonald's and a lady that worked there kept coming over and talking to us. (She thought the kids were cute.) So we had been talking to her for awhile and Mallory all of a sudden blurts out, "Hey - why are you black?" I held my breath frantically thinking of something to say! The lady was caught off guard too, and just kind of stood there. The few moments of awkward silence there were seemed like an hour! So I start to tell her that God gave everyone different skin colors because it would be boring if we were all the same. And everyone is special because God made us that way no matter what color we are. It was the best I could come up with at the time. The lady seemed to be satisfied with that answer and proceeded to tell Mallory that people are like rainbows. There's black people, brown people, yellow people, white people. . . . . . .yeah, I wanted to crawl in a hole.

We were at Target another time and the lady that was our cashier was probably in her mid-40's. She was missing one of her front teeth. There was a very obvious hole in her mouth. Well, Mallory didn't miss it either. Halfway through our checkout process Mallory VERY excitedly says to the woman, "Hey - you lost a tooth!!" Chase had just lost a tooth and we were all very excited for him - the tooth fairy - the whole deal. But when you're 45 - no one wants a visit from the tooth fairy at that age!! So Mallory was excited for our checkout lady. I walked away laughing, but we have since avoided this woman's checkout lane for fear of Mallory pointing out the whole in this woman's face again. I later explained to Mallory that it's a sad thing when adults lose teeth.

Mallory has also recently learned what a skid-mark is. The kind in your underwear - not on the road. She is now an accomplished potty trainer and we have been teaching her to wipe herself when she goes #2. We usually do a last wipe and check to make sure she's clean, but lately she has been wanting that extra little piece of independence. She wants to do it all by herself - without help. So we've been letting her do it herself. One day I went to check on her after going pee (she had pooped earlier that morning) and I noticed a "skid-mark" in her underwear. I asked her what the brown mark in her underwear was. And she responded with, "It's just a little bit of chocolate." What? I chuckled and asked how she got chocolate in her underwear. She said, "When I was eating candy in the car and you turned a corner and it just whooped right into my panties!" She had no idea it was poop. Her chocolate candy was the only thing she could think of that was brown and could have possibly gotten in her underwear somehow. The crazy things a 4-year old mind can concoct! We've been practicing our wiping again . . . . .

We were checking out at Target a different time and our cashier was a male - who was obviously very confused about his gender. He had long hair, long fingernails, earrings, and a pink backpack. He was talking VERY feminine, but he had forgotten to shave his whiskers off that day. As he was finishing up with bagging our items Mallory says, "Mom, is that a boy or a girl?"

There have been a few more embarrassing "Mallory Moments". I finally have just been training her that if she has a question about another person in the store she needs to whisper her question in my ear - and not say it out loud!! I know her comments are made in innocence, but it's still embarrassing!

So our little Mally girl turned 4 back in July. We got to celebrate with her twice. When we went to Phoenix in May we did a family party for her at Peter Piper.

Mallory on the Carousel

Callie on the Carousel

Eating pizza with Journee

Having a Cupcake

Opening Presents


My brothers are always putting their best faces forward for the camera:

Jason (looking good Natalie!)

Cameron (and a cute half-of-Kim)

Tanner (and Clark)

(never a dull moment :))

We also celebrated with Craig's side of the family when they all came out to NJ in July.

The Princess Cake

Mallory Eating Cake

Grandma Treesa feeding Tristan and Clark Cake

Mallory with her birthday card that sang a song from The Little Mermaid. These musical cards are a BIG hit around our house!

Audrey helping Mallory open presents
We love you Mallory!