So much fun, but...

We are so glad that it is over! Christmas, that is. We had a party every night for a week (that includes Trav's surprise B-day party) and we are partied out! I am definitely ready for life to get back to normal. Skylar was pretty naughty most of the time for the whole week. She doesn't do well when she has to get to bed late and not get her naps. At least that is what I am blaming it on. (Does anyone know the number for SuperNanny? We might need her.) At first she really liked opening presents and tearing the paper. After 2-3 parties and lots of presents, she was over it. We pretty much had to beg her on Xmas morning to open her presents. Hopefully she will "get it" a little more next year.
Here are some fun pics of our Christmas.

Christmas eve with cute skirts from Aunt Amanda!

Opening presents at G&G Hess'

Sailyr's favorite part: PAPER

After she ate a roll of wrapping paper, Sailyr got a full jar of Chicken Noodle Dinner and loved it up to her eyebrows!

Happ-Doo!

Happ-Doo Dear Dad! Happ-Doo, Happ-Doo! This is Skylar's version of "Happy Birthday". So today we are singing it to....Travis! He is turning the big 3-0 today! Pretty crazy that both of us are going into another decade in our lives!


You know when you are 19 or 20, you think, "by the time I'm thirty I will have (blank) and I will have done (blank) and I will definitely be done doing (blank). And then when you hit thirty you think, "I haven't done or accomplished any of that! Aaah! Where has my life gone?"

And then you start thinking about what you HAVE accomplished and what your life IS instead of what you thought you wanted it to be and you realize that you wouldn't want it any other way!

Happy Birthday (happ-doo) to my great huband! You are an amazing Dad to our girls and we love you so much!

Husband Tag!

1. What is your husband's name?
Travis Wade Hess

2. How long have you been married?
5 1/2 years

3. How long did you date?
About 8 years with a couple breaks in between. I didn't even have a driver's license when we started dating! We were way too young!

4. How old is he?
He'll be the big 3-0 on Dec 22!

5. Who is taller?
He is.

6. Who can sing best?
Me!

7. Who pays the bills?
He pays the mortgage and I pay everything else!

8. Who does the laundry?
Definitely me.

9. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
He does. My side is closest to the door, easier to get up with babies at night.

10. Who mows the lawn?
Trav does when we have a lawn to mow. He really takes pride in having a nice yard! I am usually in charge of the flower beds though!

11. Who cooks dinner?
I do. We kind of eat out a lot on nights when we get home late. Take out is a great invention!

12. Who is the first to admit when they're wrong?
me.

13. Who kissed who first?
I honestly can't really remember. That is so bad! I am pretty sure that he kissed me! I think!

14. Who wears the pants?
It depends what the issue is but I think we are equal.

Love you, Trav!

I tag Stephanie, Tara and Julie!

Give Thanks!

Thanksgiving was pretty normal for us this year. We first ate with the Owens' family at my Grandma Joyce's house. It was fun as usual...that part of my family is always good for a laugh! My assignment was a veggie dish and a pumpkin pie. Since I am not a huge fan, I was just going to buy a pie on our way to dinner, but thanks to sister in law Steph, we took a fresh homemade pie instead. It was really good! Thanks, Steph! After a good dinner and a few laughs, we headed up to Trav's parents house for yet another Thanksgiving meal. (Yes, I did eat a huge plate at both dinners, which were just a few hours apart. So what?) We did the usual: eat, clean up, tease each other, look at ads in the paper, draw names for xmas presents, etc. We then loaded up our two tired babes in their car seats and headed home. We are so blessed to have so much family that welcomes us for the holidays. It often makes for a very busy day but we are very grateful!
p.s. Sorry for the lack of pictures but I didn't take my camera, with my hands being full of pie, casserole dishes, rolls and babies...you understand.

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Hess Elves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Tag

This is a fun tag where you can only use one-word answers!
1.Where is your cell phone? counter
2.Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? blonde
4. Your mother? away
5. Your father? nice
6. Your favorite thing? babies
7. Your dream last night? jonandkatepluseight
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. The room you're in? office
10. Your hobby? blogging
11. Your fear? snakes
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? donewithdiapers
13. Where were you last night? work
14. What you're not? rich
15. One of your wish-list items? car
16. Where you grew up? Ogden
17. The last thing you did? Sailyr
18. What are you wearing? jammies
19. Your TV? Today
20. Your pet? Fred
21. Your computer? on
22. Your mood? happy
23. Missing someone? mom
24. Your car? messy
25. Something you're not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? rodworks
27. Your summer? babies
28. Love someone? yes!
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? now
31. Last time you cried? week

I tag whoever wants to be!

Big hair and stretch pants...

You Belong in 1982

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

What Year Do You Belong In?

You are Ocean Blue

You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded. You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat.

What Color Blue Are You?

Halloween

Here are my cute girls in their costumes! I know everyone has seen Sailyr as a PeaPod but here she is again!

Here is Skylar as a cute Kitty!



We had a fun and long night running around to visit family and do some trick-or-treating. We first went to Morgan and checked out the festivities up there. They really go all out. The businesses all give out treats so everyone just goes around the town to all of the stores and banks and restaurants, etc. and they even have one street blocked off with booths and costume contests. It is quite the celebration and Skylar loved trick-or-treating with her aunt Lexus. Then it was off to Grandma's and Grandpa's and aunts and uncles. We had a lot of fun!

Smarty Pants'!

Okay, so I guess it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be for everybody to figure out which pea pod is Skylar and which is Sailyr. But you do have to admit there is a close resemblence! The one with the pumpkins is Skylar and below it is Sailyr, but I suppose I didn't have to tell YOU that! Way to go everybody!

Who's who?

For Halloween this year Sailyr is going to dress up as a peapod. It's the same darling costume that Skylar wore last year. I decided to recreate a picture we took of Skylar last year and the resemblence is crazy. I can't believe that just one year ago she looked exactly like what Sailyr looks like now! See if you can tell who is who. I will post tomorrow and reveal the answer!

Everyday life!

So nothing too exciting going on in our lives right now. Just the usual stuff- work, babies, laundry, enjoying the fall weather, etc. Sailyr started eating cereal this week. She isn't really sure about it. It's almost like she isn't sure what to do with it once she gets a bite in her mouth! Her little face has this puzzled look, like "should I spit our swallow this?" When I give her a bite her eyes go crosseyed watching the spoon go in her mouth...so funny! She looks so big in her high chair. Now that she is sitting in a high chair too, our kitchen is jam packed with high chairs. Okay not jam packed but honestly two of them takes up a lot of space. Also my kitchen floor is always in need of a good mopping now days with Skylar "the mess" Hess eating,(let's be honest, she doesn't eat. Just gets a few things nice and soggy and them flings them to the floor). I feel like I just can't keep up at times. I have to remind myself that those kind of things don't really matter in the long run! So if you come to my house, just understand that I know that I need to mop...I will get to it! I just have to spot mop the messes that are the most urgent. Anyways enough of my cleaning problems...
So I just downloaded a bunch of his songs from iTunes. I can't wait to plug my ipod in and jam out!

Fall Tradition

Today we took advantage of the great weather and did lots of stuff outside. My youngest brother, Lantzen, had a football game this morning. The girls and I went and cheered him on and had a blast even though they lost by 1 point. :( Oh well, they had a great season with this game being their first loss. Way to go, Lantzen!
Then later when Travis was home from his usual Saturday morning duck hunt, we took our girls out to Black Island Farms in Syracuse. This place was so much fun! They had lots of animals to see and feed, fun slides, a corn maze, a bouncy pumpkin, pig races and lots more. After hanging out in the activities area for a while, we took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch and we got to pick our own pumpkin. It was really fun and if you have kids you should definetely take them out there before the season is over!

Ready...Nump!

Recently, Travis taught Skylar how to jump. Now she does it all the time. All we have to say is, "ready, jump!!" and she gets down really low and springs up on her toes without even leaving the ground and says, "Nump!" It is so funny! Maybe this is one of those things that you have to see to think it is funny or maybe even if you see it you have to love her to think it is funny or maybe you just have to be a really proud mom or dad to think it is funny. But either way, we crack up every time. We just have her do it so we can laugh with her. I suppose it is just one of those things that make being a parent so awesome! It reminds me that it's the little things in life that make it so worth living sometimes! Being a mom makes me so happy, I just want to...NUMP!

Thriller!!!

On Friday night, we celebrated my favorite October tradition...THRILLER!!! For years now we have been going to see this awesome show! I love it! For those who don't know, this isn't a throwback of the old Micheal Jackson album. Okay, maybe it is kindof. But it's a great show that is put on by Odyssey Dance Theater every year. They are a group of extremely talented professional dancers and performers! This year we saw it at Weber State which was nice because it was closer than Kingsbury Hall and we were able to get home a little earlier therefore picking up kids from the babysitter earlier, therefore getting them home and in bed earlier, therefore preventing a horrible-temper-tantrum-filled-because-the-girls-got-to-bed-too-late morning. Travis always likes to come to Thriller with me and I think it is so great of him. The first time we saw it I think, wait I know, he was just going because I wanted to go and he was expecting it to be totally lame and just another dance theater show. But he soon was really enjoying it and he goes with me every year! We went with Travis's brothers and wives and his parents and had a really good time!

Heart breaker!

Watch out boys! This little girl is going to be a catch one day! She already melts my heart everyday! These are a few of her 3 month pictures that Julie took a couple of weeks ago. I can't stand how cute she is! She is getting sooo big (why do they have to get big?) and she is so giggly and smiley! I love this girl!! Don't you want to just squeeze her?!

He's home!

The past two weeks Travis has been out of town almost constantly. Last Tuesday he went to Idaho Falls for work. He came home on Friday and on Saturday afternoon he left for Denver to see the Broncos play on Sunday. He came home from Denver on Monday and left for Arizona (for work) on Tuesday morning and came home again on Friday afternoon. He has to travel occasionally for his job and though we miss him, we would never complain because he works for such a great company and we feel really lucky he has such a great job! However, it sure does make me appreciate him when he is here! I love to see Skylar's face when he pulls up in the driveway and gets out of the truck! I love to see her run to him squealing! It warms my heart to see him scoop her up and give her loves and I am so glad he is such a loving dad. What an awesome relationship to witness- a dad with his daughters! I love Travis so much and I often feel really lucky to spend my life with someone so great! Okay, sorry so sappy! Anyway...
Luckily my mom was here this whole week so I had some help with my girls and it was really fun to spend time with her. She doesn't live close by, but she still has a great relationship with my kids. I think that is because when she does see them, she spends a whole week or so with them and she is able to really get some quality time with them. That has been one good thing about her living out of state...I think it's the only good thing!

Called to Serve...

This past week my little brother, Spud, (not his real name but might as well be) was called to serve in the Samoa, Apia mission! How exciting! I don't know much about it but we are learning. I do know that it is an island nation below the equator in between Hawaii and New Zealand. To find out more you can go about Samoa you can go here. We are so proud of him and we know that he will be a great missionary. He leaves on December 31 so he will be here for Christmas, then it's off to Samoa!

Mess Maker!

Do you ever feel like your kids are making another mess as you clean up the previous one? Story of my life! Everytime I turned around this week, Skylar was making another mess. As I was cleaning the kitchen, she got into the pantry and opened the Rice Krispies. As I was sweeping that up she made her way into the bathroom and played with the T.P. As I was cleaning that up, she went into Sailyr's room and pulled all the hair bows off thier ribbon holder. As I was putting those back she pulled over the hamper and started taking out all the dirty clothes! In between all of these messes, she managed to take all of my shoes off the shoe rack and all of my underwear out of the drawer! She is sooooo busy!
On Wednesday when I picked my girls up from Julie (she tended for me after being asked last minute! Thanks Jules!) she said to me, "Skylar likes to make messes." Ya Think!




After already cleaning up the hair clippies, Skylar kept bringing them to me so I started putting them in her hair. So cute! Here she is trying to feed one of them to Sailyr!

True Fans!

Anybody who knows us knows that we are true Denver Broncos fans! We love to watch football and Travis never (and I mean NEVER!) misses a game! Here is a picture of our little cheerleaders!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Okay, so my bday isn't for another week but today was the start of my birthday celebrations! We had a BBQ for me and my Gma Joyce(we share a bday) with Dave and Sue, Mike and Shelly, and Shad (Amanda had to work). Hamburgers and corn-on-the-cob and fun conversation was the menu. We had a good time! I got some really cute gifts and it was fun to visit with family that I don't see very often! Thanks everybody!

Let them out!

I was going through the pictures on my digital camera today and realized that some of them have never been downloaded to the computer let alone printed off and put in a photo album! Poor pictures these days. They are taken, they have done their job of capturing a moment in time, a piece of history, only to be kept prisoner in a little blue memory card the size of a postage stamp. I know that I am not the only one to hold history hostage in my camera. I am sure that everyone does it. It is the beauty of having a digital camera. No more rolls of film. No more winding the camera to the next picture. No more wondering what pictures are on the random rolls you found in the junk drawer, only to develop them and find they are from 1992. No, these days if someone wants to see my pictures, I usually hand them my camera and hope that the batteries don't go dead while they sort through them on the screen. So today I decided to let these photos out to somewhat fulfill their destiny by sharing them on this blog post. These are just some of my faves from the last few years.

Fall is here!

I can honestly say that fall is probably my favorite season of the year. I love the warm days and the cool nights and mornings. I love that you can start putting away the shorts and tanks from the summer and pulling out the warmer clothes for the fall. I have had two exciting, fun and busy but not very "summery" summers in a row. It is hard to do lots of summer activities with a newborn. I look forward to next summer when we can boat, swim, play on some grass, etc.
I specifically like the month of September. I think that after a long hot summer, it is nice to have a change. I love the changing leaves although they never seem to last very long. September is also my birthday month so it gives me something to look forward to. When I was in school I always liked going back after summer vacation. I think that I craved the routine that the school year brought. I am excited for the upcoming holidays in the next few months. I can't wait to dress up my girls for Halloween and to get together with all of our families for Thanksgiving. Then Christmas is here! The year goes by so fast. I am not really sad to see summer go but we are really excited for the rest of the year!

Mommy Tag!

1. Typically what time do you wake up? Usually between 6 and 7.
2. On a good night what time are your kids in bed? Usually between 9 and 9:30 p.m.
3. How long have you been a mommy? About 15 months, and yes I do have two kids now. We get it done around here!
4. How old were you when you became a mommy? 27 years old
5. What is your favorite kids tv show/movie? Sesame Street, hands down. Skylar will watch a whole hour of it. I know it is kind of bad to let her watch that much TV but I have my hands full!
6. What is your least favorite kids tv show? Wiggles
7. What is your favorite chore? I don't have a favorite but the one I hate the least is vaccuuming.
8. What is your favorite meal to cook? I love to make Shepherd's Pie.
9. What is the meal you cook most often? I rotate thru about 5 meals and I think I make them all equally. Travis teases me that I make the same meals every week! I need some new recipes so feel free to email...
10. What is your kids favorite meal? Skylar doesn't really eat anything but Macaroni and Cheese. Sailyr just loves breast milk and Similac since she doesn't really know anything else!
11. What is your favorite thing your husband does with your kids? Everything! I love watching him be a dad! It makes me love him even more than I already did before we were parents!
12. What are 5 things that make you smile when you're being a mom?
1. When Sailyr smiles and giggles at me.
2. Skylar learning new things.
3. Both girls in the tub together.
4. When Skylar lifts up my shirt to see my belly button. She just discovered "buttons".
5. Skylar giving Sailyr kisses! My heart feels like it is going to burst with how much I love both of them!
13. If you could take your kids anywhere where would it be? I think that I would take them on the Disney Cruise! I have always wanted to go on that. Right now we would settle on just making thru a shopping trip or out to dinner.
14. When was the last time you went out without your kids? Last week Travis and I went golfing together, just the two of us. It was so much fun. That was only the second time we have been on a "date" without a baby since Skylar was born!
15. What is your favorite past time/activity to do with your kids? Playing outside on the driveway...kind of sad I know, but we don't have a yard yet so that is as good as it gets!
16. Name 1 thing you said you'd never do as a mom: Have a toddler that was really bratty. I hope we aren't heading down that road but it is a possibility!
17. What is your favorite quality that your mom has? She never tells me how to be a mom and she doesn't ever give unsolicited advice. She has let me figure it out on my own unless I have asked for her help, which was early and has been very often!
18. What is your advice for new moms? Enjoy every moment, because they're not little forever. The last year has flown by and they change so much in just a short period of time! There is such a big difference in what Skylar can do now compared to Sailyr's age. It makes me so sad and excited at the same time!
19. What is the scariest or most heartbreaking moment as a mom? I haven't had very many scary ones yet but it always breaks my heart when Skylar cries when her dad leaves in the morning for work. Sometimes he is going out of town for days and it makes me feel so bad that she is sad and doesn't realize that she really won't see him for a while!
20. What is your most joyful moment of being a mom? I love it all and I can't pick just one moment. It is the hardest, most rewarding work in the world!
21. When was the last time you were told 'I Love You' by one of your kids? They can't say it with words yet but I can't wait until they can!
I now tag: Anyone who is a mom and wants to do this tag.....

2 Months Old!!

Sailyr is two months old today! I can't believe ho fast time flies! She is growing really fast and it does make me a little sad. She is such a great baby and we love her so much! She was such a big "SURPRISE" if you know what I mean, but now we know our family wouldn't have been complete without her. She is a huge blessing in our lives! Sailyr has started to smile a really big open mouthed grin that warms my heart. I love learning her personality and seeing her change. I took her in for her 2 month checkup today and she already weighs 12 lb 5 oz which puts her in the 97% for her age. What?!!! She is also 23 inches long and in the 75% for height! Her doctor says that I must produce straight cream! She is a great eater and therefore she is starting to sleep longer at night. Skylar sometimes wakes up during the night before Sailyr does! Here are some pictures that show how much she has grown.

Coming home from the hospital




This is Sailyr today

ABC's

I got this from a friends blog and it's so fun. Everyone needs to try it.

A- Attached or Single? Attached...married for 5 years but together for 8 before that!
B- Best Friend? Trav
C- Cake or Pie? Cake
D- Day of Choice? Saturday...a fun day to do stuff as a family
E- Essential Item? Q-tips
F- Favorite Color? Blue
G- Gummy Bears or Worms? Bears for sure! Everyone knows how I feel about worms:(
H- Home Town? All over Ogden area!
I- Favorite Indulgence? Swedish Fish
J- January or July? July!!!
K- Kids? 2 baby girls
L- Life isn't complete without? Family and friends
M-Marriage Date? April 11, 2003
N- Number of Brothers and Sisters? 6 half bros, 1 half sis, 3 step bros and one step sis!
O- Oranges or Apples? Apples, oranges are too much work to peel.
P- Phobias? Snakes, hands down my greatest phobia! Kerri knows what I'm talking about!
Q- Quote? You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose!
R- Reasons to smile? Skylar saying "Hi!" Those who know her can tell you why it makes you smile every time!
S- Season of Choice? Fall. Still warm but you can start to wear more clothes!
T- Tag 3 People? Tara, Steph, Kerri
U- Unknown fact about me? I never liked tomatoes until we grew them in our garden!
V- Vegetable? Peas
W- Worst Habit? Talking too much and I might interrupt sometimes:)
X- X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound
Y- Your Favorite Food? Pizza and coke
Z- Zodiac Sign? Virgo

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...

Travis has a new hobby! Yes, I know it is hard to believe that he could fit one more hobby into his already busy hobby and activity schedule, but he picked up SKYDIVING! He has always wanted to do it and he has a friend, Chad Call, who has been inviting him to jump with him all summer. Travis finally took the bait and jumped for his first time on Saturday. He liked it so much that he decided to go back and jump again on Sunday. Now he is signed up to take the training class to jump on his own! He is such a thrill seeker. Skylar and I went on Saturday to watch him and it was really exciting and even though I was nervous about it at first, I felt really safe once I saw how it was done. It was fun to see his face as he landed and he didn't lose the adrenaline rush until we went to bed that night! He was all smiles!