Raiyah's first fight (hopefully only)! I'm not sure how well you can see Raiyah's face but she has teeth marks with a bruise by her right eye, and scratches along her upper lip. When I went to pick her up from nursery last week I found her cuddled on the teachers lap with huge tears rolling down her face. It broke my heart to see my little girl crying over something that had really hurt her. I guess she was holding one of her friends shoe when they were getting ready to leave, and when her friend tried to take it from her, Raiyah held on. Obviously her little friend wasn't very happy because she bit, and scratched Raiyah. It's funny becuase although I was so sad for Raiyah and really upset at the situation I immediately thought of the little girls Mom, who has recently become my friend. I knew she was going to feel horrible, and that made me feel really bad. Anyway, this was a pretty traumatic thing for little Raiyah but she is just fine now. :) I think I wanted to write about it because it's the first time Raiyah has really been hurt. I don't even want to think of the future when she gets hurt and there is nothing I will be able to do for her, but hold her and tell her how much her Mom loves her. I'm not excited for those times. Malakai and Papa sleeping after a day of hard work. :)

My Parents bought the girls in the family tickets to Wicked! I was so excited. I have never seen it before. It was totally different than I had anticipated. I loved every minute of it, and was so thankful to my parents for letting us go. Aren't my sister-in-laws so cute. I really couldn't have asked for better girls to marry my brothers. I love getting to know each of them more and more. In case you are wondering starting on the left is Gina- married to Matt, Allsion- married to Mike, and Chantel- married to Bryan.

My sweet Mom and I before the show. Thanks for the tickets, ride, gum, phone, and purse space. You took great care of me as always.

Hanging out during maternity leave and after graduation

February was a life changing month for our family. Ryan graduated nursing school (yahoo!), and Malakai was born letting me be on Maternity Leave. What did we do during these days of nothing to do but hang out with our wonderful family. We flew kites, made forts, went to the park, and just enjoyed being our lil family. Life really couldn't get better. :)Raiyah and her valentine the nurse gave her at the hospital. I think she's adorable even with peanut butter on her face, and broken glasses she always wears. It's pretty funny to try and get a picture of Malakai without his eyes being huge. He's trying to take everything in.

Raiyah was so excited to go fly kites. Her favorite book is about Elmo flying a kite; so when Daddy brought a kite home with Elmo on it she was in Heaven. I love seeing her have incredible joy over simple things of life. On most of our outings Malakai had fun hanging out in his "polar bear" outfit, and car seat.

One day we spent the entire day making and hanging out in our fort. We had picnics, played with flash lights, took naps, read books. It was so much fun. I recommend a fort for any day you are looking for something to do.

Raiyah loves to jump on my bed. I don't mind because she has so much fun. The other day I walked out to get a basket of laundry and she got really quiet. When I came back in she was laying down in Malakai's crib, cuddled in his blankets. After taking a quick picture I held her in my arms and rocked her like a baby (her favorite thing) to reassure her that she will always be my little girl no matter how many brothers and sisters she ever gets.

If you haven't been to Castle Park in Fruit Heights I recommend it. It's one of Raiyah's favorite things to do. On a really cold day in February we packed up and spent the afternoon at the park. There are so many things to do you could spend hours there.