We've had a lot of snow this winter and it doesn't really melt away... just keeps piling up! Bailey was so thrilled at the chance to build a snowman with her Daddy. 
Taysum joined in on the fun a little later and provided the snazzy duds! 
B was really particular about the snowman's belly. She kept packing on more and more snow. She only did it in one spot, though, so our snowman kind of ended up with an outie! :)
January is a fun month, because it's Ken's birthday month! He's always thought that his birthday is pretty cool, because it's 1/11; well this year, he turned 33 on 1/11/11! I had been planning his birthday since before Christmas, and I was really excited and nervous for it to come. I was excited, because I knew he would love it and nervous, because I was really hoping everything would come together just right! After work, we went out for Chinese in Powell with my parents. The kids were a little crazy, but we had a pretty nice time. 
Hayden is getting to "that" stage where he's getting curious and getting into everything! Here he is caught red-handed! 
I bought tickets to the Bar J Wranglers' concert in Cody for Ken's birthday. He was really excited about it! It's so funny, because most time when we get a babysitter, it's last minute and it works out no problem. This time, however, since I had careful plans made, of course I couldn't find a babysitter to save my life!! Luckily, things finally came together and we were able to go! We had reservations at the Wyoming Rib and Chop House. Ken's always wanted to go there and I thought this would be a good opportunity. Hayden got to come with us and he made it a lot of fun. It's one of those restaurants where you can color on the paper on the table; he and Ken really enjoyed that! 
Enjoying his yummy food! 
Waiting for the concert to start... 
The concert was just awesome! It's all cowboy music and comedy (family friendly) and we just had a blast! We were laughing our heads off and the music was wonderful! I was surprised at how many songs were familiar to me; and they sang most of my favorites. Ken and I both have cowboy roots and it was really something special that night! Hayden was so good, too... the night couldn't have been better! I bought a CD of their show and I was able to get them all to autograph it, too! 
The excitement of the day didn't end there! Ken's two younger brothers, Mark and Nick drove up from Utah to surprise him! Ken and Nick share the same birthday and he's always loved having a birthday bro! This was the part I was most nervous about: keeping it secret from Ken, hoping the roads would be OK, etc. It all worked out perfectly, though! I am worried that I may burn for all the "lies" I had to tell Ken! ;) They got to our house and Ken was trying to get Hayden to sleep. I let them in and they snuck in and sat on the couch. I went to check on Ken and he wasn't having any luck, so I told him to bring Hayden out and I'd try to help him. Ken was VERY tired and kind of frustrated that Hayden wasn't going to sleep. He came out and saw me with the camera and his expression was a mixture of confusion and annoyance. :) Then he saw his brothers sitting there on the couch... calm as could be. You could have knocked him over with a feather! He said, "Are you kidding me?!" He was in total shock! He didn't even have a hint that something else was coming, let alone that they were coming! It was a great surprise and couldn't have worked out better! Nick had been planning this with me since before Christmas. Originally three of his brothers were going to come. The day before they were going to leave, Mark fractured his foot! They were coming to take Ken skiing, so they really didn't know what they were going to do. One of the brothers decided not to come after all, but I'm so glad Mark and Nick decided to anyway! Things have been tough for Ken lately and it did my heart good to see him SO happy and able to have a little fun!! We stayed up talking for a while before going to bed. The next morning, the boys played Wii with Taysum for a little while, before heading up to Red Lodge. They got back in time for us all to have dinner and go to a movie. Mark brought some steaks to cook for us and he made the best steak I have EVER eaten!! It was SO good!! Then we went to TRON... it had really cool effects! They hung out for a while Sunday morning and then headed home. It was quick, but I'm SO glad the came! It was just great! 
Later in the month, Taysum's Kindergarten class made the paper! His teacher, Mrs. Floy, had them collecting empty milk jugs and they built an igloo out of them! They worked really hard on it for two months and it turned out great!
Then Bailey had another dance performance. It was a little tricky to get two girls all ready in their costumes and two babies up to the care center where they were performing, but we made it! The dance shoes didn't, however! :( I was trying so hard to be prepared and on time, but the more I plan ahead, it seems the more time there is for things to go wrong! ;) We made it just barely in time and the girls had to go shoeless. They did a great job, though! Ever since her last recital, Bailey keeps telling me she doesn't want to be silly at dance class anymore. We never said anything negative about her performance; she just decided herself that she was going to do better. She did great this time! She did all the actions and everything! She kind of stopped towards the end and got nervous because she couldn't see me anymore (Hayden started crying and I had to help him). Other than that, she did great! It was really nice to have Grandma and Aunt Lindi there to help, too! 
I just LOVE that my kids love each other! I was taking a shower one morning and I came out and Taysum was sitting on the couch holding Hayden! I was a little nervous, but he was doing pretty well. He asked me to take a picture and I couldn't resist! 
The end of January was pretty nuts for us! The kids got really sick, and we didn't get much sleep. Taysum started off with a really bad cough... it eventually went away, but not before Bailey and I started in on it. Hayden had a cold as well. Bailey's ended up turning into Bronchitis and Hayden ended up with a double ear infection! On top of that, Ken had to go out of town over the weekend. It was a little rough, but we made it through and we were sure glad to have him back. It was another nice little break for him. They flew him to Utah Friday morning and he went to a meeting. The meeting was very successful and he was done by 3:00! The rest of Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning, he got to spend with his family. He got to go to his niece's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's. The next day a bunch of them went on a long horse ride out in the hills. Mark also helped him make a belt for Taysum. He did a great job! Taysum was so thrilled to have it! It even has his name on it! Ken also got some really cute books for the other two. They were sure happy to have their Daddy back! 
Bailey did such a great job! Even when the anesthetic wore off, she never once complained! She was very excited for the tooth fairy to come! She insisted on going to school, even though it was only an hour after her appointment. Then, later that afternoon, she had an appointment with the eye doctor! She did great there, too! The doctor likes to divide up kid appointments into two parts, so it's not so long for them. He did the first part and then we went back a couple days later for the second half. It turns out she's a little far-sighted and she needs glasses! He said she may eventually grow out of it! These are the glasses she picked out: 
I just LOVE that my kids love each other! I was taking a shower one morning and I came out and Taysum was sitting on the couch holding Hayden! I was a little nervous, but he was doing pretty well. He asked me to take a picture and I couldn't resist! 
The end of January was pretty nuts for us! The kids got really sick, and we didn't get much sleep. Taysum started off with a really bad cough... it eventually went away, but not before Bailey and I started in on it. Hayden had a cold as well. Bailey's ended up turning into Bronchitis and Hayden ended up with a double ear infection! On top of that, Ken had to go out of town over the weekend. It was a little rough, but we made it through and we were sure glad to have him back. It was another nice little break for him. They flew him to Utah Friday morning and he went to a meeting. The meeting was very successful and he was done by 3:00! The rest of Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning, he got to spend with his family. He got to go to his niece's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's. The next day a bunch of them went on a long horse ride out in the hills. Mark also helped him make a belt for Taysum. He did a great job! Taysum was so thrilled to have it! It even has his name on it! Ken also got some really cute books for the other two. They were sure happy to have their Daddy back!The next day was a BIG day for our little B! Last year, she chipped a tooth. It's been doing pretty well, but all of a sudden it died. We got her into the dentist and they decided it needed to be pulled. Bailey was so brave! She didn't make a peep the entire time! She just let them do what they needed to do! I was so proud of her! The dentist and his assistant were just amazed at her. He said she was probably the best patient ever!
I had one of those "circle of life" moments! It was so strange, but so cool taking my daughter to the same dentist office I spent so much time in when I was young! My mom used to work there and I would often go to hang out with her after school. When I was in middle school, I painted a picture of a Precious Moments picture with a dentist who had pulled a little boy's tooth. I wanted to paint it and give it to the dentist my mom worked for. Believe it or not! It's still hanging up there in the same spot! It was fun to show it to Bailey. Even more crazy, the dental assistant, is the daughter of the dental assistant who worked there at the same time! And I used to babysit her all the time! And here she was working on my daughter! Just a fun thing to think about!
Bailey did such a great job! Even when the anesthetic wore off, she never once complained! She was very excited for the tooth fairy to come! She insisted on going to school, even though it was only an hour after her appointment. Then, later that afternoon, she had an appointment with the eye doctor! She did great there, too! The doctor likes to divide up kid appointments into two parts, so it's not so long for them. He did the first part and then we went back a couple days later for the second half. It turns out she's a little far-sighted and she needs glasses! He said she may eventually grow out of it! These are the glasses she picked out: 
Seems we're off to an exciting start this year! :D
Oh wow Kim! Way to go! The expression on Ken's face in the birthday pictures is priceless! :) That little Bailey girl looks just like her momma! Beautiful!
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