More To Love

When February arrives, one of my favorite holidays come with it. This Valentine's Day was simple and low-key, but still wonderful.

We made panda bear valentine boxes, and wrote out valentines for friends near and far.

We enjoyed going through the notes from friends at school.

Valentine's weekend I made the kids heart chocolate-chip pancakes.

They were fans.

That night Brigham and I were able to go on an awesome date together. We were invited to a valentine volleyball date night with a bunch of other couples. Each person came wearing red or white to determine the teams, and we had pizza, cupcakes, chocolate covered strawberries, and played four hours of volleyball. It was a blast!

Silly prizes were awarded at the end of the night, and Brigham and I won most combative couple. I didn't want to win THAT prize, but in all honestly, we love to give each other a hard time. Especially in competitions. So we accepted our azalea plant and happily headed home together. 

Because this is a Valentine's Day post, I get to take a moment and fill the page with some sap. Boy am I grateful for this man. Not many husbands will teach Sunday School lessons for a wife who is so tired her brain just can't even comprehend reading lesson material, let alone putting a lesson together. For months. Not many dads will take newborns during nights on weekends, and even offer during the week sometimes, so that their wife can catch up on some sleep. Not many husbands watch two kids and a newborn, cook dinner, and do the dishes on their own so their wife can exercise and go to book club with the ladies. I'm a lucky girl.

This man thinks I'm beautiful first thing in the morning, or after I work out - when I actually look like death. He loves me no matter what size I am or how much hair I have. He adores his children, works hard at work and then just keeps going to take care of us when he gets home. He has a golden heart and is one of the kindest people I know. I guess, I just really love him. 

Not to mention we make cute babies.

Brigham and I agreed not to get anything for each other this year since we've had a lot of unexpected expenses. (I did clarify that ever girl deserves chocolate on Valentine's Day. Smart man took that hint and chocolate made an appearance that day.) However, this little boy was the best present I could hope to receive. After all, what brings more love to a home than a little baby?

Lydia and Ammon smother this boy with kisses and Kendrick gives them the biggest smiles. I loved that they were thrilled with just a box of conversation hearts and some jolly ranchers Sunday afternoon. The hugs from them and gratitude expressed filled my heart. Oh how I love Valentine's Day!!

Tappana Times: New Year, New Baby

Well surprise, surprise, this post will mostly contain pictures of baby Kendrick - he's just too photogenic.

I mean, look at that face. And it sorta sums up my life right now. Lots of baby.

And late nights with his squishy face.

Kendrick turned one month old and was so excited he raised the roof in his sleep.

Lydia had spirit week at school and went as an 80's girl for decade day. I dusted off my crimper and put it to good use. Apparently, the style is coming back for the younger generation because all of Lydia's friends "looooooooooooooved" her hair.

She also had some pretty crazy hair for hair day.

Normally I like to go a little crazier, but this was the best I could manage with the baby. His crying really cramps our style.

And our walks. On President's day I thought it was great idea to go for a walk with the kids, since it was such good weather. Half way through, Kendrick decided he was done sleeping, realized he was in his car seat, which is just unacceptable for him, and let us know. Ammon also decided that his bike wasn't working out for him and that he had to go to the bathroom. So for the entire mile back home, both boys cried. It was a long mile; home never looked so good.

All worries are forgotten when you get those sweet baby smiles. Though, they are are incredibly hard to catch on camera! I almost got one of his sleep smiles, and when Kendrick was smiling at his sister, I did my best to capture the moment before it was gone.

I also had to capture the time Kendrick spit up everywhere in his burp rag, and then sneezed his face right into the spit up and gave himself a milk goatee.

This kid has some pretty little curls after his bath, that slowly loosen up as everyone strokes his hair, until his hair just lies flat on his head.

I put him in one of the outfits I used to love to put Ammon in, and here they are side by side, though Ammon is brand new at the hospital, and Kendrick is a month old at this point.

We tried him out in his bumpo, and while he does just fine sitting up in it, it always makes him spit up half his bottle, and he never lasts long. He does enjoy being closer to the light so he can burn his eyeballs out better.

This kid is kind of a grump and acts like his life is so hard all the time.

But really he's got it pretty good. I'm the one suffering. My dad texted me and asked how my day was going, so I just sent him this picture.

Because it represented my day perfectly.

However, Kendrick is getting better. We have some good days mixed in with the bad where he'll sort of sit there content to be...for a few minutes.

It's a good thing he's so darn cute.

He looks so innocent here - you would never know.

He still makes the funniest faces to himself while he sits in his chair.

And has the cutest pouty frown ever.

Either his clothes are shrinking, or he's growing. And he sure is starting to get chunky.

It might have something to do with his constant desire to eat.

Basically, I love this little guy and he fills my days with his brother and sister trying their best to help me until dad gets home.

Obviously I'm a bit obsessed. And I'm only a little ashamed.

Because who can resist a baby? Especially at bath time :)

Ammon Turns 5

Having your birthday right after Christmas can be sort of a drag. I felt bad for Ammon this year as his fifth birthday approached, and with me being so tied up with the new baby and life resuming normal pace after the holidays, extravagant birthday plans were out of the question. However, he's young enough that he doesn't know better and I can get away with less fanfare.


Luckily his birthday fell on a day that he goes to preschool - his favorite. That worked out in my favor. And honestly, until dinner, the rest of the day was business as usual. I guess that's life.

Ammon picked chicken patty sandwiches with jello for his birthday dinner for the second year in a row. After dinner, family came over to open presents.

Legos, movies, hot wheels, a leap pad, transformers, shirts, and more. At least he scored in the present department.

He even got his very own box of packing bubbles - another favorite. He was more excited to pop them at Christmas than playing with his gifts, so I decided to save up a bunch and give them to Ammon for entertainment.




He had a blast popping every single one right there in front of us. 












Lucky for me, he requested Yeti Yogurt rather than a cake, so after presents we left for froyo. 

Of course, the second that he finished his yogurt he declared, "Now I want some cake!" and I gave an exasperated sigh. That's Ammon to a T, working the system to get as much goodies as possible. Bottomless pit.

I feel like a broken record once again saying, I can't believe he's this old! Five?! Holy Moly! What happened to my first baby boy? Now he'll be starting kindergarten this year and that just hurts. He's such a playful sweetheart. Shy, easily distracted, good, smart, tender boy. He loves TV, and all things boy. Bad guys, firemen, cars, trucks, sirens, weapons, superheros, blue, halo, minecraft, games, food, etc. I'll let him tell you more about himself in his birthday interview.

Even though it was a simple birthday, I hope it was the best. I love you so much my monster man and wish I could freeze time to keep you with me always. You're turning into such a handsome, smart boy and I'm proud to be your momma. Happy Birthday Ammon!

Ammon's Fifth Birthday Interview

1. What's your favorite song? Nephi's Courage
2. What's your favorite thing to do with Mom? Play games
3. What's your favorite thing to do with Dad? Play with him
4. What's your favorite day of the week? Monday
5. How old are you? Five
6. Who is your best friend? Hyrum
7. What's your favorite thing to do? Play with toys
8. What's your favorite color? Blue - light and dark
9. What's your favorite food? Jello
10. What do you like to do with your family? Play games
11. What's your favorite toy? My new cars
12. What do you want to be when you grow up? A missionary
13. What makes you happy? Watching PJ Masks
14. What makes you sad? Getting in trouble
15. What's your favorite show to watch? PJ Masks
16. What's your favorite book? Superhero book
17. What do you like to learn about? Legos
18. Where do you like to go? Yeti Yogurt
19. What's the best part of your birthday? Getting presents
20. What's your favorite treat? Ice cream
21. If you could meet someone famous who would it be? President Obama
22. What's your favorite movie? Big Hero 6
23. What's your favorite game to play? The Shark Game (a version of old maid we have)
24. What sports do you like? Baseball
25. What do you like to wear? The same clothes that I always wear
26. Who's your favorite Superhero? Thor and Hulk

Kendrick Is Blessed

Because all of my family was in town for Christmas, we asked special permission to have Kendrick's baby blessing while they were here. He was only two weeks old, but it was worth it to have family attending.

The blessing was short and sweet and he was given his name, Kendrick Nelson Tappana, and many promises involving loving God, honoring the priesthood, and having the Spirit with him. Apparently, he spit up right in the middle of the blessing and choked on it a little bit, making it really distracting for all the men standing in the circle, especially Brigham who was trying his best to focus on knowing what the Lord wanted him to say. Oh babies, you make life interesting.

After church, we had a small lunch I prepared for everyone, and took a bunch of family pictures. So enjoy an overload of pictures with commentary as the remainder of the post.






We have our standard family picture. We took about a billion different pictures, and of course we only came out with one good one. Kendrick is kind of slumped over and squishy faced, but really, with a newborn and two other kids, I was pleasantly surprised we got anything.

And then we have the individual takes of Kendrick with each family member.

Lydia:

Such a sweetheart and so adoring of this little boy. She begs to feed him and constantly squawks at him in her ear-splittingly high baby voice. It's adorable.












Ammon:

Oh these two boys. My days are filled with them while Lydia is at school, and I love watching Ammon with Kendrick. He isn't as hands on as Lydia, but he can't resist sneaking in kisses, and asks to have Kendrick sit in his bouncy chair next to him to watch him play. It's hilarious because I'll hear the baby crying, stop for a little bit, start again, and then suddenly stop... and it continues for quite some time. Peaking my head around the corner, I see Kendrick start fussing and then Ammon hurries and bounces the chair for a minute until the crying stops. Ammon continues playing, and then Kendrick starts up again and Ammon, unconcerned, bounces the chair again. And repeat. It's one of the sweetest, funniest scenes.

Yep, these three are my world and I am unashamed at how much I love them.

And of course we have mom and dad with the babe.

Brigham is such a loving dad and this new baby is no exception. I was so happy to finally be able to give Brigham another baby, knowing that he's been wanting one for just as long as I have.

 Next comes the grandmas.

I've loved seeing how much my mom enjoys Kendrick. She hasn't been able to be around my other kids as babies because we lived in a different state, and she was at a different stage in her life. Now with most of her kids grown and gone, she is enjoying being a grandma to a sweet new baby and it warms my heart.






Here she is with all of her grandchildren. I've got to stake the claim as sole grandchild provider for as long as possible.

We can't leave out great grandma - Grandma Busby. Pretty much one of my top three favorite people.

Four generations of awesomeness.

We took a couple other fun pictures of the rest of the family. Soon Katrina and Polyana will be adding more grandchildren to the bunch this spring. Their due dates are a month apart. And then I decided to jump in with my "baby bump".

My mom was captured with her new babies.

And here's everyone that was able to be there that day.

Only missing Kenny for the Nelson family. However, I was missing all the Tappana family that usually attends the baby blessings. In the past, it was only the Tappanas that could come and my family had to miss, so it felt a little weird and I longed for my kids' cousins and other aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I wish I could scoop up all those that I love and settle us all down in the same place together!

Now that the family stuff is done, I'll let you enjoy a million pictures of the main man.

 For some reason, I just love these pictures. They crack me up. Maybe it's because he slightly looks old-manish and like he's concentrating so hard on staying upright. (Really, he's concentrating so hard on trying to eat the collar of his outfit)

 The poor guy was constantly dealing with his collar riding up over his chin, sending his rooting reflex wild. I remember Ammon had the same outfit - bigger size because he was older when he was blessed - and had the same problem. So the day was spent watching Kendrick try to get his mouth to the thing rubbing on his chin. Because if something is touching the lower half of a baby's face, that means it's meant to be sucked on, obviously.

Remember when I talked about Kendrick making the best faces? Well, here are some pictures to prove my point. Enjoy.

That last one could be the new baby meme that floods the internet. Notice his strong neck muscles at work.

Well, I've posted more than my fair share of pictures of this boy (I actually have tons I that I left out) but after all, this was his main day. Kendrick was blessed, and we sure are blessed to have him.