Summer so far

We've been thoroughly enjoying summer so far. The warm weather coupled with our new little backyard has been so nice for the girls especially. We have been playing outside nearly every day. It's been so good for all of us. We all feel happier after we soak up a little bit of vitamin D and get our energy out!


We decided to get a Zoo Membership again this year. I am so thrilled to have one again. Especially now that we have a lovely new double stroller. We had so much fun! We get to go on the carousel as many times as we want! The girls absolutely love it! I enjoy it too. They are so fascinated with the animals and Afton asks so many questions. I marvel at how smart she is and at how much she can remember! Autumn loves to just sit back and take it all in. I have a feeling she is very very wise, and always will be.

So much fun! I can't wait to go again!

Speech Therapy and Potty Training

We are all doing quite well over here. Autumn is starting to show some interest in potty training. Hopefully she trains easily and quickly! So far she hasn't quite figured it out but she's trying and that's all I can hope for at this stage. She will be two in August.
Afton has started speech therapy. We found out that she has a quite severe dentalization disorder that consists of an open bite and a moderately severe malocclusion and underbite. This is due to her prolonged use of a pacifier...sigh. Although the pediatric dentist told us as long as we got rid of it by the time she was 3 that there should be no problems but it was gone by then and she still has this problem. She has errors with many sounds but her worst are s, z, t, d, l, n, and the sh and ch sounds. These are all caused by her incorrect tongue placement caused by the malocclusion. We are working on it. It's going to take a lot of practice and the therapist says she will need braces someday. I feel so bad. And now we are working on getting Autumn's pacifier away so that the same thing doesn't happen to her. It's not easy! I worry once we take it away for good she'll stop sleeping again. I swear I will never offer a pacifier to a baby again.
We have moved to a new place. It's bigger that our old place and has 2 floors, 3 rooms. It's really nice to have more space. I feel so much less anxious because I am able to put so much more away and organize more. I think we all really like it. Even though we have space to have the girls each in their own room they are still together. They enjoy being together :) It's sweet. They do bother each other sometimes but they still like to be with each other nonetheless haha.
We are looking forward to summer and getting to play outside more again. I'm sad there is not a pool at our new place but I'm sure we'll manage to swim a lot anyway. We'll go somewhere :) I plan on getting a small pool for the girls in our little backyard and a comfy lawn chair for me.
Tyler is still doing school full time and work part time. We are getting by. He sure is busy with lots of homework all the time. It gets tiresome. But he does well. He has good grades and is working hard to make a really good portfolio to help him get a job. Next year he will apply for the internship through Disney here in Utah. Hopefully he gets it. The first counciler in our new ward has told us that he can get him a job at a sports adverisement type place that needs animators. It makes me feel like we are DEFINITELY here for a reason.
I really like our new ward. They have been so welcoming. They make us feel like we are really needed. It's a smaller ward and I like that. It has that cozy home town feel. Everyone has been so friendly and excited to meet us. I'm glad I know that we will be here for a while. It's such a good feeling.
Our next door neighbors are members and they are so sweet. It is a couple with two older kids. A son about 16 and a daughter that is 14. Her name is Natalie and she is so sweet. My girls absolutely adore her and she loves them too. She is so sweet with them. I have a feeling she will be our go to baby sitter. She is so good with the kids. She reminds me of me at that age :) I'm so grateful to have them next door.
We are going to get more photos taken soon but for now here are a few fun ones!

"Drop of Awesome"

Just the other day I read this blog post:

http://www.daringyoungmom.com/2012/12/19/drops-of-awesome/

It really did have an effect on me! And since I read it I have been trying my hardest to look at all the things I DO rather than all the things that I still need to get done, or things I've failed at doing in the past.

I think my favorite part of the blog is when she says that our "Drops of Awesome" don't get dumped out, we just continue to add to them. There is no taking away of the things we do accomplish. Seeing all I do in a more positive light, and not putting myself down for things I don't get done, is really starting to help me feel more positive and less overwhelmed. For the moment. I'm sure in a few weeks I'll forget about this and have to find something else to motivate me. But isn't that why we keep trying? And keep sharing and motivating each other continually.

Anything can be a "Drop of Awesome". Some of the things I've done today that I've added to my mental "Bowl of Awesome" are as follows:

Got up without complaining in my head, "I am soooo tired!" Drop of Awesome!

Put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher. Drop of Awesome!

Put a diaper in the wet bag instead of leaving it on the floor. Drop of Awesome!

Ate breakfast. I think this deserves a few drops of Awesome!

Stayed calm and didn't raise my voice when Afton pulled down a shelf of books. Drop of Awesome!

Wiped down the bathroom counter. Drop of Awesome!

Gave Autumn extra cuddles instead of turning on Facebook. Drop of Awesome.

These are just a few examples of what I am thinking of throughout the day. It doesn't have to be something big and huge like "I cleaned the kitchen top to bottom!" it just is a positive reinforcement and ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of all we DO accomplish!

So I will keep trying to remember my "Drops of Awesome" and hope you do the same! In the meantime, here are a few new pictures of the girls having fun! They overflow my "Bowl of Awesome" everyday! :)