Happy V Day!

You are the peanut to my butter
Twinkle in my eye
Shake to my bake
Blue in my sky
Sprinkles on my sundae
Flip to my flop
Bumble to my bee
Jewel to my crown
Milk to my shake
Spring in my step
Beat of my heart
Love of my life

Found this quote on pinterest

Happy Valentines Day to the many loves in my life - most importantly Casey - I love you!

"Oh i luv him!"

We found out today that we get to welcome a little boy into our family. Kendal's little brother is due to arrive late in June. She's very much in love with the thought of a baby. Ever since our two nephews and niece were born this past September Kendal has been loving babies. Anytime she see's a baby or a picture she gets a little voice and talks about the baby or to the baby. When we shared with her that i was going to have a baby she was very happy. She gives me daily belly hugs and kisses; and tells me she loves him / it. She's even put her ear up to my belly to hear it. She looks up at me and tells me that he's snoring in there. She also finds it fascinating that he gets to be naked. When she's on the potty, she'll go off on how she's naked and the baby is naked too. I know she is just going to sMOTHER him with loads of love when he comes.
We were lucky this time around. With Kendal we went through two years of infertility to be able to have her; my doctor recommended i just start on the medication the next time i wanted a baby. Casey and i knew we didn't want the added medical expenses again so we opted to try our luck for a bit this time. After what seemed to me a while, but not really if i compare it to Kendal we were blessed with another pregnancy. We held in the secret a lot longer this time than we did the first time. (It was harder too because i was never sick with Kendal, but i was sick with this one during my first trimester) We told our family at Christmas time and have been waiting to share with the rest of the world till we found out what it was.
We had the ultrasound this morning and the tech was having a hard time with this little guy. We just wanted to hide, and keep his legs crossed for us. We took Kendal thinking she'd love it; she loved it for five minutes and was good for maybe ten more after that, then she was DONE so Casey had to take her out after we found out it was a boy.
Here is the best we could get of the little dude's face. He was hiding very well.
Baby D!



Casey, Kendal and i are overjoyed to be adding this little man to the family.

Lately

I haven't written too much about Kendal lately, and i should be kicking myself because she's so much fun and i don't want miss recording some of the things she does. Kendal is a hopping 26 month old; literally - Kendal doesn't seem to walk much, she would prefer to run, hop, jump, and waddle her way anywhere. Kendal is always on the go whether it is getting out all of her toys and only really playing with a couple of them; or wanting to do something so bad (like play dough or color) she won't let it go until she is doing so. Casey and i wish there was a bit more snow. We've only really had a few storms and Kendal loves to go out, eat, and trollop through the snow. We still read a lot to Kendal. She loves to get a pile of books and sit on my lap to read them, then she jumps off and gets another batch of books.
Kendal still loves to talk, and now she's adding humor and imagination to her thoughts. It can make for some funny things. Kendal has a lot to say. Lately she talks a lot in third person. "Kendal is crying" "Kendal loves daddy" etc. She talks a lot in the car, mostly nonsense, occasionally she sees something out the window like a cow and goes off on a tangent about it. In the car the other day she's singing twinkle twinkle little star to herself then she stops and says "Hear dat?" "I hear a monkey" . . . " ooo ooo ooo" then she started to giggle. Kendal can sing her alphabet and point out most of the letters to us. Kendal is always saying "ohh love . . . " pretty much everything goes into that . . . it can be her ducky, mommy, daddy, a goldfish cracker, a puzzle piece, etc. You name it she loves it. Sometimes i feel so special when she says "mommy luv you" then i see her loving something like a cracker two minutes later and i come back to reality. Kendal thinks any baby that cries anywhere is because it has bonked it's head. In the store, at church, etc. She hears a crying baby and says how sad it is and how it bonked its head. (We think this stemmed from one incident over Christmas break where her cousin Bryker hit his head and cried a bit) We've been working with Kendal on her colors, but she still gets mixed up. She can't name the color of most objects; however if you ask her to find a blue or red crayon out of a pile she can do it most of the time.
We are in love with our silly crazy girl. She teaches us so much and is a treasure.


Lately -
I've been back to work since Christmas break ended. This school year has been a good one; (still not so much teacher support, and always some challenging kids) but i've learned to work around / with the teachers, and i try to do my best in working with any kid happy or mad that comes my way. My job definitely helps me appreciate my own daughter way more, and makes me want to do better by her as a parent.
Casey is subbing around Cache Valley and helping my dad every now and then on jobs. He is continuing to throw himself out there and working hard to find a job. We are hopeful something will come along, and know whenever, and wherever that might be it is in Heavenly Father's hands.
I am looking forward to many wonderful things this year and am grateful for all that last year brought to us.

a long Christmas overview

Christmas time is Casey's favorite time of year. The holiday spirit, the songs, and the season together make a wonderful time to celebrate. I asked Casey what one of his favorite Christmas past times was and he said it's the Webb family Christmas party. It's a party that he loved as a child and looks forward to every year. This year was no exception we had our usual cereal and gift exchange along with a wonderful meal, minute to win it games, family pictures, and wonderful people to see and be with. We celebrated Casey's dad turning 60 that same weekend. We also did the sibling / cousin gift exchange since this was the only time this month we'd all be together. Our gift challenge this year was to give a gift that started with the same letter as the recipients first name. Casey got a Calendar, carrot, and two clementines, I got mittens and a matching hat, Kendal got a hello Kitty coloring book. Casey and i received the Harry Potter movies, a griddle, and a nice first aid kit from Casey's parents.





Christmas found us at home in Logan. Since we have a bigger place this year Casey and i went out and got our first tree. Kendal loved talking to the figurines on the tree; especially Minnie Mouse, Santa, and baby Jesus. A couple of days before Christmas my family did our gift exchange. I got much needed kitchen towels and measuring cups, and Casey got the Mummy movie series. Christmas eve continued my little tradition of giving PJ's to Kendal. She looks so cute in them; unfortunately she also likes to zip herself out of them and then run around naked. Casey and i were not up to opening our Christmas before our 9 am church so we told Kendal she had to wait all morning until Grandma and Grandpa Loosle arrived for some brunch after church. Church was good, and a nice way to start off our Christmas the right way. As soon as my parents arrived Kendal didn't wait; she tore into her presents. Kendal would have opened all of our presents if we would've let her. She got a homemade Kitchen with play food, and dishes. She also got a Mickey Mouse bowling set, and some little Winnie the pooh figurines. Later that day we went over to my parents house for some presents and a Christmas dinner. My parents got Casey and i many things my favorite would have to be the matching aprons my mom made Kendal and I; and the dishes we got. (Casey and i never got dishes when we were married, so finally after more than five years of marriage we got our dishes. And they are Awesome!) Kendal got many things too including some kitchen stuff, and a snoopy and snoopy blanket.
We feel really spoiled this Christmas and are thankful for the family we have.






The day after Christmas we headed up to Idaho to spend some time with Casey's family, and to see our friends. We got to spend some time with Rhett, Aria, and their two girls, Jenae, and Brooke. We miss having them around and enjoyed spending time with them. Casey went Ice skating for the first time on the pond outside Aria's parents house. Kendal walked around a bit on the ice, and got pulled in the sled some. Unfortunately my camera was acting up so i only got a couple of sled pictures and nothing else from our adventure to Idaho. We enjoyed the rest of our time with Casey's parents, Cody, and a bit with Sarah, Terry, and Bryker.

I may not love the cold and snow that accompanies this time of year, however i do enjoy the Christmas season and had a wonderful month. I have my Loosle family party to look forward to tonight and New Years eve tomorrow.
So many wonderful traditions and memories to look back on!

and . . . . some pictures

Family Time

This past week we headed up to Idaho for our thanksgiving break. We were able to spend the majority of our holiday with Casey's parents his brother Cody, and his other brother Brett, our SIL Vanessa, and their two sweet kids David, and Rebecca. David and Kendal are reaching the age where they can finally talk to each other and scheme. We found Kendal letting David into the pantry quite a few times to sneak a snack. They had so much fun running around together and playing.
We had thanksgiving dinner with the extended Webb family. It was a great time with wonderful people and wonderful food. Kendal had a blast finding chalk, the water cooler, and a fish pond to play with. Black Friday came with no one a.m. wake up :) Mom D, Vanessa, Rebecca, Nicole, and i set out and did some casual shopping. I got a $2 movie, and a shirt for Kendal. Whoopee!
Saturday was quite a day. Mom D, Casey, Cody, and i took the task of watching five of the six grandchildren while the rest of the group went hunting for Christmas trees. It was a little crazy at moments with three babies that needed attention not to mention a crawling boy who was putting things in his mouth and an active Kendal. We had fun (i think we're doing a good job training Cody for being a Dad someday :)
We all spent the afternoon together and everyone was there for dinner. I think we all took a moment to look around and realize how big the Darrington family has grown. It was loads of fun, and i love spending time with the Darrington clan.

I also have to put in my gratitude for all that I'm blessed with this year. I have a great best friend/husband Casey, a superbalous daughter Kendal, and so so many family members that I'm so lucky to have in my life. I'm blessed to have the gospel in my life; it is my constant guide in life. I have had so many other little blessings this year it's hard to write them all down, but i feel so happy and blessed!

Fish pond at the Webb Thanksgiving




Cousins!

Snow much fun!!

Yesterday while we were being dumped on with snow Casey took the opportunity to take Kendal out and play. She spent a good deal of her time eating the snow, and the rest tromping through it and having a blast with her Daddy!