Puppy Love

The Barnum family almost got a dog! We are not a pet family but Avery loves dogs and the boys said they sort of wanted one too. So we picked out what type of dog we wanted a Goldendoodle and went to look at a few. On Avery's birthday we went to the puppy store in the mall so Avery could play with a puppy for a little bit. In the end Michael couldn't bring himself to actually commit to the dog and interest died out : ( For now we will remain petless.

Karate!!

Last month the boys tested for new belts in Karate. They did awesome and both advanced. Ethan received his orange belt and Joshua his yellow belt. They had both been practicing a lot and we are very proud of them!

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Our little girl is already 2. Time has gone by so fast with her and I can't believe that she is already a toddler, who talks and has tons of her own ideas. We love her so much and can't imagine our family without her.


She has really been eating a lot lately and now weighs in at 27lbs and is 34 inches tall
She talks a lot and is now putting together simple sentences
She loves movies, her favorites right now are Finding Nemo, Elmo's ABCs, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse She still absolutely loves doggies (we even considered getting one for her birthday)
She just started using the potty and already doesn't want to keep her diaper on

For her actual birthday, it was just me and her hanging out all day.  She opened some presents in the morning and then we went out.  We met Daddy for lunch and as a special surprise we went to the puppy shop and had them pull out a doggie in a room for us to play with.  I have pics to post but I haven't downloaded them yet from my other camera. 

 

On the Saturday after her birthday we decided to have my family over to celebrate with us.  We had a lunch, opened some presents and of course had some cake too!

Sweet baby Taryn with her adorable cheeks.

Dena actually posing for a good picture with her fiance Tyler.

Fun presents to open for the birthday girl.

Grandma Sandy (and uncles and aunts) gave her a kitchen she absolutely loves playing with.

Birthday cake and icecream, even though she wouldn't blow out the candle since she is still terrified of fire.

Just Playing

February was a good month for us. I didn't work too many days this month so I had lots of time to play with the kids. I took Avery to the park a few times for a picnic, and since the weather has been nice the boys have been able to play outside too.

Ethan was dying to play at the park after school since his girlfriend was going to be there.

Josh is pro these days at riding his bike with no training wheels.

I just love my girl, she's a lot of work but sure looks sweet with her crazy hair!

Helping Mom juice lemons from our tree.

Deer Farm

Just outside of Williams, AZ is a deer farm. You pay to get in and then get to feed and pet the deer and other animals. There were a lot of deer so it was really neat! Some were a little bit aggressive especially since we had some cups of feed when we first came, but overall it was awesome to be so close to them. 

They knocked Josh over to get his food, right when we came in the gate.

Abes thought they were big "goggies" and wanted to hug on them until they started nibbling.

Ethan of course was petrified when they started eating his jacket!

Grandma Connie had them under control, until they started unraveling her sweater.

They had other animals there too, such as this camel!

Ethan finally found a more docile deer to pet at the end. 

Snow Fun

On our trip to the Polar Express train ride, we also had time to stop and play in the snow. It was perfect it was sunny so it wasn't very cold, and there was still a few inches of snow on the ground. We bought a little sled and had fun sliding down some hills. 

Josh is always ready for some action!

Ethan liked making snow balls for a fight.

Even Dad tried out a few hills.

An action shot of Ethan and I getting a little air time.

I love that my new camera takes nice crisp pictures.

Grandma Connie didn't try any hills herself but helped us keep track of the kids.

Polar Express Train Ride

We were supposed to go to the Polar Express in December and then were unable to, so we are so happy that they let us change our reservation to January and Grandma Connie still got to go with us! It was after Christmas but it was still magical. In fact it was one of the best overnight trips with the kids we have ever done. We stayed at the train hotel, and it wasn't super crowded, there was a ton of snow to play in and it was sunny out. 

The kids still were excited for cookies, hot cocoa and to see Santa!

We had fun on our ride and singing Christmas Carols.

When you stay at the hotel the breakfast and dinner are included, and the boys loved the buffet!