Monday, April 26, 2010

Just a little update!

Here is a bit of an update so that years down the road, I can remember what things are like right now.

Darin is doing well. He is really enjoying his calling at church right now. He is the ward mission leader and he has enjoyed working with the missionaries and teaching people about Jesus Christ and about His church. He is still working, of course, and still trying to fit everything else in the few cracks of time that are left. The basement is almost done. We bought the trim today!! We have trim and counter tops left (pretty much). He has worked so hard on the basement and it's fun to see it come together. Our kids LOVE D. Every time they hear the garage door open, they jump and yell for dad.

I am doing well. I'm finally starting to feel a bit like myself. Meg is now 9 months old, so I've been un-pregnant just as long as I was pregnant, so I'm starting to feel a bit more like me. Since having my IUD put in, emotions have been a bit rocky (and understatement at time), so I think I'm going to get it out and try something else. Any suggestions? It has been so much fun to see my children play and grow lately. I've enjoyed the nice weather and the chance to do things outside. D and I have been spring cleaning the best we can lately and storing all the extra things so that our house is less cluttered. It feels SOOO good to walk in a room that is clean. I wish it would stay, but it's at least nice to go through everything. It's been about 2 years since I did it last (right before Z was born). I haven't worked on many of my hobbies lately, but the summer weather has been nice to get out and play.

J is doing so well. She is such a great person. She is doing GREAT in school and loves to learn. She is like a little sponge. When she is asked what her favorite part of school is, she answers everything. J passed another swim test at the Y today, so she is now a green band swimmer. She was sooo proud of herself and so happy. She swam part of the length of the pool, tread water for 10 seconds and swam back. She is really excited to start t-ball this summer. And she loves to play the piano. . a lot. She is a determined girl.

Lo is so happy and bouncy. I love watching him when he does something that makes him happy because he is happy with his WHOLE body. His eyes light up, his body lifts, he jumps, his voice raises, EVERYTHING!!!! Today he swam without his floaty and he was sooo proud of himself. It was so much fun. He is also excited to do t=ball this summer. He loves playing sports with us and doing things with people. He LOVES the wii and would play all day if allowed. He is a great friend and comes out with some funny lines from movies that he's seen. He is my talker and loves to talk, talk, talk and tell us EVERYTHING that is on his mind.

Z-man seems to be growing up so much lately. He is progressing in his speech slowly, but surely. He LOVES to copy anything that anyone is doing regardless of what it is or if he really knows what is going on or the purpose behind it. He loves doing anything that will get a laugh out of anyone. He will yell, "ma" until I look at him so he can show me what cool thing he is doing. He watches Lo hop the lines in the sidewalk and he will run with an occasional skippy thing that is soo stinkin' cute. He is SOLID and is getting heavy to pick up. He still gives the best hugs and kisses and loves to play games that involve laughing and teasing. He is a busy boy and I have to watch him VERY carefully or he will open and door and decide to play outside by himself and not tell anyone about it. He's quiet when he does things and sometimes can get into trouble soooo quickly.

Meg is growing up so much. She has been 'inch worming' since around 7 months, but has officially started to crawl. She LOVES to laugh. I caught her and Z sitting across the table from each other just taking turns laughing. One would laugh and it would make the other laugh, etc. etc. it went on for about 5 minutes. Z and Meg are great friends. Meg is such a sweetheart. She LOVES people, smiling, chewing on things, kids, etc. She is a good little friend. She has 2 teeth and is working on a couple more. She is a very happy girl and she always gets comments on h ow much she smiles at people. I love her dimples and her easy going, but excited manner. She is starting to pull herself up to her knees to things. It won't be long before she is pulling up to her feet. She shares a room with J and they are both very deep sleepers, so they don't wake each other up. They are great sisters and friends.

Well, that is where we are right now in life. We are busy and there never seems to be enough time to get the things done we need to do, but we are happy, healthy, and hopeful for good things in the future! Today was a good day.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Eeba Streeba!

The first graders at J's school put on a play called Eeba Streeba. It's about a little girl that wants to go to the carnival, but she goes without her parents. She is turned away and she goes home and colors all the carnival animals. The animals come to life and take her all over the world. The kids did actions and dances to the narrator. J did GREAT and had everything memorized and great! She was really focused and really good. :) She was fun to watch.

I have video to upload soon, but for now, here are a few pictures. :)


J and friend Charlie.
I can't remember what animal she was being right here. But it was apart of the play.
J and her friend Juney.
Getting ready to start. :)

Monday, April 19, 2010

free time

Tonight I let J and Lo have about 40 min. of free time after they got ready for bed. What do they do?? J decides to read . . a . . . whole. . . Juny b. Jones book. And lo??? He just got done eating his SECOND dinner!!! girl? boy? hmmm? It's always interesting to see what people choose to do for free time. :)

Zoo babies!

I officially took all FOUR of my children to the zoo the other day. J and Lo were on Spring Break and we wanted to have some fun. And I'm proud to say that nobody got lost. !!!!!! Up until now, I haven't been able to go many places with both Z and Meg at the same time. I couldn't take care of a newborn and make sure Z didn't run off and entertain Lo and J all at the same time. . . But I think things have slowly gotten easier. Meg can hold her own bottle, and entertain herself.. PLUS she is really quite happy now and doesn't cry like she use to. :) YEAH for miralax. :) I had a back-pack leash thing for Z-man which helped so he could walk and have some freedom when he wanted and I knew he wasn't going anywhere without me. I use to laugh at people who put their kids on 'leashes' but I guess we all end up eating our words sometime, right? It helped us have a great outing to the zoo. We rode the train and the carousel. And looked at most of the animals. We all loved the monkeys. One was really putting on a show with singing and tricks. :) The alligators/crocodiles were fun to see and Z's favorite were all the types of cats. :) Can't wait to go back again. I love my little people sooo much. They did awesome at the zoo! I love doing fun things.

I'm not, however, good enough yet to watch all four of my kids AND take pictures while at the zoo, so yes, this is the ONLY picture I got and it was right before we left! Everyone is hot and hungry!!! :) But it really was soo much fun to get out and it was really nice to know that finally everyone is getting to the point that I can take everyone places and explore life a bit again!!


p.s. I really like my double umbrella stroller. It fits through all the doorways, it folds up very small, and it has shade things on it. very good to have! :)

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Lo's sister and Z's sister!

Lo was talking to a neighbor the other day and the neighbor asked Lo if Meg was his sister. He said, "no, J is my sister and Meg is Z's sister!" ha . I guess we'll have to have a bit of a discussion on family. :) it's interesting how little people categorize things in their brains!! :)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Sleepy Babies

Lo must have been busy at preschool today because after we got home, I told him to sit at the table and I would get him a snack. I pulled out the PB and J and when I looked up this is how I found him.... :) He runs, runs, runs, runs, and then CRASHES!!!! He cracks me up.
We moved Meg into the pack 'N Play a while back because this exact thing was happening. Today i was going to clean downstairs during her nap, so I put her in the upstairs crib for her nap. This is how I found her. :) Poor girl. It didn't seem to bother her much, but maybe I should invest in some bumper pads.

Z's Prayers

I had to laugh last night as I was helping Z-man say his prayers. We started out and the prayer continued as followed (he repeats what I say). . . .
Me: Thankful for mommy
Z: mommy
Me: thankful for Daddy
Z: Daddy
Me: Thankful for J
Z: JuDi
Me: Thankful for Lo
Z: lu
Me: Thanful for Meg
Z: Mu
Me: Thankful for sleep
Z: NO
Me: Help me to sleep well.
Z: NO
Me: Name of Jesus
Z: Jesu
Me: Amen
Z: Umu


I think I'm beginning to understand why I don't get much sleep at night!!! HA HA! he definitely knows what he wants. :)

Monday, April 5, 2010

Easter Morning!!

I love Easter, and I love Easter when General Conference falls on the same day. We had a great weekend listening to the Prophet and Apostles, Remembering Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us, and enjoying some Easter treats.

I am so grateful for the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is because of this that I can be forgiven, my family members and loved ones can also be forgiven, so we can live forever with each other. I LOVE Easter. I love thinking of our Savior and I'm so happy we had a chance to celebrate.


Here are J and Lo waiting to search for their easter baskets.
Lo found his!!!! Silly bunny hid his in the oven!!!


z-man found his!!!

searching for the chocolate!!!
J's was hidden the hardest!! She finally found it though!!!

My little bunnies!!!

Really, mom?
Easter outfit pictures!!



We are a happy FAMILY!!!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Happy, Happy birthday Z-man dear!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Z-MAN!!!!!! I am sooo happy that Z is in our family. He is such a great little guy and is an amazing part of our family. Z is a busy, busy, toddler, but underneath the crazy busy 2 year old is a peace. He has a calm about him. He is a thinker, loves balls and being outside. . all. . . the. . time. He will ride one 'bike' down the cul-de-sac, come get the next and ride it down, etc, etc. then we have about 5 bikes we have to go pick up, but it makes him happy. Z loves games and is a relatively happy little guy. :) Z also LOVES sugar and treats and anything that comes from a fast food restaurant!! :) zoiks.

It doesn't seem like it's been two years, but it really has. I remember they layed him on me after he was born, and I knew he was special. Right after he was born, J and Lo had a vacation at my sister's house for a few days and it happened to be over General Conference. I remember laying in the sunshine with him on the floor listening to our prophet and apostles. It is a great memory full of peace. :)



these pictures are in chronological order. The second the cake was put in front of him, he blew. . even before we finished the happy birthday song.
Then he looked up at us like, "I'm done, what next." (Oh, we re-lit the candles. . I think he was a bit confused.)
My sister and her family came to help us celebrate (and help put in cabinets in our basement) THANK YOU!!!! Everything is always more fun with family!
Yummy cake!

on to the presents!!!
Yeah, I love BALLS!!!!
and BIKES!!!



Love you buddy, Z!!!! We are SOOOO glad you are a part of our family!

p.s. I measured Z and he's 35" tall. So if you double that, he would be 5' 10" when he is fully 'grown.'!! :) We'll see!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Let's go fly a kite!!!!

We had a great (o.k. kind of) windy day yesterday and the kids had a great time flying our kite. Even Z-man got it in the air. He was so funny as he would run, run, run up the street as hard as he could. I think everyone got their exercise last night.








Gratitude 31

My last gratitude post is on Gratitude itself. I've enjoyed this month of finding the blessings in my life. I know that the attitude of gratitude helps us find strength, happiness, and kindness. I truly am blessed and am grateful for all of my blessings and the many ways that Heavenly Father blesses my life.