Really, It Was That Easy!!

i am so proud of elizabeth! she is doing incredibly well with potty training. i think since my parents watch her during the day, they would love to take credit for potty training her...but i would have to say that is not the case. i don't even believe that ryan and i could take credit for potty training her. elizabeth is a lot like her mother, she likes to figure it out and do it herself :)
elizabeth is so smart and your not going to get that little girl to do anything that she doesn't want to do. although, giving her candy as a reward didn't hurt any.
she loves telling everyone that she peed in the toilet too...she gets this big smile across her face. she is always telling me that she wants to be a big girl someday, i tell her that she gets bigger everyday.

Happy Birthday Jonny Boy!

one of my favorite cousins is jon. he brings the best out in people, and when he is around there is always a lot of laughter to be heard.
for his birthday, we decided to have a bbq and celebrate with some friends. we all had a good time, my other cousin david was able to make it, katherine, mystery, and tess who is a friend of jon's. even holly and her kids stopped by so that we could coo over cute little amelia. we all enjoyed some good food, a little competition on the wii and a movie. it was really fun getting all together, happy birthday jon!

Binky Fairy

ryan and i have been meaning to take elizabeth's binky away from her for a while now, but we are both pushovers and haven't, until finally decided it was time.
elizabeth LOVES her binky...she always has one in her mouth, and she stashes them all around the house. ryan and i didn't think this task was going to be easy...
we sat her down and told her all about the 'binky fairy'. the binky fairy needs big girls that don't need their binky's anymore to give them to the fairy so that she can take them to little babies that are crying to help them be happy. elizabeth wanted to be a big girl and help the babies to not cry anymore, so we gave her a little bag and she went around the house and collected all her binkies. then we put the bag on the front porch for the binky fairy.
a bit later the door bell rang, when elizabeth opened the door there was a present from the binky fairy to elizabeth for being such a big girl.
elizabeth has done so well and we are so proud of her, and the few times that she has asked about her binky, i remind her about the babies that really need them, and she say 'elizabeth is a big girl and doesn't need a binky'.

Pretty Horse

while i was laying on my bed, i heard elizabeth talking to her toy horse and telling it that she needed to brush it's hair so that she would look pretty.

Puppy Mattie

my cousin jon brought a cute little puppy named mattie over to play with sugar and ellie.

Adorable Amelia

amelia is already two weeks old and oh how i wish i lived closer to my sister so that i could go hold amelia more. since they were at my parents this afternoon, we were able to go up so that i could steal her away from holly for a bit to goo and gaw over how adorable she is.

Sunday Afternoon

i love summer afternoons. it's so nice to just sit and relax on the front porch and watch elizabeth as she runs around playing with sugar and rides her bike. her little giggles make my sunday afternoons perfect.

Girl....

i just have to give a scout out to my best friend rachael! she is the most genuine person you will ever meet. thank you for being such an amazing friend over the years! i don't know what i would do without you girl, i love you!

Two Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed

elizabeth was so excited that her buddy quintin came over to play with her. they had a blast jumping on the bed like a couple of monkeys.

Babies Sleeping

i was going into elizabeth's room the other day to put some laundry away. i opened her bedroom door and she ran in the hall and started yelling about something but i couldn't understand her. i knelt down by her and asked her to tell me again. she said 'mommy, my babies are sleeping, so be quite'.
it was so funny to hear that come out of her mouth. i had to sneak in her room later and this is what i found.

Are We Really Ready For Potty Training?

elizabeth is finally showing some interest in using the potty. we bought her some princess panties and told her when she wants to be a big girl she can wear them. then elizabeth talked my mom into getting her a potty seat that sings. she is always telling me she needs to go potty, although i spend much of my time taking her potty she has yet to actually make the potty sing. then the other day i hear the potty sing and i rang to the bathroom to see if she went like a big girl. she had her baby doll sitting on the potty, and she was holding a water toy squirting water in the potty so that it would sing. it was quite funny, so the potty training continues...

Amelia Joanne Turner

nine months is a very long time to wait for a new niece, but holly has delivered a healthy and beautiful baby girl. amelia joanne weighting in at 7lbs 7oz. and 18 1/2 inches long. ya know, i should really start my story from the day before she delivered.
since holly has been terribly busy this summer, she hadn't taken time to get anything ready for the baby. the day before i went to her house and helped her put the nursery together, putting all the clothes away and organized things. i was worried about holly because she was running around getting all her kids here and there, and she kept having to sit down because of strong contractions. i thought to myself, i bet this baby is going to come sooner than we think. i even told holly i thought she should pack a hospital bag. holly wasn't so sure, and said that was her saturday project. i went home thinking about all the other things we could have gotten done.
about 4am in the morning holly calls me and tells me she is on her way to the hospital and she will call me back when she she gets there to update me....she should know better than that, i would just worry about her!
i couldn't go back to sleep, i just lay in bed making a list in my head of the things i would do for her after i got off work. plus, i was so anxious that i kept trying to talk to ryan about how i was worried. ryan finally said, 'janie just get up and ready and head to the hospital'. wise man, i did just that, i got up and ready, but i wasn't sure where the hospital was, so i went to my parents and waited for them. they were running a bit behind, but i thought if i don't leave without them i'd miss the delivery. i left and found the hospital, but unfortunately i missed it by about 5 mins. that's alright though, holly can't help that she shoots them out like a water slide..haha.
i was there for the best part though, to stand by my sister and tell her how much i love her and that she makes gorgeous babies, as i waited patiently to hold beautiful amelia.
i think i was last to hold amelia for good reasons, because if you know me, i'm sort of a baby hog. if you give her up, your not getting her back, sorry.
she is the most beautiful baby and tiny, you forget how tiny babies are when they are born.
holly you are such an incredible mother, you have so much love for all your children. amelia is so lucky to have you and scott as parents. congratulations.

Happy 21st Birthday Randy!

i don't often get to many pictures of ryan's side of the family, we have had many bumps in the road over the years. i will say though that none of those bumps have cause a falter in the love that i have for his family, most of all ryan's little brother randy. i have loved this kid from the moment i met him. he was a very quite 16 year old, but we quickly bonded over laughter. randy is a night owl like me, and sometimes we would find each other in the kitchen late at night and we would make each other laugh till i couldn't breath. randy also has a very genuine heart, and i have always noticed how much he cares about his family and friends.
we love you so much randy, and i see great potential from you, and i have a strong feeling you will do great things!
happy birthday!
elizabeth was entertained the entire time we were over at grandpa rodgers trying to get callie the cat's attention.

Mariah's Baptism

i still remember the day my father baptised me and all the feeling i felt that day. over the years i have learned to find strength in the ordinances of baptism. i am so grateful that my baptismal covenants have assisted in strengthening my testimony in times of intense trials.
i was so happy to see my sweet niece mariah get baptised. she looked so happy and was full of smiles.

Happy Birthday Ryan

ryan turned 24 on july 26, but we weren't able to celebrate it quite yet because we were driving home from our family vacation. we finally got to go out and celebrate with a couple of our favorite people!! my cousin jonathan and one of my best friends katherine. ryan loves bowling and is very good at it, so we went out bowling and had a blast! with all of us together it's very easy to just goof off.
happy birthday sweetheart, i love you!